Optimisation of manufacturing processes PDF

Preface

This is an intermediate level textbook dealing with the optimisation of manufacturing processes using the results from statistically designed experiments. It is based on courses that I have taught at the University of Wales Swansea for over 10 years. It also reflects some of the methods that I have found useful whilst acting as a statistical consultant under the award-winning postgraduate partnership with industry run by the Materials Engineering Research Centre at Swansea University.

The book has been designed for final year undergraduate and Masters courses, as well as for researchers and practising technical professionals in engineering and the physical and chemical sciences who are new to the fields of product and process design, process improvement and quality engineering. I have used this book as the basis of an industrial short course on design and analysis of industrial experiments for practising technical professionals. There are a number of examples illustrating all the designs and analytical techniques contained within the book. These examples are drawn from a number of different fields of engineering ranging from the well-established processes in heavy manufacturing right the way through to processes that are at the forefront of modern engineering research.

The book provides a comprehensive introduction to the subjects of planning, implementation and analysis of experiments designed to both improve existing manufacturing process and to create newer and better processes and products. Such process optimisation, that results in the manufacture of products that consistently meet customerrequired specifications, can be achieved in a variety of different ways and this book concentrates on the response surface approach to the problem. As such coverage includes techniques for designing linear and non-linear experiments, for identifying parsimonious models that can be used for predicting product quality and for analysing such models so that the quality required by the customer can be manufactured on a consistent basis

Edited by: Mark Evans