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Design Principles and Methodologies pp 159–180Cite as

Introduction to the Taguchi Method

Part of the Springer Tracts in Mechanical Engineering book series (STME)

Abstract

We now introduce a further powerful engineering tool: the Robustness concept. It is inextricably linked to the name of Genichi Taguchi, a Japanese engineer. Although his approach is based on what was outlined in the previous chapter on Design of Experiment, it contains strong innovation of those concepts. Significant improvements are proposed for three design phases: system design, parameters design and tolerance design. It is not possible to draw a comprehensive picture of the method here. Only the main concepts are introduced, leaving any more complex treatment of the method to specialized books. This method is a real improvement of the application of statistical methods to design applications. This chapter describes the basic concepts, among which the Quality Loss Function that better than other interpretations clarifies the term, often ambiguous, of quality. In this way, the link between robustness, reliability and design of quality becomes obvious. We tried to give emphasis to ideas more than to technicality, but a limited mathematical formalism is necessary.

Keywords

  • Taguchi Method
  • Quality Loss Function
  • Robustness Concept
  • Taguchi Array
  • Noise Factor

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Fig. 7.1
Fig. 7.2
Fig. 7.3

Modified from [4]

Fig. 7.4

Modified from [4]

Fig. 7.5
Fig. 7.6
Fig. 7.7
Fig. 7.8

Notes

  1. 1.

    Obviously, tighter tolerances require additional costs, which in Japanese philosophy are precisely relegated to the role of extreme necessity and should be avoided whenever this is possible. Tolerance is to be understood in the general sense: even the introduction of more valuable materials, more expensive machines and equipment must be interpreted as a tolerance reduction [15].

  2. 2.

    \(\sum _{i=1}^n {x_{ik} \cdot x_{il}=0}\).

  3. 3.

    The last one when all interactions are assumed to be zero.

  4. 4.

    Factors can be arbitrarily assigned to columns, (remember that, without confusion, factors are indicated with the same letters as the effects).

  5. 5.

    In the Table, again, letters are used to represent factors and effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Alessandro Freddi

  2. Bologna, Italy

    Mario Salmon

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  1. Alessandro Freddi
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  2. Mario Salmon
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Correspondence to Alessandro Freddi .

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Freddi, A., Salmon, M. (2019). Introduction to the Taguchi Method. In: Design Principles and Methodologies. Springer Tracts in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95342-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95342-7_7

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