ANÁLISE ESTATÍSTICA PARA CONTROLE DO PROCESSO DE POLIMENTO DE ROCHAS ORNAMENTAIS

Statistical analysis for control of dimension stones polishing process

Abstract

ABSTRACT - The dimension stone sector has experienced a phase of great technological advancement in recent years and part of this process is the research and development aimed at all stages of the production chain. The polishing of rocks is a fundamental part of the adding value to materials, responsible for a considerable share in production costs and the environmental burden of the chain, characteristics that highlight the need for further studies on optimized processing routines. Thus, it is noted the possibility of applying statistical tools to improve process control. Such tools used here are widely disseminated in sectors with high technological level. In this work, the techniques of Design of Experiments (DOE), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) were used to determine the influences of each variable of the polishing equipment (Head pressure, Polishing time and Water flow rate) in the results of the polished surface brightness and electricity consumption. It was observed that the Pressure has a great influence on the system, followed by the Polishing time. The water flow rate was less influential in the results, which allows the adoption of smaller volumes without compromising the efficiency of the process.