Professional Documents
Culture Documents
DOI 10.1007/s10845-009-0321-7
Received: 28 April 2009 / Accepted: 21 September 2009 / Published online: 7 October 2009
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009
Abstract The scale of Taiwan’s mold industry was ranked results showed the decision tree algorithm has an excellent
the sixth in the world. But, under the global competitive pres- discriminatory power of classification and is able to provide
sure, Taiwan has lost its competitive advantage gradually. clear and simple reference rules for decisions.
The only chance of Taiwan’s mold industry lies in improv-
ing the competitive abilities in product research, develop- Keywords Mold tooling test · Knowledge discovery ·
ment and design. In mold manufacturing cycle, mold tooling Data mining · Decision tree · Mold industry
test plays a very important role at accelerating the speed of
production. An experienced engineer can minimize the error
rate of mold tooling test according to his rich experiences Introduction
in parameter adjustment. However, this experience is mostly
implicit without theoretical basis and its knowledge is diffi- In Taiwan, the mold industry is known as the “mother of
cult to be transmitted. Benefiting from the well development industry,” which is the foundation of mass production of
of data mining technologies, this study aimed at construct- products. Molds are the best tools for product standardiza-
ing an intelligent classification knowledge discovery system tion, mass production and cost cutting of either simplest com-
for mold tooling test based on decision tree algorithm, so modities or highly precise electronic parts. Figure 1 shows
as to explore and accumulate the experimental knowledge the import and export values statistics of the mold industry
for the use of Taiwan’s mold industry. This study took the in Taiwan from 1998 to 2007. The annual gross values in the
only high-alloy steel manufacturer in Taiwan for case study, recent 4 years were among NT$55–60 billions, which ranked
and performed system validation with 66 record data. The Taiwan the sixth in the world. In detail, the import and export
results showed the accuracy rates of prediction of training values distribution between Taiwan and various countries in
data and testing data are 97.6 and 86.9%, respectively. In 2007 is shown in Table 1. As seen, Mainland China was the
addition, this study explored two classification knowledge largest market to Taiwan, which accounts for 30.99% of the
rules and proposed concrete proposals for tooling test param- export value and 44.29% of the import value (Taiwan Mold
eter adjustment. Moreover, this study provided two ways, and Die Industry Association 2009).
rule verification and effectiveness comparison of four mining In the application market, Taiwan gives priority to molds
algorithms, to conduct model verification. The experimental for electronic communication products. The characteristics
of electronic communication industry include shorter product
D.-Y. Yeh life cycle, shorter time to Market, and more product types but
Department of Information Management, Transworld Institute
of Technology, Yunlin, Taiwan
small quantity. The electronic communication industry needs
e-mail: yeh@tit.edu.tw to improve the design capacities of products and also expe-
dite the development speed of products, in order to respond
C.-H. Cheng (B) · S.-C. Hsiao to severe challenges. In fact, in the cycle of product devel-
Department of Information Management, National Yunlin University
of Science & Technology, 123 University Road, Section 3, Douliou,
opment, the design and manufacturing capacities of molds
Yunlin, Taiwan are key elements. In terms of economy and technology, the
e-mail: chcheng@mis4k.mis.yuntech.edu.tw relative advantages of Taiwan include fast pre-production,
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tooling test experiences, so as to improve the competitive sion tree, back-propagation neural network, combination of
power of Taiwan’s mold industry, would be an urgent, seri- decision tree and neural network and discriminate analysis.
ous and important topic for Taiwan’s mold industry. According to the results, the decision tree algorithm has
With the fast progress of information technology, data an excellent discriminatory power of classification and is
mining was developed and mainly applied to obtain valuable able to provide a clear and simple rule as the reference for
information from enormous database, and conduct in-depth decisions.
