The document discusses the purposes and steps of conducting engineering experiments. The main purposes are to reduce time to develop new products and processes, improve existing processes, improve product reliability and performance, and achieve product and process robustness. The most common purposes of experiments are to explore new technologies, develop an understanding of production factors, develop superior technologies, and identify optimal production levels. The key steps are recognizing the experimental goal, selecting factors and response variables, choosing a design, conducting the experiment, performing statistical analysis, and drawing conclusions.

1. AE 58 Experimental Design
for Agricultural Engineering
Modules and Laboratory Exercises

2. Engineering Experiments
If we had infinite budgets there probably wouldn't be a big fuss made
over designing
experiments. In production and quality control we want to control the
error and learn as much as
we can about the process or the underlying theory. From an
engineering perspective we're trying
to do use experimentation for the following purposes:
reduce time to design/develop new products & processes
improve performance of existing processes
improve reliability and performance of products
achieve product & process robustness
perform evaluation of materials, design alternatives, setting
component & system
tolerances, etc.

3. Most Common Purpose of Conducting Experiment
To explore new technologies, new crops, and new areas of
production
To develop a basic understanding of the factors that control
production
To develop new technologies that are superior to existing
technologies
To study the effect of changes in the factors of production and to
identify optimal
levels
To demonstrate new knowledge to growers and get feedback from
end – users about
the acceptability of new technologies

4. Steps for Planning, Conducting and Analyzing an Experiment
The practical steps needed for planning and conducting an
experiment include: recognizing
the goal of the experiment, choice of factors, choice of response,
choice of the design, analysis
and then drawing conclusions. This pretty much covers the steps
involved in the scientific
method.
1. Recognition of & statement of problem
2. Choice of factors, levels, and ranges
3. Selection of the response variable(s)
4. Choice of design
5. Conducting the experiment
6. Statistical analysis
7. Drawing conclusions, and making recommendation