Plating, Anodizing & Surface Treatment worked example

Tank Capacity at 65% expected line uptime: a worked example

This worked example runs the tank capacity numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 65% expected line uptime instead of the typical 90%. Estimate tank capacity for plating, anodizing and surface treatment using production-ready inputs so teams can confirm whether capacity can cover demand before committing the schedule.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Racks finished per plating cycle: 4 units / cycle (held at the documented default)
  • Available plating cycles in the period: 480 cycles (held at the documented default)
  • Expected line uptime: 65 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 90)
  • Expected first-pass finish yield: 97 % (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Gross tank capacity = tank capacity output per cycle × available tank capacity cycles.
  • Good tank capacity works out to 1,211 units at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Gross tank capacity works out to 1,920 units at these inputs.
  • Tank capacity downtime loss works out to 672 units at these inputs.
  • Tank capacity yield loss works out to 37.44 units at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where expected line uptime sits at 90% and the headline result is 1,676 units, this scenario comes in 27.78% below the baseline at 1,211 units.
  • Use it during capacity planning, lead-time quoting, or when deciding whether a line can absorb a new program without adding a shift. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Good tank capacity: 1,211 units (headline result)
  • Gross tank capacity: 1,920 units
  • Tank capacity downtime loss: 672 units
  • Tank capacity yield loss: 37.44 units

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Tank Capacity calculator, set expected line uptime to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.