Cycle Time Calculator
Determine the full injection molding cycle time broken down by phase: injection, holding, cooling, and mold movements. The calculator estimates production efficiency — parts per hour and per shift. Cycle time is the key parameter of production economics.
Input Parameters
Results
Fill in the data and click Calculate
ARGUS automatically optimizes cycle time based on the full process context
Cycle time is the sum of many components — ARGUS optimizes each of them jointly, accounting for part quality, efficiency, and costs.
How do we calculate injection molding cycle time?
Injection molding cycle time is the sum of all process phase times: injection, packing/holding, cooling, and mold movements (mold open/close, ejection). It is the key parameter of production economics — a shorter cycle means higher output and lower unit cost. Cooling time typically accounts for 50–80% of the total cycle time.
The calculator determines cycle time broken down by phase based on wall thickness and thermal parameters.
tinj — injection time [s] (1–5 s)
tpack — holding time [s] (5–15 s)
tcool — cooling time [s] (depends on wall thickness)
tmold — mold movements [s] (2–8 s)
Cooling time dominates the cycle and increases proportionally to the square of wall thickness. Reducing wall thickness from 3 mm to 2.5 mm can shorten cooling time by 30%, directly increasing production output. Injection time depends on shot volume and injection speed; holding time depends on wall thickness and gate freeze-off.
Cycle time optimization
Strategies for reducing cycle time, in order of greatest impact:
Optimize cooling — conformal channels, higher turbulence
Lower mold temperature — shorter cooling, but lower quality
Faster mold movements — faster close/open/ejection
Optimize holding phase — shorten after gate freeze-off
Production output (parts/hour) = 3600 / tcycle × ncavities. For a 4-cavity mold with a 20 s cycle, output is 720 pcs/h. Reducing the cycle by 10% (from 20 to 18 s) increases output by 11% — from 720 to 800 pcs/h.
Cycle time monitoring
In series production, cycle time monitoring enables early detection of process problems: a lengthening cycle signals changes in cooling, material, or parameters. ARGUS monitors cycle time in real time and alerts on deviations from the reference value.
ARGUS automatically optimizes cycle time and monitors efficiency in real time
See for yourself — book a presentation and see how ARGUS optimizes the production cycle.