2013 Volume 21 Issue 1 Pages 36-43
In the vending machine industry, it is essential to save energy out of concern for the environment and reduce costs in order to reduce equipment expenses. We are developing vending machines that meet these requirements by using quality engineering to develop the fans needed to heat and cool the products and the peripheral structure of the fans, specifically by performing a parameter design of the control panel that controls the air flow. The structure that controls the airflow was first evaluated by simulation. The ideal function of directing a rectified airflow to the exit of the air passage was considered, the necessary functions were studied from visualizatioll information of the simulation, and they were assigned to an L9 orthogonal array to narrow down the candidate structures. Next, to finalize the parts of the structure that could not be analyzed by simulation, a simplified test device was fabricated, improvement items were assigned to an L18 orthogonal array, and an evaluation was done on the basis of the two functions of airflow volume and temperature. From a factor effect diagram of the S/N ratio and sensitivity, optimal conditions were found from the levels that could satisfy both functions and levels related to volume manufacturability and cost, and these results were incorporated before volume production began.
