Before adding capacity, determine whether the need comes from demand, a specific capability gap, avoidable lost time, queue policy, or a constraint outside machining.
What Work Cannot Be Completed Today?
List the part families, operations, materials, sizes, tolerances, or due-date demands the current system cannot support reliably. This separates a capability gap from a scheduling or utilization concern.
Where Is Available Time Being Lost?
Review setups, missing work, downtime, inspection, tooling, material, programming, staffing, and routing. The goal is not to prove that new equipment is unnecessary; it is to understand the problem the investment must solve.
What Changes If Demand Shifts?
Capacity decisions should consider product mix and routing, not one average utilization figure. Ask which machine or process becomes limiting when a different family or volume enters the schedule.