SEDL / STP / STP1320-EB / STP12276S

Determination of the Optimum Settings of a Fibrous Loose-Fill Blowing Machine Using Design of Experiments

Rushforth, RJ
Senior Quality Assurance Engineer, ASQC Certified Quality Engineer, Schuller International, Inc., Denver, CO

Pages: 8    Published: Jan 1997

Download this paper for $25 PDF (84K)          View License Agreement
Abstract

One of the problems facing the user of a blowing machine for loose fill material is the determination of the proper settings to achieve the desired blow times and installed density (coverage). Although these settings are stated on the bag label, not all of the available blowing machines are included. A simple method, using the design of experiments technique, can be used to determine the proper settings. As an illustration of this technique, a nine run designed experiment is used to determine the optimum settings of a blowing machine for a mineral fiber loose-fill material. The process parameters used are gate opening and motor rpm. Of these, only gate opening is statistically significant. There is a tradeoff between blow time and installed density. This technique enables the user to determine the gate opening to use to obtain the desired combination of blow time and installed density.