Thermoforming & Vacuum Formed Products worked example

Plug-Assist Speed at 99% line efficiency: a worked example

What does the result look like when line efficiency reaches 99%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when plug-assist speed in thermoforming and vacuum formed products is being committed and you need a throughput number you can defend.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Formed parts completed this run: 1,200 units (unchanged)
  • Plug-assist forming runtime: 8 hr (unchanged)
  • Line efficiency (uptime x quality): 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 90)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Raw plug-assist speed = completed output ÷ runtime) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 149 ft / min for effective throughput, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 150 ft / min for raw throughput.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 99 % for efficiency.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 8 hr for runtime.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where line efficiency sits at 90% and the headline result is 135 ft / min, this scenario comes in 10% above the baseline at 149 ft / min.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when line efficiency is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It is a throughput average — it will not tell you whether the plug speed itself caused thin corners; only a wall-thickness map or gauge scan does that.

Results at a glance

  • Effective throughput: 149 ft / min (headline result)
  • Raw throughput: 150 ft / min
  • Efficiency: 99 %
  • Runtime: 8 hr

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Plug-Assist Speed calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.