After you select how many factors to study, Quick
Designs asks about the types of factors to study. The three types are categorical
factors, continuous factors, and mixture components. Often, you select an answer for the
number of continuous factors in the experiment.
- For 0 continuous factors, select Create an experiment with K
categorical factors. K depends on the number of factors to
study.
- For 1 continuous factor, select Create an experiment with K
categorical and one continuous factor. K depends on the number
of factors to study.
- For more continuous factors, select the visible option among Create an
experiment with two continuous factors, Create an experiment with two or three continuous
factors, or Create an
experiment with two or more continuous factors. The visible options depend on the number of factors to study.
Mixture components are a less common type of factor. If you have mixture components,
select Create an experiment with K components of a mixture where
K depends on the number of factors to study.
Decision details
The following information describes the difference between categorical and continuous
factors and defines mixture components.
- What are categorical and continuous factors?
- Categorical factors have a small number of possible values. The values
usually make sense as categories. Continuous factors have many possible
values but the experiment includes a small selection of those values.
- For
example, you are studying factors that could affect plastic strength during
the manufacturing process. You decide to include Additive and Temperature in
your experiment. The additive is a categorical variable. It can only be type
A or type B. Conversely, temperature is a continuous variable, but here it
is a factor because only three temperatures settings of 100C, 150C and 200C
are tested in the experiment.
| Factor |
Additive |
Temperature |
| Level |
A |
Low (100C) |
| Level |
B |
Medium (150C) |
| Level |
|
High (200C) |
- What are the components of a mixture?
- Components are the ingredients that make up a mixture. In a mixture, the
proportions of the components influence the response. Suppose you want to
study how the proportions of three components in a household deodorizer
affect the acceptance of the product based on scent. The three components
are rose oil, tangerine oil, and neroli oil. In the experiment, you
intentionally vary the proportions of the oils in the mixture.
