How do you calculate a UV line's daily capacity?

Multiply hourly throughput by scheduled shift hours to get gross capacity, then multiply by uptime and cure yield. At 320 parts/hr, 16 hr, 85% uptime and 97% yield: 320 × 16 × 0.85 × 0.97 = 4,221 good parts/day.

What is the difference between gross and net capacity?

Gross is the theoretical count if the line ran flawlessly for every scheduled hour — 5,120 parts in the example. Net subtracts real-world losses: 768 parts to downtime and about 131 to cure rejects, leaving 4,221 good parts.

What is a good uptime for a UV cure line?

Well-run lines sustain 85-92% availability; below 80% usually points to changeover, lamp warm-up or web-break losses worth attacking. In the example, 85% uptime alone costs 768 parts a day, the single largest loss.

How much do cure rejects cost me?

At 97% first-pass cure yield the line loses about 131 parts a day to undercure, tack or scorch. That is smaller than the downtime loss here, but every point of yield recovered from tighter dose control drops straight to good output.

Should I add hours or fix uptime to get more parts?

Compare the two losses. Here downtime removes 768 parts and rejects only 131, so improving availability adds capacity faster than adding a partial shift — and without the extra labor and energy cost of running longer.

Why multiply uptime and yield instead of adding the losses?

They are sequential filters: uptime decides how many parts you actually attempt, and yield decides how many of those cure good. Multiplying compounds them correctly, which is why the two losses don't simply sum to the gap from gross.

UV Curing calculator

UV Line Capacity Calculator

Nameplate throughput lies — a UV line quoted at hundreds of parts per hour never delivers that over a full shift once uptime and cure rejects take their cut. This calculator derates gross capacity by line availability and first-pass cure yield to give the number that actually matters for planning: net good parts per day. Production planners and industrial engineers use it to set realistic commitments, size WIP buffers, and see how much output uptime and cure quality are quietly costing. Separating the loss to downtime from the loss to cure rejects also tells you which lever to pull to add capacity.

What this calculator does

Roll a UV cure line's hourly throughput up to a daily good-parts number across multiple shifts, with uptime and yield baked in.
Use it for shipment planning, S&OP capacity reviews, and answering 'how many can the UV line do per day' for a customer commitment.
It computes net good parts per day by taking gross capacity (throughput × shift hours) and derating it by uptime and cure yield.

Formula used

Gross daily capacity = hourly throughput × shift hours per day
Net daily good parts = gross × uptime × cure yield

Inputs explained

Cured parts per hour at speed:
Scheduled run hours per day:
Line availability / uptime:
First-pass cure yield:

How to use the result

Use it for daily production planning, capacity commitments to customers, and identifying whether downtime or cure rejects is the bigger throughput loss.
It uses average uptime and yield; it will not capture the variability of a line that alternates between long clean runs and bad days, so plan buffers accordingly.

Common questions

How do you calculate a UV line's daily capacity? Multiply hourly throughput by scheduled shift hours to get gross capacity, then multiply by uptime and cure yield. At 320 parts/hr, 16 hr, 85% uptime and 97% yield: 320 × 16 × 0.85 × 0.97 = 4,221 good parts/day.
What is the difference between gross and net capacity? Gross is the theoretical count if the line ran flawlessly for every scheduled hour — 5,120 parts in the example. Net subtracts real-world losses: 768 parts to downtime and about 131 to cure rejects, leaving 4,221 good parts.
What is a good uptime for a UV cure line? Well-run lines sustain 85-92% availability; below 80% usually points to changeover, lamp warm-up or web-break losses worth attacking. In the example, 85% uptime alone costs 768 parts a day, the single largest loss.
How much do cure rejects cost me? At 97% first-pass cure yield the line loses about 131 parts a day to undercure, tack or scorch. That is smaller than the downtime loss here, but every point of yield recovered from tighter dose control drops straight to good output.
Should I add hours or fix uptime to get more parts? Compare the two losses. Here downtime removes 768 parts and rejects only 131, so improving availability adds capacity faster than adding a partial shift — and without the extra labor and energy cost of running longer.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.