Materials Engineering 14

Taguchi Technique II

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S/N ratio)

defined as mean divided by the standard deviation

a response variable that takes both the mean and the variation into consideration

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (S/N ratio)

made up of the mean level and the variation around this mean helps find a setting of the control factors that give the best mean level while keeping variation under control

Defining Terms
Control Factor
significantly influences the process variability

Signal Factor
influences the process mean, but does not largely affect the variability used to adjust the centering of the process mean

S/N Formulas
Smaller the Better

1 2 S / N 10 log ( yi ) n

S/N Formulas
Larger the Better

1 1 S / N 10 log ( 2 ) n yi

S/N Formulas
Nominal is Best

1 ( S m Ve ) n S / N 10 log Ve
where:

1 S m ( yi ) 2 n 1 2 Ve ( yi S m ) n 1

Example
A manufacturer of resistors wants to improve yield on substrate chips, many of which have been rejected for thickness problems (tolerance 204). They decided to run an experimental design on the following factors:
Factor Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

A
B C

Ceramic Material
Machine Pressure Mixing Time

Paraffin
300 60

Paste
375 90

Mixture
450 120

Temperature

275

350

425

Result
L9(34) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 B 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 C 1 2 3 2 3 1 3 1 2 D 1 2 3 3 1 2 2 3 1 27 16 19 23 25 19 29 15 16 Thickness 31 18 14 20 24 18 25 19 17 28 20 21 25 26 20 27 18 18 Totals 86 54 54 68 75 57 81 52 51

Response Table (Totals) Factor

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

A
194 200 184

B
235 181 162

C
195 173 210

D
212 192 174

Total

578

578

578

578

Solution
(27 16 ... 18) 2 CF 12,373.5 27 SStotal (27 2 16 2 ... 182 ) 12,373.5 568.5 SS factor ( A1 ) 2 n n n 194 2 200 2 1842 SS A CF 14.5 9 9 9 SSerror SStotal SS A SS B SSC SS D 78.1 ( A2 ) 2 ( A3 ) 2 CF

Solution
Source of variation dof SS MS f SS P(%)

A B
C D error

2 2
2 2 18

14.5 318.72
76.94 80.28 78.06

7.25 159.36
38.47 40.14 4.34

1.67 36.72
8.86 9.25

5.82 310.04
68.26 71.16 112.86

1 55
12 13 20

Total

26

568.5
Reponse Table, Averages

target thickness values nearest 20

Factor Level 1

A 21.6

B 26.1

C 21.7

D 23.6

Level 2
Level 3

22.2
20.4 A3

20.1
18 B2

19.2
23.3 C2

21.3
19.3 D3

Optimum Settings

Solution
Compute for the corresponding S/N Ratios
Nominal is Best (as required by the problem)
1 ( S m Ve ) S / N 10 log n Ve
1 S m ( yi ) 2 n 1 2 Ve ( yi S m ) n 1
1 (2,465.33 4.34) S / N 10 log 3 22.76 4.34
1 S m (27 31 28) 2 2,465.33 3 1 Ve [(27 2 312 282 ) 2,465.33] 4.34 2

Solution
L9(34)
1 2 3 A 1 1 1 B 1 2 3 C 1 2 3 D 1 2 3 S/N Ratio 22.8 19.1 13.9

4
5 6 7 8 9

2
2 2 3 3 3

1
2 3 1 2 3

2
3 1 3 1 2

3
1 2 2 3 1

19.1
28.0 25.6 22.6 18.4 24.6

Response Table (S/N Totals)

choose highest S/N ratio

Factor Level 1
Level 2 Level 3 Total Original Settings Revised Settings

A 55.8
72.7 65.6 194.1 A3 A2

B 64.5
65.5 64.1 194.1 B2 B2

C 66.8
62.8 64.5 194.1 C2 C1

D 75.4
67.3 51.4 194.1 D3 D1

Solution
Source of Variation
A B C SS 48.0 0.3 2.7 dof 2 (2) (2) MS 24.0 f 30.0 SS 46.4 P(%) 30.9

D
error Total

99.4
3.0 150.4

2
4 8

49.7
0.8

62.1

97.8
6.2

65
4.1 100

Therefore, choosing the correct settings for the ceramic material and the heat treat temperature will reduce the variation in the thickness of the substrate chips. Machine pressure and mixing time will be adjusted to move the process mean to the target value.

Summary of Steps for Analysis

Identify control factors Determine optimum levels for control factors Identify signal factors using raw data ANOVA

Determine optimum levels for signal factors Perform confirmation run Control critical control and signal factors

Additional Notes
The first ANOVA table is used to determine the signal factors while the second ANOVA table is used to identify the control factors.

Factor settings that will be considered in the process line would depend on the revised setting, and the signal factors may be adjusted to produce results close to the desired value.

Exercise
A manufacturer of rubber hosing wants to increase the strength of his product. He determines four factors that could influence his process. He sets them at the following levels:
Factor A Machine Temperature Level 1 300 Level 2 350 Level 3 400

B
C D

Reaction Time
Agitation Speed Silicon Excess Rate

5
100 10

10
150 20

15
200 30

Exercise (Results)
L9(34) A B C D Burst Strength

1
2 3 4 5 6 7

1
1 1 2 2 2 3

1
2 3 1 2 3 1

1
2 3 2 3 1 3

1
2 3 3 1 2 2

15
22 5 40 16 17 8

19
26 7 38 17 20 11

8
9

3
3

2
3

1
2

3
1

30
28

25
29