Print Farm Capacity & Deadline Calculator
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04 / Capacity
Plan printers for your deadline
Work out how many matching printers you need to finish an order, and how long it could take with the machines you already have.
Worked example
The starting example needs 100 good parts, with four parts in each six-hour batch. That is 25 successful batches. A 10% failed-batch allowance raises the plan to 28 batches, or 168 machine-hours. Five days at 12 hours/day and 85% usable capacity allow eight whole batches per printer. The plan needs four printers. With three printers, estimated production time is about 5.88 days.
Example money amounts are in USD. Reset the calculator to restore its starting inputs.
How the calculation works
Successful batches = round up(parts needed ÷ parts per batch). Planned batches = round up(successful batches ÷ success rate). Batches per printer = round down(days × daily run hours × usable capacity ÷ batch hours). Printers required = round up(planned batches ÷ batches per printer).
Assumptions and limits
One batch runs on one printer and cannot be split between machines. All printers have the same batch time and capacity. Usable capacity reserves downtime separately from full-batch retries. Include changeover in batch time and subtract finishing and delivery time from available production days. Available hours are an equivalent capacity estimate; actual shift timing and overnight operation can change the schedule. Failure allowances are planning estimates, not a guarantee.
Frequently asked questions
What does parts per batch mean?
It is the number of good parts you expect from one successful batch on one printer. For a plate of four identical parts, enter four and use the total time for that plate.
Why round batches up?
You need a complete batch even when the final plate is partly filled. The tool also rounds planned retry batches up and only counts whole batches that fit on a printer before the deadline.
How are downtime and failures different?
Usable capacity reduces the printing hours available for interruptions and downtime. Failed batches add repeat work. Do not reserve the same expected loss twice if your own utilization figure already includes failed prints.
Why can adding printers still leave an impossible deadline?
Each individual batch must fit in the available time. More printers can run batches in parallel, but cannot shorten a single batch. Allow more time or shorten the batch if no complete batch fits.
Does the estimate include shipping and finishing?
No. Reserve time for inspection, post-processing, packing and delivery before entering your available production days. Include changeovers in the batch duration.
Can I mix different printer models?
This version assumes matching machines and workloads. Estimate separate groups when their batch sizes or speeds differ; do not assume that simply adding group capacities produces an exact shared schedule.