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This topic describes how to configure the warranty folios for your analysis. It includes the following sections:
To add a warranty analysis folio, choose Insert > Folios > Warranty or right-click the Specialized Folios folder in the current project explorer and choose Add Warranty on the shortcut menu.
A setup window will prompt you to select a format to use with the folio. Select the format that is appropriate for the type of warranty claims data you have available. If you select the Nevada chart format, click Next to go to the next step to configure your analysis; otherwise, click OK to immediately create the folio.
You have the option to convert the format of an existing warranty analysis folio to a new format. To do so, open the existing folio and choose Warranty > Tools > Convert Data, and then choose the format to convert to.
Converting formats creates a new folio and does not overwrite the contents of the existing folio. It is an automatic process, except when converting from the dates of failure format to the Nevada chart format, and vice versa. In that case, you will be prompted to define the time unit of each period (e.g., dates, month or years) in order to proceed with the conversion.
The following table shows a summary of the data conversion options:
| From | Convert To |
| Nevada Chart Format | Dates of Failure Format |
| Times-to-Failure Format | |
| Dates of Failure Format | Nevada Chart Format |
| Times-to-Failure Format | |
| Times-to-Failure Format | N/A |
| Usage Format | Times-to-Failure Format |
The control panel is arranged into groups of related tasks and each group has its own page on the control panel. The folio tools are arranged on the left side of the panel. Note that some of the settings may not be applicable for all other warranty analysis formats.
Tip: There is a horizontal splitter bar directly above the Main button. If you drag it as far up as it will go, all of the pages of the panel will be accessed by large buttons. If you drag it all the way down, all of the pages will be accessed by small icons. Positions in between allow you to use some large buttons and some small icons. See Control Panels.
On the Main page of the control panel, the following settings are available for all formats:
The Life Data Model area contains the options for performing life data analysis. When you click Calculate, Weibull++ converts the warranty claims data into failure/suspension data and then performs a life data analysis based on the settings you specified in this area.
Use Subsets gives you the option to analyze multi-population data sets. To use this setting, you must first assign each subpopulation group in your data sheet to a specific subset ID. Select the Use Subsets check box, and then use the drop-down list to switch between the subset IDs and alter the analysis settings (i.e., distribution and parameter estimation method) for each one. When you click Calculate, the software will separately analyze each subset of data. You can view the parameters of each subset ID by choosing the subset ID from the drop-down list or by clicking anywhere within the Analysis Summary area.
The Suspend After check box allows you to specify a period beyond which, all additional data will be treated as suspensions. Most product warranties are of a certain duration, and in many cases, data after the warranty period are incomplete or unreliable. This setting allows you ignore any failure times after the specified period and treat them as suspensions. This option is not available for the times-to-failure format.
In the Nevada chart format, the warranty period uses the same time units used in the Nevada chart data sheets.
In the Dates of Failure format, you can specify the warranty period to be in days, months or years.
In the Usage format, you have two options: you can specify the warranty period to be in days, month or years, or you can consider a warranty period based on usage (e.g., 100K miles or 10 years, whichever comes first).
The Analysis Summary area displays the results of the life data analysis. Click anywhere within the area to open the Results window, which shows the converted failure/suspension data and the parameters of the life distribution model. From the Results window, you can edit, copy or print the results.
The following setting is available only in the dates of failure format and usage format:
The End of Observation Period setting is used to determine the time in service for each unit that had not yet been returned by the end of the observation period (i.e., the suspensions). The date is typically set to the last day the warranty data was collected.
The following setting is available only in the usage format.
The Suspensions Estimation Method area displays information about how the product usage is defined. Clicking the link will take you to the Suspensions page, which contains the options for estimating the amount of usage accumulated by suspensions.
The folio tools are arranged on the left side of the panel. Use these tools to manage data and experiment with the results of your analysis.
Calculate converts the warranty claims data to failure/suspension times and then estimates the parameters of the chosen life distribution based on the converted data. If you select the Use Subsets option on the Main page of the control panel, the parameters of the distribution of each subset ID will be separately calculated. This tool is also available by choosing Warranty > Analysis > Calculate.
Plot creates a new sheet in the folio that provides a choice of applicable plot types. In warranty analysis folios, this includes plots such as expected failures vs. period, reliability vs. time, probability plot, etc. You can plot the data in the warranty analysis folio either with or without generating a forecast. This tool is also available by choosing Warranty > Analysis > Plot.
Distribution Wizard opens the Distribution Wizard, which helps you select the distribution that best fits your data based on the selected parameter estimation method (i.e., RRX, RRY or MLE). In warranty analysis folios, the ranking in the Distribution Wizard is based on the converted failure/suspension times. This tool is also available by choosing Warranty > Analysis > Distribution Wizard.
QCP opens the Quick Calculation Pad, which allows you to calculate life data analysis metrics. It uses the same calculations that you can perform in a Weibull++ standard folio QCP. This tool is also available by choosing Warranty > Analysis > Quick Calculation Pad.
Generate Forecast opens the Forecast Setup window, which allows you to specify the time periods at which you wish to estimate the number of expected warranty returns. Clicking Generate Forecast before the parameters have been calculated will automatically calculate the parameters and open the Forecast Setup window. This tool is also available by choosing Warranty > Tools > Generate Forecast.
Data Sheet Setup opens the Warranty Setup window, which allows you to change the time periods of the warranty claims data in the current data sheet. This tool is available only for the Nevada chart format.
Change Units opens the Change Units window, which allows you to select the units to use in the data sheet. This tool is not available in the dates of failure format. The units that are available in the drop-down list are defined at the database level. Note that:
In the Nevada chart format, this tool is available only when you choose to label the sales and returns periods in terms of numbers during the setup process. See Nevada Chart Setup.
In the usage format, only the units that are related to usage (e.g., cycles, miles, etc.) are available in the drop-down list.
In the times-to-failure format, all the time units that were defined at the database level are available in the drop-down list.
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