analysis of data based on statistics and artificial intelligence
technologies to find out hidden knowledge (Nicholson 2006). Data mining technologies
Many data mining tools have been developed in the mar-
ket, which are convenient for processing enormous data and Data mining can be used to obtain significant and active
have a wide range of application (Fayyad et al. 1996; Chiu et models and rules hidden in mass data by using full auto-
al. 2002), such as semiconductor manufacturing data feature matic or semiautomatic algorithms, and combine relevant
extraction (Li et al. 2006), knowledge mining (Rokach et al. knowledge and experiences as reference for event decisions,
2008), sales forecasting (Chang et al. 2006, 2008), flow time thus, creating profits for enterprises (Wang 2007a; Rokach
prediction (Chang and Liao 2006), etc. As one of data mining and Maimon 2006; Quinlan 1987). As a function of data
algorithms, decision tree induction is a famous method for mining, the classification method classifies and defines the
extracting knowledge rules in classification problems. The attributes (eigenvalues) of objects to set up the class, the
advantage of decision tree algorithm is that the results are skills adopted include decision tree, memory-based reason-
more comprehensive and easy to interpret and have a well ing (Wang 2007a; Chen et al. 1996; Quinlan 1993). This
organized knowledge structure. Its applications, such as on study adopted the decision tree algorithm as the data min-
agricultural land grading (Zhao et al. 2009), machining oper- ing approach according to the characteristics of develop-
ations selection (Deb et al. 2006) and fault pattern analysis ment processes of mold tooling test (Wang et al. 2005). The
(Taetragool and Achalakul 2009), have obtained favorable decision tree algorithms and other relevant technologies are
harvests (Wang 2007b). described as follows.
Considering the successful applications to various fields
(Balic et al. 2006), decision tree algorithm may be applied to
Decision tree algorithm
the knowledge rule classification in mold tooling test devel-
opment, and its favorable assistance should be expected. This
(1) Original technology
study aimed to develop an intelligent classification knowl-
The decision tree algorithm (Quinlan 1986) can be
edge discovery system to conduct parameter research during
regarded as a separation method with goal. Firstly, an
the mold tooling test development and found out valuable
optimal attribute is identified as the root node; all data
knowledge through historical data. Through the feedback of
take this root node as the class condition, classifying
valuable knowledge and accumulated experiences, this sys-
data in the same branch namely having the same par-
tem enables engineers to improve the accuracy of mold tool-
ticularity. Another optimal attribute is identified as the
ing test design, and to shorten the development period and
class condition, and classification is made to form the
reduce material loss.
sub-tree of the decision tree. The same sorting process is
This study adopted the decision tree algorithm, and took
repeated until all data in a branch are of the same type,
the only high-alloy steel manufacturer among the top 500
and the sorting is finished. The keys of the construction
enterprises in Taiwan as the case study, and performed sys-
include:
tem validation on 66 mold tooling test record data of injection
molding machine. The experimental results showed that the a. Spend much more time on learning about data, to
accuracy rates of predictions of training data and test data know the definition and application of each variable.
are 97.6 and 86.9%, respectively. In addition, this system b. Interview domain experts to acquaint domain
has explored two classification knowledge rules at the deci- knowledge of data sources, and identify rule impor-
sion tree learning stage, and proposed concrete proposals tance and the relationship inside variables or that
for the adjustment of mold tooling test parameters. More- between variables.
over, for the sake of closing to actual situation, this study c. Broaden the range of conversion of consecutive numer-
provided two ways, rule verification and effectiveness com- ical target variables to increase the performance of
parison of mining algorithms, to conduct model verifica- decision tree algorithm.
tion. The rule verification was confirmed by the approval d. Add in derived variables and catch important data rel-
of experienced experts. On the validation of the decision evancy to increase the reliability of calculation result.
tree algorithm availability, this study compared the effec- e. Select a proper value for lost data to make it signifi-
tiveness of four classification techniques, which are deci- cant when integrated into a rule.
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f. Pick out input variables correlated to output variables. (1) Input Layer: signals of network are inputted through it,
the quantity of processing units is determined according
The algorithm family includes classical algorithms such
to problems.
as ID3 (Maher and Clair 1993), C4.5 (Breiman et al.
