Cylinder Volume Calculator - PhotoPottery

Cylinder Volume Calculator FYIs...

To calculate, enter the height of the cylinder, measured from top to bottom; And, the cylinder's radius, which is half of the diameter.

If the shape you are calculating is a truncated cone - such as a cup or planter - use the Conical Frustum Volume Calculator.

Cylinder Surface area Calculation

Surface area is calculated by adding up all external sides of the cylinder.

You can use the surface area as a starting point for determining approximately how much glaze your piece might use. For example, if you've made a cylindrical vessel that is open on the top, and are glazing the entire piece except the exterior bottom that sits on the kiln shelf, you could double the surface area (assuming you are glazing inside as well) and subtract out the bottom once, and the top twice since it has none.

The formula to calculate surface area of a cylinder is:

Area = 2*π*r2 + 2*π*r*h

where r is the radius, h is height, and π (pi) is approximately 3.14.

Cylinder Volume Calculation

Volume is how much liquid the piece can hold. For example, if it's a pottery mug or cup, it's the amount of coffee, tea, or other liquid it can hold. The formula to calcuate the volume of a cylinder is:

Volume = πr2h

where r is the radius, and h is the height, and π (pi) is approximately 3.14

The result of calculating the cylinder's volume is in cubic inches (or centimeters). Using the volume, the liquid capacity of the cylinder is calculated in several common metrics (cups, ounces, milliliters, etc.)

Note that the liquid capacity will be slightly larger than it can actually hold unless you measure from the inside walls of the cylinder; Otherwise, the wall's thickness is included in the calculation.