Weibull++ and ALTA include test design tools that provide ways to design reliability tests as well as evaluate and compare proposed test designs. Three of these tools can be accessed by choosing Insert > Tools > Test Design.
The Test Design Assistant will appear and ask you to select one of the following:
The Reliability Demonstration Test tool solves for values associated with a specified test design, such as required test time, required sample size, demonstrated reliability and confidence level.
The Expected Failure Time plot determines what failure times you can expect in a test with a given sample size. Because you can display actual failure times on the plot, it is especially useful for determining whether a test is proceeding as expected.
The Difference Detection Matrix shows how much test time is needed to detect a statistically significant difference in life between two product designs when the data are obtained from reliability life tests and then analyzed with a Weibull++ or ALTA standard folio.
Please note that in addition to the tools that are discussed in these topics, the software includes two other tools that can assist you in designing reliability life tests.
The ALTA Test Plan utility recommends a test plan for accelerated life testing data analysis. The recommended plan will include information about what stress levels to use in the test, as well as what sample sizes to use for each stress level.
SimuMatic, which comes in a Weibull++ version and an ALTA version, allows you to use simulation-based methods to experiment with various testing scenarios. For example, you could try to improve a given test plan by running a simulation of the test with a smaller sample size and seeing whether the more conservative plan would still allow you to meet your test goals. See Designing Reliability Tests with SimuMatic.
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