Wire Drawing & Rod Processing worked example

Wire Spool Capacity at 65% winder uptime: a worked example

This worked example runs the wire spool capacity numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 65% winder uptime instead of the typical 90%. Wire Spool Capacity tells a drawing line how many finished, sellable spools a take-up station can actually turn out in a shift once you strip away downtime and off-spec wraps.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Wire spooled per winding cycle: 4 units / cycle (held at the documented default)
  • Winding cycles available per shift: 480 cycles (held at the documented default)
  • Winder uptime: 65 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 90)
  • First-pass spool yield: 97 % (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Gross wire spool capacity capacity = units per cycle × available cycles.
  • Good output capacity works out to 1,211 units at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Gross capacity works out to 1,920 units at these inputs.
  • Uptime loss works out to 672 units at these inputs.
  • Yield loss works out to 37.44 units at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where winder uptime sits at 90% and the headline result is 1,676 units, this scenario comes in 27.78% below the baseline at 1,211 units.
  • Use it when sizing a shift's output on a take-up/spooling station, sequencing orders across drawing benches, or checking whether a due date is achievable. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Good output capacity: 1,211 units (headline result)
  • Gross capacity: 1,920 units
  • Uptime loss: 672 units
  • Yield loss: 37.44 units

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Wire Spool Capacity calculator, set winder uptime to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.