UV Curing calculator

UV Line Capacity Calculator

Hourly throughput is the calculator answer; daily good-parts is the answer operations and sales need. This calculator scales hourly UV cure throughput across shifts, applies uptime, and applies cure yield to land on the day-rate that drives shipment commitments and S&OP capacity decisions — without the optimism that operator estimates usually carry.

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.
  • Returns daily good-parts capacity from a UV cure line, scaling hourly throughput across shifts and applying uptime and yield.

Formula used

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

Inputs explained

  • Hourly throughput: From UV System Throughput or UV Batch Cure Capacity — the gross hourly rate.
  • Shift hours per day: Production hours per shift × shifts per day; e.g. 8 hr × 2 shifts = 16.
  • Line uptime: Production hours ÷ scheduled hours from MES; 75–90% typical.
  • Cure-related yield: % of cured parts passing downstream; 95–99% on stable UV processes.

How to use the result

  • Use for shipment planning, monthly S&OP capacity reviews, and answering 'can we commit to X units / week' on a customer demand inquiry.
  • Single-line math. Doesn't factor in upstream feed constraints (the cure line can only output what the assembly line feeds it) or material availability. If the cure cell isn't the bottleneck, this calc overstates the plant's actual day rate — confirm the bottleneck step before quoting capacity.

Common questions

  • Why does my actual daily output land below this calc? Three usual reasons in order: real uptime is lower than the planning input, cure yield is lower than reported (escapes that don't show until customer), or the cure cell isn't the bottleneck and is paced by an upstream feed rate. Run the calc with last 4 weeks of MES data to see the gap honestly.
  • How do I add changeover time? Subtract changeover hours from shift hours per day before entering them. Example: 16-hr planned day with 90 min total changeovers = 14.5-hr effective shift. Or roll changeover into uptime — same answer either way as long as you're consistent.
  • Can I use this for a multi-cell UV line? Yes — run it once per cell and the bottleneck cell's output sets the line capacity. Don't sum the cells; capacity flows through the slowest one. Pair with UV System Throughput (hourly per cell) to identify which cell is slowest before sizing the daily output.
  • What yield should I use during launch? Lower than steady-state. New UV products typically run at 88–95% cure yield in the first 4–8 weeks before stabilizing at 97–99%. For shipment commitments during launch, use the lower end and let actual data update the calc weekly.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.