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Arrow Molded Plastics, a division of LDM Industries Inc., found that, although the design of experiments (DOE) method improved the quality of its injection-molding process, the method had its limitations and downfalls. As a result, the Circleville, OH, company began looking for another way to optimize its manufacturing. "DOE required that we interrupt production on the machine involved in the experiment for a lengthy period. A typical experiment involves a matrix with 12 different setups, each of which required changing seven different parameters. It could easily take several days to run this experiment to conclusion," said Bob Roberts, systems analyst.
Time was a primary concern because it meant that production schedules needed to be revised to accommodate an experiment, an experiment that often yielded a great deal of scrap. "Some experiments even produced parts with holes. In addition, because of time pressure, we would be forced to stop experimenting as soon as we...