Process Window Index

Process Window Index (PWI) is a statistical measure that quantifies the robustness of a manufacturing
process, e.g. one which involves heating and cooling, known as a thermal process. In manufacturing
industry, PWI values are used to calibrate the heating and cooling of soldering jobs (known as a thermal
profile) while baked in a reflow oven.

PWI measures how well a process fits into a user-defined process limit known as the specification limit.
The specification limit is the tolerance allowed for the process and may be statistically determined.
Industrially, these specification limits are known as the process window, and values that a plotted inside or
outside this window are known as the process window index.

Using PWI values, processes can be accurately measured, analyzed, compared, and tracked at the same
level of statistical process control and quality control available to other manufacturing processes.

Statistical process control

Process capability is the ability of a process to produce output within specified limits.[1] To help determine
whether a manufacturing or business process is in a state of statistical control, process engineers use control
charts, which help to predict the future performance of the process based on the current process.[2]

To help determine the capability of a process, statistically

determined upper and lower limits are drawn on either side of a
process mean on the control chart.[2] The control limits are set at
three standard deviations on either side of the process mean, and
are known as the upper control limit (UCL) and lower control limit
(LCL) respectively.[2] If the process data plotted on the control
Process Window Index for a thermal
chart remains within the control limits over an extended period,
process. Green blurbs denote that
then the process is said to be stable.[2][3]
the PWIs are within specification, red
depicts out of specification.
The tolerance values specified by the end-user are known as
specification limits – the upper specification limit (USL) and lower
specification limit (LSL) respectively.[2] If the process data plotted
on a control chart remains within these specification limits, then the process is considered a capable process,
denoted by .[2][3]

Manufacturing industry has developed customized specification limits known as Process Windows. Within
this process window, values are plotted. The values relative to the process mean of the window are known
as the Process Window Index. By using PWI values, processes can be accurately measured, analyzed,
compared, and tracked at the same level of statistical process control and quality control available to other
manufacturing processes.[3]

Control limits

Control limits, also known as natural process limits, are horizontal lines drawn on a statistical process
control chart, usually at a distance of ±3 standard deviations of the plotted statistic's mean, used to judge the
stability of a process.[4]

Control limits should not be confused with tolerance limits or specifications, which are completely
independent of the distribution of the plotted sample statistic. Control limits describe what a process is
capable of producing (sometimes referred to as the “voice of the process”), while tolerances and
specifications describe how the product should perform to meet the customer's expectations (referred to as
the “voice of the customer”).

Use

Control limits are used to detect signals in process data that indicate that a process is not in control and,
therefore, not operating predictably. A value in excess of the control limit indicates a special cause is
affecting the process.

To detect signals one of several rule sets may be used (Control chart § Rules for detecting signals). One
specification outlines that a signal is defined as any single point outside of the control limits. A process is
also considered out of control if there are seven consecutive points, still inside the control limits but on one
single side of the mean.

For normally distributed statistics, the area bracketed by the control limits will on average contain 99.73%
of all the plot points on the chart, as long as the process is and remains in statistical control. A false-
detection rate of at least 0.27% is therefore expected.

It is often not known whether a particular process generates data that conform to particular distributions, but
the Chebyshev's inequality and the Vysochanskij–Petunin inequality allow the inference that for any
unimodal distribution at least 95% of the data will be encapsulated by limits placed at 3 sigma.

PWI in electronics manufacturing

An example of a process to which the PWI concept may be applied is soldering. In soldering, a thermal
profile is the set of time-temperature values for a variety of processes such as slope, thermal soak, reflow,
and peak.[5]

Each thermal profile is ranked on how it fits in a process window (the specification or tolerance limit).[6]
Raw temperature values are normalized in terms of a percentage relative to both the process mean and the
window limits. The center of the process window is defined as zero, and the extreme edges of the process
window are ±99%.[6] A PWI greater than or equal to 100% indicates that the profile does not process the
product within specification. A PWI of 99% indicates that the
profile runs at the edge of the process window.[6] For example, if
the process mean is set at 200  °C, with the process window
calibrated at 180  °C and 220  °C respectively; then a measured
value of 188 °C translates to a process window index of −60%. A
lower PWI value indicates a more robust profile.[5][6] For
maximum efficiency, separate PWI values are computed for peak,
slope, reflow, and soak processes of a thermal profile.

