Create the Quality Characteristics in a Characteristic Group

Quality Characteristics are the attributes of a Part or Process that must be monitored during manufacturing to deliver a high-quality product.

You can create the following types of Quality Characteristics:

Variable

Defines the specific values to be measured, including the nominal values, its tolerance values, and the unit of measure.

Attributive

Defines which attributes are acceptable in the OK Condition field and the ones that are unacceptable in the Not OK Condition field.

Visual

Specifies the images of the defects that can occur or standard specification images.

Procedure

1. From Launcher, click Quality Master Data.

If this option is unavailable, search for it. You can pin it from the search results for future access.

2. In the Quality Master Data location, click the Characteristics Library page.

3. In the left pane, select the Characteristic Group where you want to add Quality Characteristics.

4. Choose More Commands

New Add Characteristic .

5. To create a Variable Quality Characteristic, do the following:

If you have selected a Variable Characteristic Group, specify the following information for the Quality Characteristic:

Field

Description

Naming Convention

Select the naming convention of the Quality Characteristic.

Description

Enter a description for the Quality Characteristic.

Context

Select whether the Quality Characteristic is for a product or a process.

Dimension Type

Select the type of dimension being measured by the Quality Characteristic. You can also enter a custom dimension, such as Density, by typing the custom dimension, and pressing Enter.

Unit Of Measure

Select the unit of measurement to be used for the Quality Characteristic.

Nominal Value

Enter a nominal value of the Quality Characteristic.

Upper Tolerance

Enter an upper tolerance of the Quality Characteristic.

Lower Tolerance

Enter a lower tolerance of the Quality Characteristic.

To assign projects to the Quality Characteristic, do the following:

In the Projects section, click Add Project . Search for and select the required projects or subprojects, and click Assign. To remove a project or subproject, select it, and click Remove Project .

Click Add.

Note If you do not specify a value for Nominal Value, Upper Tolerance, or Lower Tolerance, the Quality Characteristic is created without these values. Additionally, the name of the Quality Characteristic is assigned based on the naming convention. If you edit the Quality Characteristic, and specify values for Nominal Value, Upper Tolerance, or Lower Tolerance, these values are appended to the name of the Quality Characteristic. You can successfully import Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI) even if they do not contain values for Nominal Value, Upper Tolerance, or Lower Tolerance.

After creating the Quality Characteristic, specify its additional properties as follows:

Select the Quality Characteristic you have created, and choose More Commands

Edit > Start Edit. Specify its additional properties as follows:

Field

Description

Limitation

Limitation defines the boundaries or constraints applicable to a specific attribute or feature of a product or process. Select the type of limitation for the Quality Characteristic:

Both Sides: Select this type of limitation to assign a Tolerance Type and the corresponding Upper Tolerance, Lower Tolerance, Upper Specification Limit, and Lower Specification Limit to the Quality Characteristic.

Upper Specification Limit

Maximum acceptable value for a specific quality attribute or measurement of a product or process

Lower Specification Limit

Minimum acceptable value for a specific quality attribute or measurement of a product or process

Upper Tolerance

Maximum allowable deviation from a specified nominal value for a characteristic. It is part of the tolerance range that defines the acceptable limits of variation for a characteristic.

Lower Tolerance

Minimum allowable deviation from a specified nominal value for a characteristic. It is part of the tolerance range that defines the acceptable limits of variation for a characteristic.

Note

When the Tolerance Type is Relative, Upper Specification Limit is calculated as a sum of Nominal Value and Upper Tolerance, and Lower Specification Limit is calculated as a sum of Nominal Value and Lower Tolerance.

When the Tolerance Type is Absolute, Upper Tolerance is calculated as the difference of Upper Specification Limit and Nominal Value, and Lower Tolerance is calculated as the difference of Lower Specification Limit and Nominal Value.

Specify Absolute as the Tolerance Type to enter values for Upper Specification Limit and Lower Specification Limit. When you enter these values, the corresponding values are updated in Upper Tolerance and Lower Tolerance. Specify Relative as the Tolerance Type to enter values for Upper Tolerance and Lower Tolerance. When you enter these values, the corresponding values are updated in Upper Specification Limit and Lower Specification Limit. Both Sides is the default value.

