01 — How the Tool Works
You Enter
Line Speed
Combined nameplate CPH of all pick-and-place machines on the line
OEE Factor
Real-world efficiency (default 65%)
Shift Model
1, 2 or 3 shifts (8 / 16 / 24 h per day)
Product Name
Free text label for each product
PCBs / Year
Annual production target per product
Price / PCB
Revenue per assembled board
Components / PCB
Total placements per board
You Get
Revenue / Week
Total gross revenue across all products
Revenue / Year
Annual gross revenue, all products combined
Max Capacity / Year
How many PCBs the line can handle at max
Required Runtime / Week
How many hours the line needs to run
Required Utilization
% of available shift time needed
Per-Product Breakdown
Runtime, revenue and capacity share per item
Status Verdict
Feasible / High Load / Overloaded
02 — Step 1: Set Line Parameters
Line Speed
e.g. 15 000 CPH
Enter the combined nameplate CPH of all pick-and-place machines on the line. Machines work in parallel on the same board, so sum all placer ratings. For a single machine, use its spec sheet value. OEE is applied on top of this number to get realistic throughput.
OEE Factor
default 65%
Overall Equipment Effectiveness. Accounts for availability losses (changeovers, breakdowns), performance losses (slow cycles, starved feeders), and quality losses. 65% is realistic for a mixed-product line.
Shift Model
8 / 16 / 24 h/day
Select 1, 2 or 3 shifts. This sets total available hours per week (40 / 80 / 120 h). Changing the shift model directly changes available capacity. Try all three to see when you run out of headroom.
Typical OEE ranges: 55–65% short-run mixed line | 65–75% stable mixed line | 75–85% high-volume dedicated line
03 — Step 2: Add Your Products
Each product uses the shared line speed and OEE, but has its own volume, price and component count. The tool calculates each product independently and totals them up. Up to 20 products.
Product Name
Free text. Used as label in the results table. Name it anything: board revision, customer code, product family.
PCBs / Year
Your annual production target. The tool divides by 50 automatically to get a weekly figure.
Price / PCB
Gross selling price per assembled board. No cost deductions. Use for top-line revenue planning only.
Components / PCB
Total placements per board. This is the primary driver of line time. More components means more machine hours.
Add a product with the + button, remove with the X on that row. Each product is calculated independently against the shared line.
04 — Reading the Results: Total Line Summary
Max Capacity / Year
Total PCBs the line could produce at 100% utilization with the current shift model. Gives you a ceiling to compare your volume target against.
Required Runtime / Week
Actual machine hours needed to hit the weekly target. OEE is already factored in, so this is real scheduled time, not theoretical.
Revenue / Week and Year
Gross invoiced value across all products. No material, labour or overhead deductions. Use for top-line planning and pricing sanity checks only.
Total PCBs / Week
Sum of all product weekly volumes (annual target divided by 50). This drives the required runtime figure.
05 — Per-Product Breakdown Table
Capacity Share
Shows what % of total runtime each product consumes. The product with the highest share is your scheduling bottleneck. If it slips or has rework, it hits your overall schedule hardest.
Revenue / Year
Gross only. Material, labour and overhead are not deducted. Use for top-line planning and pricing sanity checks. Never use the revenue figure as profit.
Runtime / Week
OEE is already included. This is the actual machine time needed for this product's weekly volume at the efficiency level you specified.
06 — Utilization Bar & Status Verdict
OK
Feasible — utilization below 85%
Your volume target is comfortably achievable. There is headroom for unplanned stops, changeovers, and future growth. This is the healthy operating zone.
!
High Load — utilization 85–100%
The plan is technically feasible but tight. A single unplanned stop or longer changeover can cause you to miss the weekly target. Review your OEE assumptions.
!!
Overloaded — utilization above 100%
The line cannot produce the target volume in the current shift model. Add a shift, reduce the volume target, improve OEE, or increase line speed.
07 — Tips & Best Practices
01
Start with realistic OEE
The biggest planning mistake is using nameplate speed without an OEE factor. 65% is a conservative starting point. If you track actual runtime vs. available time, use your real number.
02
Components/PCB drives everything
A board with 300 components takes roughly 3x longer to place than a 100-component board at the same OEE. Mix of simple and complex boards? Enter them as separate products.
03
Test all three shift models
Toggle between 1, 2 and 3 shifts to see at what point your volume target becomes feasible. The utilization bar updates immediately.
04
Revenue is gross, always
The calculator shows invoiced value per board, no deductions. Component cost alone is typically 40–70% of board value in volume production. Never use the revenue figure as profit.
05
Capacity Share reveals priority
In the breakdown table, the product with the highest capacity share is your bottleneck. If that product slips or has rework, it hits your overall schedule hardest.
06
250 working days assumed
The calculator uses 50 weeks × 5 days = 250 days per year. If your factory runs fewer weeks, actual capacity is lower. Adjust OEE downward to compensate.