To avoid thermal shock affecting production, the steepest slope in

the thermal profile is determined and leveled. Manufacturers use
custom-built software to accurately determine and decrease the A graphical representation of the
steepness of the slope. In addition, the software also automatically Process Window Index for a thermal
recalibrates the PWI values for the peak, slope, reflow, and soak profile
processes. By setting PWI values, engineers can ensure that the
reflow soldering work does not overheat or cool too quickly.[5]

Formula
The Process Window Index is calculated as the worst case (i.e.
highest number) in the set of thermal profile data. For each profile
statistic the percentage used of the respective process window is
calculated, and the worst case (i.e. highest percentage) is the PWI.

For example, a thermal profile with three thermocouples, with four

profile statistics logged for each thermocouple, would have a set of
twelve statistics for that thermal profile. In this case, the PWI would
be the highest value among the twelve percentages of the respective Example of a Process Window Index
for peak, soak, and slope values
process windows.

The formula to calculate PWI is:[7]

where:[7]

i = 1 to N (number of thermocouples)
j = 1 to M (number of statistics per thermocouple)
measured value [i, j] = the [i, j]th statistic's measured value
average limits [i, j] = the average of the high and low (specified) limits of the [i, j']th statistic
range [i, j] = the high limit minus the low limit of the [i, j]th statistic

See also
Acceptable quality limit
Control chart § Chart details
Reflow soldering
 Wave soldering

References
1. "What is Process Capability?" (http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/pmc/section1/pmc16.
htm). NIST/Sematech Engineering Statistics Handbook (http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handb
ook/index.htm). National Institute of Standards and Technology. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
{{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
2. Godfrey, A. B (September 1, 2000). Juran's Quality Handbook (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
ISBN 9780070340039.
3. Hall, Jim; Zarrow, Phil (February 2002). PWI: Process Optimization Made Simple (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20110713145535/http://kicthermal.com/pwi/PWI--Process%20Optimizatio
n%20Made%20Simple%20(CA%202002-02).pdf) (PDF). Circuits Assembly Magazine.
Archived from the original (http://www.kicthermal.com/pwi/PWI--Process%20Optimization%2
0Made%20Simple%20(CA%202002-02).pdf) (PDF) on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
4. Statistical Process Control (SPC) Reference Manual (https://www.aiag.org/quality/automotiv
e-core-tools/spc) (2 ed.). Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG). 2005.
5. Houston, Paul N; Brian J. Louis; Daniel F. Baldwin; Philip Kazmierowicz. "Taking the Pain
Out of Pb-free Reflow" (http://www.leadfreemagazine.com/pages/pdf/pain_out_of_reflow.pdf)
(PDF). Lead-Free Magazine. p. 3. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
6. "A Method for Quantifying Thermal Profile Performance" (https://web.archive.org/web/20110
713145755/http://kicthermal.com/products/solar-industry.html?page=shop.product_details&fl
ypage=flypage.tpl&category_id=6&product_id=16&vmcchk=1). KIC Thermal. Archived from
the original (http://kicthermal.com/products/solar-industry.html?page=shop.product_details&f
lypage=flypage.tpl&category_id=6&product_id=16&vmcchk=1) on 2011-07-13. Retrieved
2010-09-30.
7. Kazmierowicz, Phil (2003). "Process Control" (http://smt.pennnet.com/display_article/16707
1/35/ARTCL/none/none/1/Step-2:-Process-Control/). SMT Magazine. Retrieved 2008-12-10.

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