Thermoforming & Vacuum Formed Products worked example

Packaging Count at 99% machine uptime availability: a worked example in thermoforming & vacuum formed products

Push machine uptime availability up to 99% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it when packaging count in thermoforming and vacuum formed products is being asked to take on more work and you need to know if there is room.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Formed parts per forming cycle: 4 units / cycle (unchanged)
  • Scheduled forming cycles available: 480 cycles (unchanged)
  • Machine uptime availability: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 90)
  • First-pass part yield: 97 % (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

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

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where machine uptime availability sits at 90% and the headline result is 1,676 units, this scenario comes in 10% above the baseline at 1,844 units.
  • It computes gross forming capacity and then the good saleable count after applying machine uptime and first-pass yield losses. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Good output capacity: 1,844 units (headline result)
  • Gross capacity: 1,920 units
  • Uptime loss: 19.2 units
  • Yield loss: 57.02 units

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.