Using Life Data Folios

Weibull++'s life data folio allows you to fit a statistical distribution to failure time data in order to understand the reliability performance of a product over time or to make projections about future behavior. From the analysis, you can obtain reliability information about a product such as probability of failure, reliability, mean life or failure rate.

The basic steps for using a life data folio are:

  1. ClosedAdd life data folio
  2. Right-click the Life Data folder in the current project explorer and choose Add Life Data.

    In the setup window, select the desired data type and the units for time/usage values (hours, cycles, etc.). (See Weibull++ Data Types.)

  3. ClosedEnter data
  4. Enter the data and use the control panel to specify the life distribution and analysis settings. (See Life-Data Folio Control Panel for descriptions of all available settings.)

  5. ClosedAnalyze data
  6. Click the Calculate icon on the control panel.

    The Analysis Summary area displays the parameters of the distribution. Click the Detailed Summary icon to view more information.

  7. ClosedView plots
  8. Click the Plot icon on the control panel to open the plot sheet. (See Life Data Analysis Plots for available plot types.)

    To show the confidence bounds, click the Confidence Bounds link on the plot's control panel, and then set the desired type of bounds and confidence level.

  9. ClosedCalculate metrics
  10. Click the QCP icon on the control panel to open the Quick Calculation Pad.  (See QCP Calculations for Life Data Analysis for available calculations.)

    The following example shows the estimates for the reliability and the lower one-sided 90% confidence bound.

  11. ClosedCreate report
  12. Right-click the Reports folder in the current project explorer and choose Add ReliaSoft Workbook.

    In the ReliaSoft Workbook wizard, select the folio as the default data source. If desired, you can also select a standard or user-defined report template (e.g., the "Weibull Summary Style 1 Template" is shown below). (See ReliaSoft Workbooks.)