Various industries require objective quality monitoring systems to ensure the quality of manufacturing processes, the quality of resultant products, or both.  Signature analysis is a well established quality assurance technique to ensure the process is consistent and repeatable.  The signature, such as a force vs. time curve, is unique to each manufacturing process.  A reliably consistent process results in a signature that is uniform and stable cycle after cycle.  Variance in the process creates changes in the signature that can be identified by analysis; changes that can reflect quality problems with the part being produced.

The newly patented CDA provides improved process quality determination that does not suffer from the inherent drawbacks of other common signature analysis methods, such as peak, area and envelope.  CDA determines both the negative deviation and positive deviation for a signature, or a critical portion of it, to determine whether the signature is within an acceptable range, allowing OES process monitoring systems to more accurately determine the stability of a process cycle.   

“CDA is at the core of our full line of process variation monitors” reports Jean-Paul Grice, Product Manager and co-inventor.  “With it, OES monitoring systems provide a distinct advantage for manufacturers focused on continuous process improvement and reliable quality assurance.”