Sales pages quote “up to 50 cycles/min.” Our FS pages list 40–50 cpm; HSS 32–42; LS 25–38. Your real number is cavities × cpm × 60 × uptime. A 24-cavity mold at 28 cpm and 85% uptime is about 34,000 cups/hour — not the brochure peak.
Cups/h = cavities × cycles/min × 60 × uptime. Sivite and other builders use 85–95% utilization on trained lines; new plants should model 80–90% in year one, not 98%.
| Cavities | cpm | Uptime | Cups/h |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 26 | 85% | 23,868 |
| 24 | 28 | 85% | 34,272 |
| 24 | 40 | 85% | 48,960 |
| 32 | 32 | 85% | 52,224 |
Worked example — 20 million cups / month
26 working days × 20 hours → 520 h. 20e6 / 520 ≈ 38,500 cups/h. At 30 cpm and 85% you need 38,500 / (30 × 60 × 0.85) ≈ 25 cavities after you ignore scrap — budget 28+ if scrap is 8%. That often fits FS-7842 (780×420 mm) or FS-7856 (780×560), not automatically FS-8560 (850×600). Then balance sheet kg/h in the turnkey article.
Convert hours to a machine, then to sheet
After you have cups/h, pick forming area from the cavity map — not from the largest FS on the website. Then size sheet at cups + skeleton + 10–15%. A 34,000 cups/h PP line at 5 g and 40% skeleton is about 34,000 × 5 g / 0.60 / 1000 ≈ 283 kg/h of cups and ~470 kg/h of sheet. If that number exceeds the extruder, the cpm you modeled never happens.
Uptime dies if the extruder cannot feed the web. Send the monthly cup target on Get a Quote.
Fault map — what the line is telling you
| Symptom | Likely cause | First check |
|---|---|---|
| Model used 50 cpm × 98% × 30 days | Brochure math, not year-one output | 28–35 cpm, 80–90% uptime, ~26 working days |
| Bought FS-8560 for 20 million/month | Cavity map never done | Often FS-7842 / 7856; largest area ≠ automatic extra cups |
| Hours look fine; line never hits cups/h | Extruder kg/h below cups + skeleton + 10–15% | Convert to sheet: 34k cups × 5 g / 0.60 ≈ 470 kg/h |
| Forgot scrap in the tender | Good cups ≠ shots | Divide by (1 − scrap); 8% scrap needs ~9% more cavities or hours |
| Two idle presses for a 3-month peak | Bought machines instead of a third shift + second mold | Price labor and tooling before a second FS |
RFQ checklist — send this in one email
Fill what you know; blank is better than a guess. Attach it on Get a Quote with photos of resin or flake.
- Monthly good cups (normal month and peak month)
- Working days, hours/day, and shifts you will staff
- Cup mass (g), cavities you hope for, and scrap %
- Resin and skeleton % so we can size sheet kg/h
- Existing former / extruder limits if this is a brownfield
Frequently asked questions
Should I use 50 cpm in the investment model?
Only as a sensitivity case. Use 28–35 cpm on deep PP until the crew is trained.
How do I include scrap?
Divide required good cups by (1 − scrap). 8% scrap means you need ~8.7% more cavities or hours.
Two shifts or three?
Three shifts raise uptime risk (maintenance window). Model the hours you will actually staff.
Does hydraulic capacity use the same formula?
Yes. Plug in 25–38 cpm from the LS pages, not the FS peak.