Insights · · 6 min read
Line Capacity & ROI Calculation
Calculate line capacity and return on investment from your own numbers: batch size, batches per day, yield, selling price and running cost — with worked examples from the QS-VF and QS-FD lines.
By the process engineering team at Supreme Beast Intelligent Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Key takeaways
- Capacity is batch size times batches per day, or flow times effective hours — and the batch count or the effective hours are your schedule, not a machine figure.
- Yield is the number that turns raw material into saleable product: the QS-VF150 gives 30–50 kg of finished snacks from 150 kg of raw material per batch.
- Return on investment is your annual operating margin divided by the total investment, and every input must be your own price and cost — never a figure from a brochure.
How do you calculate line capacity and ROI?
Capacity first: for a batch line, daily output is batch size times the batches your schedule runs; for a continuous line, it is hourly flow times effective production hours after cleaning. ROI second: annual operating margin — finished output times margin per kilogram, minus running cost — divided by the total investment, all in your own prices.
This guide works both calculations with verified figures from our own catalogue and leaves every price to you, because a return calculated on someone else's selling price is not your return.
Which three numbers decide capacity?
Batch size or flow, batches or hours, and yield. Get all three from the product, not from a catalogue headline.
Batch size or flow is the machine figure. A QS-VF150 takes 150 kg of raw material per batch, a QS-FD-100 about 1 tonne per batch, and a complete milk line is listed at 1–10 T/H.
Batches or hours is your schedule. A line running four batches a day makes half the output of the same line running eight — same machine, different business. State the schedule whenever you compare two lines.
Yield turns raw material into saleable product. The QS-VF150 gives 30–50 kg of finished snacks from 150 kg of raw material per batch — the finished weight depends on the product and its water content. Yield is measured from your product in a trial, not assumed from another product.
Worked example: a vacuum-fried snack line
One QS-VF150, raw material 150 kg per batch, finished product 30–50 kg per batch. The table below shows finished output per day for different batch counts — an illustration, because the batch count is your schedule.
| Batches per day | Raw material per day | Finished product per day |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 300 kg | 60–100 kg |
| 4 | 600 kg | 120–200 kg |
| 6 | 900 kg | 180–300 kg |
| 8 | 1,200 kg | 240–400 kg |
Read the table from right to left when you plan: start from the finished kilograms you need to sell per day, divide by the 30–50 kg per batch for your product, and that is the batches the day must run. If the batches do not fit the shift, add a fryer or a shift — not a bigger claim about the machine.
The same logic scales supply: 8 batches a day needs 1,200 kg of prepared raw material a day, graded and cut to an even size. A line starved of raw material produces nothing, however large the fryer.
Worked example: a freeze-dried food line
One QS-FD-100, about 1 tonne of fresh product per batch, 432 trays, 103.68 m² of tray area. Weekly output is batches per week times about 1 tonne — and the batch count is again your schedule.
| Batches per week | Fresh product per week | Trays per batch |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | about 2 t | 432 |
| 3 | about 3 t | 432 |
| 5 | about 5 t | 432 |
Two inputs change the money here. First, the equipment price is verified: the QS-FD-100 is USD 238,645 standard and USD 328,135 high-specification. Second, power: listed power is 135 kW and actual draw runs at about 60% of it, so build the electricity line from that draw and your local tariff.
Drying time per batch varies by product, so never let a comparison rest on a fixed time per batch quoted for a different product. Compare dryers on tray area, tray count and the batch size your product gives on those trays.
How do you calculate ROI without inventing numbers?
ROI is annual operating margin divided by total investment. Annual operating margin is finished output per year times margin per kilogram, minus the running cost for the year. Margin per kilogram is your selling price per kilogram minus your cost per kilogram — raw material, power, labour, packaging and oil or other consumables, all from your own books.
Build the sheet in this order: output in finished kilograms per year; margin per kilogram from your selling price and cost sheet; running cost not already in the per-kilogram cost; and total investment — equipment, freight, installation, commissioning, spares and working capital.
Three mistakes spoil most ROI sheets: sizing to nameplate flow instead of effective hours after cleaning; forgetting yield and pricing raw material as if all of it became saleable product; and comparing a batch line with a continuous line on nameplate figures alone. Fix those three and the sheet tells the truth, including when the volume is not there yet.
Our commercial terms are fixed and belong in the investment line: lead time about 3 months from order, FOB Shanghai port, payment 50% deposit and 50% before shipment, and a 12-month warranty. No return figure in our material replaces your own sheet.
Frequently asked questions
What is the capacity of the QS-VF150 in kilograms per day?
The fryer takes 150 kg of raw material per batch and gives 30–50 kg of finished product per batch. Kilograms per day is batches per day times that figure — 4 batches gives 120–200 kg of finished snacks.
Which QS-FD dryer should I cost first?
Cost the size your batch needs: about 200 kg per batch is the QS-FD-20, about 1 tonne is the QS-FD-100, about 2 tonnes is the QS-FD-200. The QS-FD-100 is the only model with a verified published price in this guide.
Why is there no fixed return figure in this guide?
Because the return is set by your selling price, your raw material cost and your schedule, and none of those are ours to state. The formula and the verified machine figures are here; the prices must be yours.
What does the 60% power figure mean for my electricity cost?
The QS-FD dryers draw about 60% of their listed power in actual running. Multiply that draw by your hours and your local tariff to get the electricity line — the tariff is the part only you know.