How do you calculate good manufacturing capacity?

Multiply output per cycle by available cycles to get gross capacity, then multiply by uptime and first-pass yield. With 4 units/cycle over 480 cycles at 90% uptime and 97% yield, good capacity is 1,676 units.

What is the difference between gross and good capacity?

Gross capacity is the theoretical maximum (1,920 units in the default). Good capacity (1,676) is what survives downtime and yield loss and is actually shippable.

What is a good first-pass yield for surgical robotics?

Regulated robotic assemblies commonly target 95%+ first-pass yield at final QC. The 97% default costs about 52 units of yield loss even at that high level.

How much capacity does downtime cost?

In the default, 90% uptime removes 192 units from the gross 1,920 — that downtime loss alone is larger than the yield loss, so improving uptime often has the biggest payoff.

Why is good capacity lower than my forecast?

Forecasts often assume gross output. Once you apply real uptime and yield, buildable capacity drops — here from 1,920 to 1,676, a 13% reduction you must plan around.

Should uptime and yield be multiplied or added?

Multiplied. They act sequentially: only the units the line actually runs can then pass QC, so 90% times 97% gives the combined survival fraction.

Surgical Robotics Manufacturing calculator

Capacity Gap Calculator

Capacity Gap tells you how many good, shippable surgical robotics units a line can actually deliver in a planning window once downtime and yield losses are stripped out of the theoretical maximum. Operations and S&OP planners on robotic console and instrument lines use it to reconcile a sales forecast against real throughput before committing delivery dates to hospital customers. In regulated robotics, first-pass yield through final QC is often the binding constraint, so a gross number alone badly overstates what you can ship. This calculator separates gross capacity from good capacity and quantifies exactly how many units each loss category costs you.

What this calculator does

Estimate capacity gap for surgical robotics manufacturing using production-ready inputs so teams can confirm whether capacity can cover demand before committing the schedule.
Use it when capacity gap in surgical robotics manufacturing is being asked to take on more work and you need to know if there is room.
It computes good (shippable) capacity by multiplying gross capacity by uptime and first-pass yield, and breaks out the downtime and yield unit losses.

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

Robotic assemblies completed per production cycle:
Production cycles available in the window:
Line uptime after downtime losses:
First-pass yield through final QC:

How to use the result

Use it during capacity planning or when validating whether a committed ship schedule is achievable on the available line time.
It assumes a steady output rate and independent uptime and yield factors; it will overstate capacity if losses compound or if the line has a ramp-up learning curve.

Current U.S. benchmarks

U.S. manufacturing runs at 75.6% of capacity with new factory orders at $657B per month (Federal Reserve and Census, May 2026).
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.
The U.S. has 8,825 medical equipment and supplies establishments employing about 308,388 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do you calculate good manufacturing capacity? Multiply output per cycle by available cycles to get gross capacity, then multiply by uptime and first-pass yield. With 4 units/cycle over 480 cycles at 90% uptime and 97% yield, good capacity is 1,676 units.
What is the difference between gross and good capacity? Gross capacity is the theoretical maximum (1,920 units in the default). Good capacity (1,676) is what survives downtime and yield loss and is actually shippable.
What is a good first-pass yield for surgical robotics? Regulated robotic assemblies commonly target 95%+ first-pass yield at final QC. The 97% default costs about 52 units of yield loss even at that high level.
How much capacity does downtime cost? In the default, 90% uptime removes 192 units from the gross 1,920 — that downtime loss alone is larger than the yield loss, so improving uptime often has the biggest payoff.
Why is good capacity lower than my forecast? Forecasts often assume gross output. Once you apply real uptime and yield, buildable capacity drops — here from 1,920 to 1,676, a 13% reduction you must plan around.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.