Project Summary: Shaped Grain Manufacturing

Concept-to-continuous-production scale-up for advanced abrasives through DOE optimization and process engineering.

Advanced abrasives shaped grain manufacturing process

Project Snapshot

  • Role: Process Engineering Lead
  • Domain: Advanced ceramics / abrasives manufacturing
  • Stack: SPC, DOE, process modeling, automation, JMP, Python
  • Timeline: Concept through continuous production

Full scale-up lifecycle

Concept → Continuous Production

Led the complete transition from bench-scale R&D concept through pilot trials to continuous manufacturing production.

Quality assurance

Process Capability Achieved

Established statistical process control ensuring consistent product quality at production scale through DOE-driven optimization.

Manufacturing breadth

Multi-Plant Scale-Up

Process qualified and transferred across multiple manufacturing sites for broad production deployment.

Technical Architecture

graph TD
    subgraph Research
        A[R&D Concept] --> B[Bench Trials]
    end

    subgraph Optimization
        B --> C[DOE Optimization]
        C --> D[Process Modeling]
    end

    subgraph Scale_Up
        D --> E[Pilot Line]
        E --> F[SPC Monitoring]
    end

    subgraph Production
        F --> G[Continuous Production]
        G --> H[Quality Verification]
        H --> I[Multi-Plant Transfer]
    end

    subgraph Feedback
        H --> J[Process Adjustment]
        J --> F
    end

Architecture: R&D concept progresses through bench trials and DOE optimization to build a robust process model. The pilot line validates the process under SPC monitoring before transitioning to continuous production with quality verification and multi-plant transfer.

Decision Tradeoffs

Option ConsideredProsConsDecision
Full DOE-Driven Optimization Rigorous, reproducible, identifies factor interactions More upfront time and experimental runs Selected — rigorous and reproducible approach for production-grade process
OFAT Experimentation Simpler to execute, fewer initial runs Misses factor interactions, suboptimal process window Considered — simpler but misses critical factor interactions
Direct Scale-Up from R&D Recipe Fastest path to production High risk of failure, no process understanding Rejected — too risky without systematic optimization

Problem

Novel shaped abrasive grain technology existed in R&D but had no manufacturing process path. The gap between bench-scale success and continuous production required systematic engineering to bridge.

Approach

Designed and led the scale-up from bench concept through DOE optimization to continuous production. Built statistical process control and automation for consistent quality. Used design of experiments to systematically identify optimal process parameters and their interactions.

Outcome

Successfully transitioned from concept to continuous production. Process qualified across manufacturing sites with robust SPC controls ensuring consistent product quality at scale.

Leadership Contribution

  • Architecture: Designed the staged scale-up pathway from bench trials through DOE optimization to continuous production.
  • Team: Coordinated R&D scientists, process engineers, and plant operations teams across multiple manufacturing sites.
  • Governance: Established process qualification criteria, SPC control limits, and transfer protocols for multi-site deployment.
  • Outcomes: Tracked process capability indices, yield metrics, and quality consistency across production sites.
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