Up: Select this type of limitation to assign a Tolerance Type and the corresponding Lower Tolerance and Lower Specification Limit to the Quality Characteristic. For example, the tensile strength is a one-side Quality Characteristic that has an upper limit and a lower tolerance. Specify Absolute as the Tolerance Type to enter a value for Lower Specification Limit. The corresponding value is updated in Lower Tolerance. Specify Relative as the Tolerance Type to enter a value for Lower Tolerance. The corresponding value is updated in Lower Specification Limit.

Down: Select this type of limitation to assign a Tolerance Type and the corresponding Upper Tolerance and Upper Specification Limit to the Quality Characteristic. Specify Absolute as the Tolerance Type to enter a value for Upper Specification Limit. The corresponding value is updated in Upper Tolerance. Specify Relative as the Tolerance Type to enter a value for Upper Tolerance. The corresponding value is updated in Upper Specification Limit

Zero: Select this type of limitation to assign a Tolerance Type and the corresponding Upper Tolerance and Upper Specification Limit to the Quality Characteristic. Since zero-limited Quality Characteristics have only an Upper Tolerance limit, they are limited to one side only. Specify Absolute as the Tolerance Type to enter a value for Upper Specification Limit. The corresponding value is updated in Upper Tolerance. Specify Relative as the Tolerance Type to enter a value for Upper Tolerance. The corresponding value is updated in Upper Specification Limit

Single Limit Tolerance: Select this type of limitation to assign a Maximum or Minimum tolerance limit to the Quality Characteristic. You can select Maximum or Minimum from the Single Limit list that appears when you select Single Limit Tolerance as the type of limitation. You can also enter a value in the Single Limit list instead of using the default values of Maximum or Minimum. Single Limit Tolerance refers to a tolerance specification that defines the highest or lowest acceptable value for the Quality Characteristic. A measurement that exceeds this limit is considered out of tolerance and unacceptable.

Decimal Places

Specify the number of decimal places displayed in Nominal Value, Upper Tolerance, Lower Tolerance, Upper Specification Limit, Lower Specification Limit, Upper Control Limit, Lower Control Limit, Upper Warning Limit, and Lower Warning Limit of the Quality Characteristic. The values are calculated based on the maximum number of decimal places used in these fields while creating the Quality Characteristic or while importing PMI. If the value in these fields is greater than the maximum number specified in Decimal Places, the value is truncated to the maximum number while creating the Quality Characteristic. Depending on the selected value in Decimal Places, trailing zeros are added or trimmed to the values of these fields. Decimal Places is used to define what is displayed in the user interface, but it does not change the value in the database. Example You have selected 4 as the number of decimal places in Decimal Places while editing the Quality Characteristic.

After you save the Quality Characteristic, the following is displayed in Nominal Value, Upper Tolerance, Lower Tolerance, Upper Specification Limit, and Lower Specification Limit:

Classification

Select the classification that you want to assign to the Quality Characteristic. If you define a Variable Classification for the Quality Characteristic, this field is hidden.

Variable Classification

Select Variable Classification to define a range of continuous values for the classification of the Quality Characteristic. You can define the Upper Tolerance Limit and Lower Tolerance Limit for a type of classification. To add a range of values, do the following:

Select Variable Classification and save the Quality Characteristic. Click Edit to open the Quality Characteristic for updates. In the Variable Classification Definition section, click Add . Specify the Band Number, Upper Tolerance Limit, and Lower Tolerance Limit. Select the type of classification to assign to the Quality Characteristic from the Classification list. Click Duplicate to create a new row with the same values of the selected row.You can update the values in the duplicated row as required. Click Remove to remove the selected row. Repeat the above steps until you add all the required ranges of continuous values for the classification of the Quality Characteristic. Click Save .

Control Limits

Control limits help identify the range of acceptable variation in the product or process. Specify the highest and lowest values that a product or process variable can reach before it is considered out of control in Upper Control Limit and Lower Control Limit respectively.

