Engineering Methods for Robust Product Design: Using Taguchi Methods in Technology and Product DevelopmentEngineering process improvement series

"I believe this book will help a great deal to clarify misconceptions about Dr. Genichi Taguchi's approach to robust design, such as why dynamic signal-to-noise ratio is used and the role of orthogonal arrays in parameter design and tolerance design. The authors understand the intent of robust design is to prevent fire instead of becoming better fire fighters!" Ñ Shin Taguchi President, American Supplier Institute With practical techniques, real-life examples, and special software, this hands-on book/disk package teaches practicing engineers and students how to use Taguchi Methods and other robust design techniques that focus on engineering processes in optimizing technology and products for better performance under the imperfect conditions of the real world. The unique WinRobust Lite software included with the book, together with a number of practice problems, enables you to conduct and analyze Taguchi experiments by simplifying the tedious process of performing the many necessary computations. The book contains complete information on the process of engineering robust products that are insensitive to sources of variability in manufacturing and customer use. You will find detailed instructions for planning, designing, conducting, and analyzing the experiments that are used to optimize a product's performance under a variety of "stressed" conditions. An entire section focuses on designing products that achieve additivity, the property that reduces negative interactions. In addition, the book offers a systematic method for optimizing cost, quality, and cycle time. It even discusses the relationship of robust design to such other quality processes as Quality Function Deployment and Six Sigma. Numerous case studies, taken from the authors' extensive practical experience, illustrate how robust design theories and techniques actually work in the real world of product engineering. With the techniques described in this book as well as the WinRobust Lite software, you will be better able to design robust products that are high-quality, durable, and able to perform well in the marketplace.