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5.1.2. What Are The Uses of DOE
5.1.2. What Are The Uses of DOE
5. Process Improvement
5.1. Introduction
Below are seven examples illustrating situations in which experimental design can be
used effectively:
Choosing Between Alternatives
Selecting the Key Factors Affecting a Response
Response Surface Modeling to:
Hit a Target
Reduce Variability
Maximize or Minimize a Response
Make a Process Robust (i.e., the process gets the "right" results even
though there are uncontrollable "noise" factors)
Seek Multiple Goals
Regression Modeling
Choosing Between Alternatives (Comparative Experiment)
A common
use is
planning an
experiment
to gather
data to make
a decision
between two
or more
alternatives
Supplier A vs. supplier B? Which new additive is the most effective? Is catalyst `x' an
improvement over the existing catalyst? These and countless other choices between
alternatives can be presented to us in a never-ending parade. Often we have the
choice made for us by outside factors over which we have no control. But in many
cases we are also asked to make the choice. It helps if one has valid data to back up
one's decision.
Types of
comparitive
studies
Sometimes this comparison is performed under one common set of conditions. This
is a comparative study with a narrow scope - which is suitable for some initial
comparisons of possible alternatives. Other comparison studies, intended to validate
that one alternative is perferred over a wide range of conditions, will purposely and
systematically vary the background conditions under which the primary comparison
is made in order to reach a conclusion that will be proven valid over a broad scope.
We discuss experimental designs for each of these types of comparisons in Sections
5.3.3.1 and 5.3.3.2.
Often there are many possible factors, some of which may be critical and others
which may have little or no effect on a response. It may be desirable, as a goal by
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matter from
the many
possible
factors
itself, to reduce the number of factors to a relatively small set (2-5) so that attention
can be focussed on controlling those factors with appropriate specifications, control
charts, etc.
Screening experiments are an efficient way, with a minimal number of runs, of
determining the important factors. They may also be used as a first step when the
ultimate goal is to model a response with a response surface. We will discuss
experimental designs for screening a large number of factors in Sections 5.3.3.3,
5.3.3.4 and 5.3.3.5.
Response Surface Modeling a Process
Some
reasons to
model a
process
Once one knows the primary variables (factors) that affect the responses of interest, a
number of additional objectives may be pursued. These include:
Hitting a Target
Maximizing or Minimizing a Response
Reducing Variation
Making a Process Robust
Seeking Multiple Goals
What each of these purposes have in common is that experimentation is used to fit a
model that may permit a rough, local approximation to the actual surface. Given that
the particular objective can be met with such an approximate model, the experimental
effort is kept to a minimum while still achieving the immediate goal.
These response surface modeling objectives will now be briefly expanded upon.
Hitting a Target
Often we
want to "fine
tune" a
process to
consistently
hit a target
Optimizing a
process
output is a
Many processes are being run at sub-optimal settings, some of them for years, even
though each factor has been optimized individually over time. Finding settings that
increase yield or decrease the amount of scrap and rework represent opportunities for
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common
goal
substantial financial gain. Often, however, one must experiment with multiple inputs
to achieve a better output. Section 5.3.3.6 on second-order designs plus material in
Section 5.5.3 will be useful for these applications.
Graph of
data before
variation
reduced
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It might be possible to reduce the variation by altering the setpoints (recipe) of the
process, so that it runs in a more `stable' region.
Graph of
data after
process
variation
reduced
Finding this new recipe could be the subject of an experiment, especially if there are
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An item designed and made under controlled conditions will be later `field tested' in
the hands of the customer and may prove susceptible to failure modes not seen in the
lab or thought of by design. An example would be the starter motor of an automobile
that is required to operate under extremes of external temperature. A starter that
performs under such a wide range is termed `robust' to temperature.
Designing an item so that it is robust calls for a special experimental effort. It is
possible to stress the item in the design lab and so determine the critical components
affecting its performance. A different gauge of armature wire might be a solution to
the starter motor, but so might be many other alternatives. The correct combination of
factors can be found only by experimentation.
Seeking Multiple Goals
Sometimes
we have
multiple
outputs and
we have to
compromise
to achieve
desirable
outcomes DOE can
help here
A product or process seldom has just one desirable output characteristic. There are
usually several, and they are often interrelated so that improving one will cause a
deterioration of another. For example: rate vs. consistency; strength vs. expense; etc.
Any product is a trade-off between these various desirable final characteristics.
Understanding the boundaries of the trade-off allows one to make the correct choices.
This is done by either constructing some weighted objective function (`desirability
function') and optimizing it, or examining contour plots of responses generated by a
computer program, as given below.
Sample
contour plot
of deposition
rate and
capability
FIGURE 1.4 Overlaid contour plot of Deposition Rate and Capability (Cp)
Regression Modeling
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Regression
models
(Chapter 4)
are used to
fit more
precise
models
Sometimes we require more than a rough approximating model over a local region.
In such cases, the standard designs presented in this chapter for estimating first- or
second-order polynomial models may not suffice. Chapter 4 covers the topic of
experimental design and analysis for fitting general models for a single explanatory
factor. If one has multiple factors, and either a nonlinear model or some other special
model, the computer-aided designs of Section 5.5.2 may be useful.
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