Application of the design of experiments and statistical hypothesis to reduce defects in the flange of the steel plate process

The paper presents a discussion on the occurrence of defects in the circumferential flange of steel plate. The numerous flange face defects have been analysed. The types of defects have been selected and categorized using an experimental planning procedure involving 600 samples for 24 different process variants, considering variables such as material, hole diameter, tool size and tool position. The analysis of experimental results enabled to determine of the optimal values of process parameters to minimize the occurrence of defects. Furthermore, the influence of individual parameters on the quality of the flange surface has been carried out to obtain the process parameters’ impact using statistical hypotheses. As a result, it was possible to develop rules which will be helpful in the design process, especially important when changing the material to be processed.