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| In this
issue: |
Issue
6, August 2001 |
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Reliability HotWire
is a service of ReliaSoft
Corporation
To subscribe or update your e-mail preferences, go to http://weibull.com/hotwire/index.htm
To remove yourself from this e-mail list: Send an e-mail with the word "REMOVE" in the
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| Hot Topics |
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Reliability
Allocation and Optimization
During the process of developing a new product, the engineer is often faced
with the task of designing a system that conforms to a set of reliability
specifications. The engineer is given the goal for the system and must
then develop a design that will achieve the desired reliability of the
system while performing all of the system's intended functions at a
minimum cost. This involves a "balancing act" of determining how to
allocate reliability to the components in the system so the system will
meet its reliability goal while at the same time insuring that the system
meets all of the other associated performance specifications.
In this
article, we will look at how a cost function can be defined that will allow for
the optimization of reliability within a system design.
To
read more, see http://weibull.com/hotwire/issue6/hottopics6.htm
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| Reliability
Basics |
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| The
purpose of this section is to offer background and advice to the novice
reliability engineer.
Sources of Reliability and Life Data
Part 2 - Field Data
While reliability testing is vital to the implementation of a
reliability program, it is not the sole source of product reliability
performance data. Indeed, the data received from the field is the
"true" measure of product performance, and is directly linked to
the financial aspects of a product. In fact, a great deal of field data
may be more finance-related than reliability-related. However, given the
importance of the link between reliability and income, it is important to
insure that adequate reliability information can be gleaned from field
performance data. In many cases, it is not too difficult to adapt current
field data collection programs to include information that is directly
applicable to reliability reporting.
To read more, see http://weibull.com/hotwire/issue6/relbasics6.htm
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| Tool
Tips |
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The
Tool Tips section addresses helpful hints and frequently asked questions
about ReliaSoft software products.
To read more, see http://weibull.com/hotwire/issue6/tooltips.htm
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| Hot
News |
|
 Announcing
the Release of ALTA 6 and ALTA 6 PRO
- After
years in development and with great anticipation from the
quantitative accelerated life testing community, ALTA 6 PRO is now
available. For the first time ever, a software tool for
accelerated life data analyses with time-varying stresses is now
available. This product testing strategy, if applied correctly, will significantly
reduce time-to-market, development costs and warranty expenses. For more information,
see http://ALTA.ReliaSoft.com.
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Upcoming
Seminar in Tucson, October 15 -19
- An upcoming ReliaSoft
"Master the Subject, Master the Tools" seminar will be
held in Tucson, Arizona from October 15 - 19, 2001. Topics for this five-day seminar include life data
analysis, accelerated life testing, and system reliability,
maintainability and availability. For more information on
course content and how to register, see http://Seminars.ReliaSoft.com/101501.htm.
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Weibull++
MT: Reliability analysis package specifically for manufacturing and
process engineers - ReliaSoft
has been working closely with the American Institute of Quality,
Ford Motor Company and representatives of the machine tool supplier community to
develop an industry-specific version of Weibull++. In
July, ReliaSoft released Weibull++ MT, a life data
analysis package specifically geared for those involved in plant
maintenance or process reliability. In addition to all of the great
functionality found in Weibull++, Weibull++ MT has special input and
tracking methods for data specific to those interested in the reliability
of manufacturing and production processes. For more information,
see http://Weibull.ReliaSoft.com/mt. |
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Advanced
accelerated testing analysis training available with "QALT Boot
Camp" -
ReliaSoft will begin offering an intensive three-day course on
advanced topics, concepts and applications of quantitative
accelerated life testing (QALT) with its "QALT Boot
Camp." This seminar covers advanced
topics in accelerated test data analysis such as time-varying stress
and multiple stress testing. The next QALT Boot Camp will be held in
Tucson, AZ November 14 -16, 2001. For more information on
course content and how to register, see http://Seminars.ReliaSoft.com/qalt.htm. |
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| From
the Edge |
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Every
quarter, ReliaSoft publishes Reliability Edge, a printed journal
that includes articles and information related to the field of
reliability engineering. Articles of interest in the current edition:
- Cumulative Binomial for Test Design and Analysis -
Reliability engineers are often called upon to design demonstration
tests in which few or no failures are anticipated. However, in order
to design a truly effective demonstration test, a certain amount of
knowledge about the characteristics of the product are needed and this information is not always available.
Fortunately, the cumulative binomial distribution can be used to
help reliability engineers design tests and analyze results without
a great deal of prior knowledge concerning the failure distribution
of the product. See
http://www.ReliaSoft.com/newsletter/2q2001/cumulative_binomial.htm.
- General Log-Linear Model for Accelerated Life Data Analysis
- Decreasing development cycle times have increased the popularity
of accelerated life testing for obtaining life data. However, many
models limit the practitioner to the use of one or two stresses. The
general log-linear model (now available in ALTA
6 PRO) allows a much
greater degree of flexibility than many other models, allowing the
user to incorporate multiple and non-quantitative stress inputs,
that will allow for more powerful analysis of accelerated life data.
See http://www.ReliaSoft.com/newsletter/2q2001/general_loglinear.htm.
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Put
Yourself on the Hot Seat
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Success Stories
Wanted
Periodically, the Reliability HotWire runs a feature called
"On the Hot Seat," where reliability professionals share their
experiences with ReliaSoft tools and how they have helped solve problems
during their day-to-day job assignments. We are always on the lookout for
more success stories from those reliability professionals willing to put
themselves "on the hot seat." If you are interested, please contact
Crawford Smith by
e-mail at Crawford.Smith@ReliaSoft.com,
or by standard mail at 1450 S. Eastside Loop, Tucson, AZ 85710-6703, USA.
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Copyright © 2001 ReliaSoft
Corporation, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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