Application of Design of Experiments Testing to Manual Transmission Synchronizer Nibble

A condition known as 1-2 synchronizer upshift nibble can exist in manual transmissions. This upshift nibble is a form of partial gear clash. Because of resource and project time constraints, an efficient test method was required to identify and correct the major causes of this condition.

A full factorial experiment, which consists of testing every possible factor arrangement, would require 512 tests to complete. A Design of Experiments (D.O.E.) exercise, less formally known as the Taguchi method, requires only twelve (12) tests. The purpose of this paper is to detail the practical application of a D.O.E. to analyze an engineering problem, specifically synchronizer upshift nibble._[1]