How do you calculate wire stripping cycle time?

Divide the number of wire ends by the strip rate in ends per minute to get base minutes, convert to hours, then multiply by (1 + allowance). With 120 ends at 12 per minute and a 10% allowance, base time is 10 hours and required time is 11 hours.

What is a good wire stripping rate?

On a semi-automatic stripper with consistent thin-wall wire, 12-20 ends per minute is common; shielded or jacketed cable and tight strip-length tolerances can drop you below 6 per minute. Time your own setup to be sure.

Should I count wires or wire ends?

Count ends. Most wires are stripped on both ends, so a 60-wire harness usually means 120 strip operations, which is exactly the workload in the example.

Wire stripping vs crimping cycle time?

Stripping prepares the conductor; crimping applies the terminal. They are separate operations with separate rates, and a fast stripper does not guarantee a fast crimp station, so estimate each independently before balancing the line.

What should my allowance cover?

Blade and die adjustments, reel or coil changes, quality checks on strip length and conductor damage, and short delays. A 10% allowance moved the example from a 10-hour base to 11 required hours.

Does automatic stripping remove the allowance?

No. Even fully automatic cut-strip machines need setup, wire loading, and QC sampling, so an allowance still applies; it is usually just smaller than a hand-strip operation.

Wire Harness, Cable & Electromechanical Assembly calculator

Wire Stripping Cycle Time Calculator

Wire stripping cycle time is the labor hours needed to remove insulation from a batch of wire ends before termination. It is an early, high-volume operation in harness build, so a small per-end error multiplies fast across thousands of ends and distorts your standard hours. Process engineers and estimators use this calculator to size the strip station, feed line balancing, and validate whether a semi-automatic stripper is keeping pace. It converts an end count and a strip rate into base and allowed hours, adding a realistic allowance for blade changes, reel swaps, and handling.

What this calculator does

Estimate wire stripping cycle time for wire harness, cable and electromechanical assembly using production-ready inputs so teams can plan labor hours, schedule the work, or check whether the job fits the available shift time.
Use it when wire stripping cycle time in wire harness, cable and electromechanical assembly is changing rate or allowance and you want to see the impact.
It computes the required wire-stripping labor hours by dividing the number of wire ends by the strip rate, then applying an allowance factor for setup, handling, and delay.

Formula used

Base wire stripping cycle time = wire stripping cycle time workload ÷ wire stripping cycle time completion rate
Required wire stripping cycle time = base wire stripping cycle time × allowance factor

Inputs explained

Wire ends to strip:
Wire ends stripped per minute:
Setup, handling, and delay allowance:

How to use the result

Use it when planning a strip station's capacity, quoting cut-and-strip labor, or checking a stripping operator against a target rate.
A single rate assumes consistent gauge and insulation; heavy jacket, shielded cable, or precision strip-length tolerances slow the operation well below a thin-wall PVC rate.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for copper and brass mill shapes stands at 559.593 (BLS, May 2026), up 76.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move. Global copper trades at $13,484 per tonne (IMF via FRED, May 2026).
Manufacturing hourly earnings average $30.27 (BLS, Jun 2026), up 4.4% from a year earlier. Median machinist pay is $28.24/hr (OEWS 2025), with state medians on each state page. Manufacturers have 529k open positions nationally (BLS JOLTS).
The U.S. has 5,397 electrical equipment and appliances establishments employing about 369,437 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do you calculate wire stripping cycle time? Divide the number of wire ends by the strip rate in ends per minute to get base minutes, convert to hours, then multiply by (1 + allowance). With 120 ends at 12 per minute and a 10% allowance, base time is 10 hours and required time is 11 hours.
What is a good wire stripping rate? On a semi-automatic stripper with consistent thin-wall wire, 12-20 ends per minute is common; shielded or jacketed cable and tight strip-length tolerances can drop you below 6 per minute. Time your own setup to be sure.
Should I count wires or wire ends? Count ends. Most wires are stripped on both ends, so a 60-wire harness usually means 120 strip operations, which is exactly the workload in the example.
Wire stripping vs crimping cycle time? Stripping prepares the conductor; crimping applies the terminal. They are separate operations with separate rates, and a fast stripper does not guarantee a fast crimp station, so estimate each independently before balancing the line.
What should my allowance cover? Blade and die adjustments, reel or coil changes, quality checks on strip length and conductor damage, and short delays. A 10% allowance moved the example from a 10-hour base to 11 required hours.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.