4.

2 Data Evaluation
4.2.1 Study of Temporal Stability
On the basis of the single value chart, a qualitative evaluation is now performed to determine
whether the measured values are stable over time.

Are systematic variations visible in the time-series?

Are the individual values concentrated in the vicinity of the set target value?
Do all individual values lie within a zone corresponding to approximately 60% of the
tolerance range?

The following are specific signs that a process is not stable:

There are single, inexplicable outliers

There are inexplicable steps or a trend
Most of the individual values are above or below the target value
If the characteristic is limited to two sides:
Most of the individual values are close to both limit values.

If the series appears “chaotic” and is not plausible, the cause(s) for this behavior must be
investigated and eliminated. The capability study then must be repeated.

4.2.2 Standard Procedure

The standard procedure for evaluationg capability, described below, should be used to calculate
the machine capability indices. However, this method can only be used if a distribution model
has already been determined. This method can only be used with special statistics software - in
some cases, the best fitting distribution model is automatically selected. Otherwise, an
evaluation based on the manual calculation procedure can be used (Section 4.2.3).

Study of the Statistical Distribution

Knowledge of the production procedure and the type of tolerance often aid in selecting a
theoretical distribution which is appropriate for describing the empirical distribution. For
example, if there is an equal probability of a characteristic's values deviating upwards and
downwards from the nominal value (positive or negative deviation), one can expect the
characteristic to be approximately normally distributed. However, this is not always the case.

In contrast, characteristics which are “naturally” limited on one side typically are represented by
skewed, asymmetrical distributions. For example, concentricity and roughness are non-negative
by definition. In such a case, zero acts as a natural lower limit.

If a characteristic has two natural limits (a lower value, below which the characteristic can not
fall, and an upper value, above which the characteristic can not rise), the characteristic can be
approximated by a rectangular distribution.

It must be emphasized that a process characteristic may or may not behave in accordance with
these rules. In some cases, major deviations may be observed (for more information, see Section
5.2.2).

If a statistical software program is used, the user is faced with the problem of selecting an
appropriate distribution, i.e., one that represents the random sample on hand.

-9-