Tip of the Day 99: A Graphical Lesson in Integrals and Process Times

A customer pointed out yesterday that there is confusion about where integrals come from. He suggested having the Cycle Graph on the eDART™ automatically draw shading to show the source of the various integrals and times. Since this would be a rather involved software project with a lot of coding and testing I thought to build something that runs off-line in a simple PowerPoint presentation.

I created a PowerPoint file

    A Graphical Lesson in Integrals and Process Times

that you can save by right-clicking and selecting “Save link” (or “target”).

This presentation contains an example of some data with integrals and Process Time type values. Click on each of the summary graph buttons (when the mouse shows a hand) to see a graphical explanation of how integrals are areas under various parts of each curve. The colors are coordinated. Note that the buttons on the Summary Graph show the summary Type / Location pairs as discussed in tip # 83. The abbreviation is in parenthesis.

Note that the cycle integral for cavity pressure is shown to the end of Mold Clamped. This is the eDART default. It can be changed (as noted) to end the integral at the end of Screw Run if a flipper chute needs time to move or the robot needs an early signal. See tip # 61 for details on integration limits. The Sequence Settings “Other” tab has changed slightly since that tip was written.

Use this tool as a quick interactive training lesson when you need to explain what an integral is and how it is derived.

Comments and feedback are welcome.

art

See our Art’s Tips too find earlier Tips of the Day.