Warning Limits

Warning limits provide an early indication of potential issues. They allow for proactive measures to be taken before the process goes out of control. In Upper Warning Limit and Lower Warning Limit, specify the highest and lowest values that a product or process variable can reach before it indicates potential issues might occur. The Characteristic Limits Chart visualizes the various limits defined for a Variable Quality Characteristic. It clearly illustrates their relationship to the nominal value and the Upper and Lower Specification Limits.

Visibility of limits: Only limits for which you have specified a value display on the chart. If a value is not defined, the corresponding limit does not appear.

Dynamic updates: Changes you make to a limit's value are immediately reflected in the chart. This allows you to instantly visualize the impact of your adjustments in relation to other defined limits.

Detailed inspection: If limits overlap or are positioned very close to each other, use the magnifying glass icon to zoom in on a specific limit. This provides a more detailed view of its individual values.

In the Characteristic Limits Chart, the following bars represent these values of the Quality Characteristic:

LSL: Lower Specification Limit

LCL: Lower Control Limit

LWL: Lower Warning Limit

NV: Nominal Value

UWL: Upper Warning Limit

UCL: Upper Control Limit

USL: Upper Specification Limit

Choose More Commands

Edit > Save Edits.

6. To create an Attributive Quality Characteristic, do the following:

If you have selected an Attributive Characteristic Group, specify the following information for the Quality Characteristic:

Field

Description

Context

Select whether the Quality Characteristic is for a product or a process.

Naming Convention

Select the naming convention of the Quality Characteristic.

Description

Enter a description for the Quality Characteristic.

To assign projects to the Quality Characteristic, do the following:

In the Projects section, click Add Project . Search for and select the required projects or subprojects, and click Assign. To remove a project or subproject, select it, and click Remove Project .

Click Add.

After creating the Quality Characteristic, specify its Classification, OK Condition, and Not OK Condition as follows:

Select the Quality Characteristic you have created, and choose More Commands

Edit > Start Edit. Specify its Classification, OK Condition, and Not OK Condition.

Field

Description

Classification

Select the classification that you want to assign to the Quality Characteristic.

OK Condition

Enter the values that define whether the Quality Characteristic is acceptable.

Not OK Condition

Enter the values that define whether the Quality Characteristic is not acceptable.

Choose More Commands

Edit > Save Edits.

7. To create a Visual Quality Characteristic, do the following:

If you have selected a Visual Characteristic Group, specify the following information for the Quality Characteristic:

Field

Description

Context

Select whether the Quality Characteristic is for a product or a process.

Naming Convention

Select the naming convention of the Quality Characteristic.

Description

Enter a description for the Quality Characteristic.

To assign projects to the Quality Characteristic, do the following:

In the Projects section, click Add Project . Search for and select the required projects or subprojects, and click Assign. To remove a project or subproject, select it, and click Remove Project .

Click Add.

After creating the Quality Characteristic, specify its Classification, Grid Rows, and Grid Columns as follows:

Select the Quality Characteristic you have created, and choose More Commands

Edit > Start Edit. Specify its Classification, Grid Rows, and Grid Columns.

Field

Description

Classification

Select the classification that you want to assign to the Quality Characteristic.

Grid Rows

Enter the number of grid rows for the Quality Characteristic.

Grid Columns

Enter the number of grid columns for the Quality Characteristic.

Choose More Commands

Edit > Save Edits.

For a Visual Quality Characteristic, select the Quality Characteristic in the left pane and attach an image as follows:

In the Image Preview section, click Attach Image . In the Attach Image panel, click Choose File to browse to the folder that contains the required image, select the image, and click Open. Note The image must meet the size and resolution limits that the administrator has defined for you.

Specify a name and description for the image, and click Attach.

8. To add attachments to a Quality Characteristic as Files, do the following:

Select the required Quality Characteristic and click Attachments.

In the Files section, click Add .

In the Add panel, select the type of attachment and specify the required information to create the attachment.

You can also use the Palette area or the Search area to locate attachments.

Click Add.

9. To assign projects to an existing Quality Characteristic, do the following:

Select the required Quality Characteristic, and expand the Projects section in the right pane.

In the Projects section, click Projects .

Search for and select the required projects or subprojects, and click Add Project .

To remove a project or subproject, select it, and click Remove Project .

Click Save.