Optimization plot

A Minitab Response Optimizer tool that shows how different experimental settings affect the predicted responses for factorial, response surface, and mixture designs.

Minitab calculates an optimal solution and draws the plot. The optimal solution serves as the starting point for the plot — you can modify the settings interactively to see how different setting affect responses. For factorial and response surface designs, you can adjust the factor levels. For mixture designs, you can adjust component, process variable, and amount variable settings. You might want to change these input variable settings on the optimization plot for many reasons, including:

·    To search for input variable settings with a higher composite (user-defined) desirability

·    To search for lower-cost input variable settings with near optimal properties

·    To explore the sensitivity of response variables to changes in the design variables

·    To "calculate" the predicted responses for an input variable setting of interest

·    To explore input variable settings in the neighborhood of a local solution

For example, your company injection-molds a plastic part that must reach certain levels of both strength and flexibility. You would like to find the temperatures and pressures that will give the plastic the maximum strength and flexibility.