How do you calculate good-unit capacity?

Multiply output per cycle by available cycles to get gross capacity, then multiply by uptime and by first-pass yield. Here 4 x 480 = 1,920 gross, then x 90% x 97% = 1,676 good units.

What is a capacity gap?

It is the shortfall between demand and the good units a line can realistically deliver. If demand were 1,800 units and the line delivers 1,676 good units, the capacity gap is 124 units you must recover through more time, throughput or yield.

Why is good capacity so much lower than gross?

Two losses stack. In the example, 90% uptime removes 192 units of downtime loss and 97% first-pass yield removes another 51.8 units of yield loss, dropping 1,920 gross to 1,676 good.

Should I use first-pass yield or final yield?

Use first-pass yield here to be conservative, since it reflects units that pass without rework. If your rework loop reliably recovers most failures, your true shippable output sits between first-pass and final yield.

How do I close a capacity gap?

Attack the biggest loss. Raising uptime from 90% to 95% or lifting first-pass yield a couple of points often recovers more units than adding raw cycles, and it does so without new equipment cost.

What counts as a cycle?

A cycle is one repeatable production interval that yields your output-per-cycle quantity, for example one panel through SMT or one takt beat at box-build. Keep the definition consistent between output-per-cycle and available cycles.

Smart Home & Consumer IoT Hardware calculator

Capacity Gap Calculator

Capacity Gap estimates how many good, shippable smart home or IoT units a line can actually produce in a given window once you discount for downtime and first-pass yield fallout. Production planners and operations managers use it to compare real output against a demand pull and expose the gap before it becomes a missed ship date. Nameplate rates lie: an SMT and box-build line rated for 1,920 units rarely ships 1,920 because changeovers, feeder jams and functional-test failures bleed off units. This calculator turns cycle rate, available cycles, uptime and yield into a defensible good-unit number so you know whether to add a shift, add a line, or requalify a process.

What this calculator does

Estimate capacity gap for smart home and consumer IoT hardware using production-ready inputs so teams can confirm whether capacity can cover demand before committing the schedule.
Use it when capacity gap in smart home and consumer iot hardware is being asked to take on more work and you need to know if there is room.
It converts gross cycle output into good-unit capacity by discounting for line uptime and first-pass yield.

Formula used

Gross capacity gap capacity = capacity gap output per cycle × available capacity gap cycles
Good capacity gap capacity = gross capacity × expected capacity gap uptime × expected capacity gap first-pass yield

Inputs explained

Units per assembly cycle (SMT/box-build):
Available production cycles in the window:
Line uptime / availability:
First-pass yield at test:

How to use the result

Use it during capacity planning, demand-vs-supply reviews, or when deciding whether to add shifts or lines for a product ramp.
It multiplies uptime and yield as steady averages, so it will not capture ramp learning curves, single catastrophic outages, or rework that recovers some failed units later.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026), up 41.5% in a year, and U.S. industrial electricity averages 8.66 cents per kWh. Both feed electrified-hardware unit economics.
Steel mill PPI stands at 348.53 (BLS, May 2026), up 6.7% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate good-unit capacity? Multiply output per cycle by available cycles to get gross capacity, then multiply by uptime and by first-pass yield. Here 4 x 480 = 1,920 gross, then x 90% x 97% = 1,676 good units.
What is a capacity gap? It is the shortfall between demand and the good units a line can realistically deliver. If demand were 1,800 units and the line delivers 1,676 good units, the capacity gap is 124 units you must recover through more time, throughput or yield.
Why is good capacity so much lower than gross? Two losses stack. In the example, 90% uptime removes 192 units of downtime loss and 97% first-pass yield removes another 51.8 units of yield loss, dropping 1,920 gross to 1,676 good.
Should I use first-pass yield or final yield? Use first-pass yield here to be conservative, since it reflects units that pass without rework. If your rework loop reliably recovers most failures, your true shippable output sits between first-pass and final yield.
How do I close a capacity gap? Attack the biggest loss. Raising uptime from 90% to 95% or lifting first-pass yield a couple of points often recovers more units than adding raw cycles, and it does so without new equipment cost.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.