Plating, Anodizing & Surface Treatment worked example

Thickness Variation at 99% expected line uptime: a worked example

What does the result look like when expected line uptime reaches 99%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when thickness variation in plating, anodizing and surface treatment is being asked to take on more work and you need to know if there is room.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Coated parts finished per plating cycle: 4 units / cycle (unchanged)
  • Plating cycles available in the period: 480 cycles (unchanged)
  • Expected line uptime: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 90)
  • Expected first-pass thickness-conformance yield: 97 % (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Gross thickness variation capacity = thickness variation output per cycle × available thickness variation cycles) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,844 units for good thickness variation capacity, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,920 units for gross thickness variation capacity.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 19.2 units for thickness variation downtime loss.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 57.02 units for thickness variation yield loss.

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 10% above the baseline at 1,844 units.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when expected line uptime is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It treats uptime and yield as steady averages; a bath drifting out of spec or a rectifier fault can push actual yield well below the entered figure.

Results at a glance

  • Good thickness variation capacity: 1,844 units (headline result)
  • Gross thickness variation capacity: 1,920 units
  • Thickness variation downtime loss: 19.2 units
  • Thickness variation yield loss: 57.02 units

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Thickness Variation calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.