Frames per stop is a term used in the bowling industry by technicians, manufacturers, and others involved in this recreation industry. The term refers to how many frames, on average, a group of pinsetters is able to operate without a stop, which is a malfunction or other condition which requires human assistance to fix the machine.
The goal for a center is to maximize this value. A higher frames per stop leads to less work required for the pin chasers and mechanics as well as more satisfied customers who are not waiting for repairs.
A typical goal value for frames per stop is 1500 (150 lines) while well maintained pinsetters can run 2000 or more frames per stop. The newer Brunswick and Qubica/AMF pinsetters have been known to achieve over 7000 frames per stop. The busiest bowling centers can easily fit 100 lines (1000 frames) per day per lane.
Preventative maintenance can easily increase this value.
It is trickier to determine frames per stop on string pinsetters (used in five pin and rubberband duckpin) as some mechanics will consider a string entanglement as a stop. String entanglement is very unpredictable and is often a function of the bowling skill level of those currently bowling. Entanglement usually happens more frequently during league than during public bowling. However entanglement usually does not lead to other mechanical problems with a well-maintained machine. For this reason, most mechanics working on string pinsetters will not count routine entanglement calls as pinsetter stops. Well maintained string pinsetters can achieve in excess of 6000 or more frames per stop excluding entanglement calls.