Empirical Procedure for Modeling the Variation Transmission in a Manufacturing Process

ABSTRACT

This article describes a method for obtaining a variation transmission model in a manufacturing process. The method uses regression analysis to obtain models that relate quality characteristics to process variables, statistical process control techniques to estimate the variance of the variables, and analysis of variance to estimate the variance components from the observed data. This method can be applied in situations where the process is not always under control and in cases where not all the process variables can be measured directly. The model also includes the measurement errors both of the quality characteristic and of the process variables.

Although the method can be applied generally, industrial tests have been conducted to confirm its suitability for a process of manufacturing ceramic tiles. Findings suggest that the method may be appropriate for guiding improvements to the process, although further research would be needed for a more rigorous validation of the procedure.

KEYWORDS:

• manufacturing process
• quality control
• statistical modeling
• statistical process control
• variance components
• variation transmission