What can Design of Experiments (DoE), the smart design of experiments, mean for you? In this interview, expert and Avans+ lecturer Erwin Gijzen explains.
YOU SEE DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS AS AN IMPORTANT TOOL FOR PROCESS INNOVATION. WHY?
Modern production processes are often complex and that is a major stumbling block for process innovation. The end product must meet a large number of quality requirements. If it does not meet these, it can be adjusted via one of the often dozens of process parameters. But these parameters in turn influence each other and other quality requirements. That makes process innovation complex. DoE(Design of Experiments) can then provide more insight. This way, the final product will meet all quality requirements within a short period of time.
CUSTOMERS OFTEN THINK THAT DESIGN OR EXPERIMENTS IS ONLY USEFUL FOR COMPLEX PROCESSES WITH MANY VARIABLES. HOW IS THIS?
Even for optimizing simple production processes with 2 to 3 variables, DoE is often a useful approach. After all, these end products also have to deal with multiple quality requirements and interaction between the variables. DoE is almost always faster in that case too and delivers processes that perform better than expected.
DO YOU HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF A SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION OF DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS?
A classic example that I once carried out myself, was about the development of a certain type of plastic. It consisted of about 10 components, polymers and additives. The product had been on the market for over 20 years, but could not meet the highest requirements in the field of fire retardancy. I then applied the DoE techniques and what turned out: it was possible. And even with only the existing components, but then in an unexpected ratio that had never been tried before. The end product met all the requirements, including the best fire retardancy class, and was also cheaper per kilo. And this is just one of the many good results of DoE.
FOR WHOM CAN DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS BE A USEFUL COURSE?
The Design of Experiments (DoE) training in practice has 3 target groups. Of course, people who work in an (applied) R&D or innovation department. They often develop new products and processes. In addition, the training is useful for engineers who want to improve current production processes. Thanks to DoE, they discover where the more difficult problems come from. Furthermore, the training can be valuable for people who have to validate equipment, methods or processes, for example in a laboratory. Such a validation is completed much faster thanks to DoE. This tool for process innovation has now proven its usefulness and value in practice!
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