(2) Hidden Layer: for showing the mutual influence
1984), CART (Kass 1980), CHAID (Quinlan 1993) and
between input processing units, there is no standard
a number of modern systems. Focusing on obtaining the
method for deciding the quantity of processing units.
preliminary pattern of decision tree, this study adopted
Usually, more processing units in the hidden layer
the ID3 algorithm.
indicate slower convergence, but there are smaller error
(2) ID3 algorithm
values. However, when the quantity exceeds a certain
ID3 (Iterative Dichotomiser 3) algorithm is developed
number, it is hardly helpful to reducing errors, only the
from the concept learning system (Maher and Clair 1993).
execution time increases. On the other hand, if the quan-
It shall separate the data into three groups: structure of the
tity of processing units is too small, it is not able to reflect
records, training data and testing data. The calculation
the interaction effect between variables.
process is to use the information gain as the criterion for
(3) Output Layer: it represents the output variables of net-
deciding branches, and select the optimal attribute as the
work, the processing units depend on problems, and the
root node to construct the decision tree (Quinlan 1996).
final signal of network is outputted through it. It uses
(3) Selection of important attribute
non-linear transfer function, while the most used non-
When constructing the decision tree, reducing the dis-
linear transfer function of the Back-propagation Neural
order of newly generated sub-nodes after the test can
Network is Sigmoid Function.
obtain shallow depth of the decision tree; this is the basic
spirit of selecting mold tooling test important attribute.
The methods for selecting important attribute condition Comparison between decision tree and neural network
value can be divided into two methods, one is the intu- algorithms
ition method, and the other one is the information gain
method (Quinlan 1979). The decision tree and neural classification techniques have
their own advantages in the application area of data mining.
a. Intuition method: find out an attribute through experi- Table 2 shows the comparison between their advantages and
ences and intuition to maximize the difference between disadvantages (Kijsirikul and Chongkasemwongse 2001).
tested subsets. This method is applicable to very small
training set only.
Combined application of decision tree and neural network
b. Information gain method: the information gain is
algorithms
defined as “pretest information” reduces “informa-
tion after test”. Smaller difference of information
It is expected to be able to increase the accuracy rate of neural
indicates less disorder. Therefore, the attribute of
network algorithm effectively by taking the classes mined by
minimal difference after test can be selected. This
decision tree algorithm as the input data of neural classifica-
method is mainly applied to the decision tree ID3
tion model (Liu et al. 2004).
algorithm.
The neural network is a computing system, including soft- System architecture and analytical method
ware and hardware. It uses a lot of simple and connected
artificial neurons to simulate biological neural network and The system architecture is divided into five blocks, which are
export calculation results to the external environment or other interview experts, investigate important process parameters,
artificial neurons (Wong et al. 1997). In a neural network, mine mold process knowledge, design and develop knowl-
many artificial neurons are connected to compose different edge-based system and analyze mining results, as shown in
network models or Network Paradigms. Among which the Fig. 2.
Back-Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) is most widely
applied. The BPNN is a multi-layer feedforward network (1) Interview experts: combine three scholars and seven
architecture, which can be divided into output layer, input mold experts’ opinions about influential evaluation
layer and hidden layer processing units. The functions of all parameters required for constructing the mold tooling
layers are described as follows: test knowledge discovery system.
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Intelligent mold tooling test classification rules for designers and engineers. This system uses the
knowledge discovery system
production data management (PDM) system and takes
Interview experts
Java program language object-oriented as the develop-
ment tool.
Investigate important process parameters (5) Analyze mining results, and make specific feedback of
analytic results.
Decision tree algorithm
Mine mold process knowledge
Neural network algorithm
Design and develop knowledge-based system PDM system Investigating important parameters of mold processes
Analyze mining results Results comparison The attribute parameter is determined based on two features
(Turng et al. 2002). One is the data diversification of mold
processes, the other one is the experiment data consideration:
Fig. 2 Architecture of the intelligent classification knowledge discov-
ery system the injection molding of each circle, from the cylinder tem-
perature to the injection pressure, totally 26 parameters shall
be recorded. The selection of data attribute parameter is per-
formed by using the information gain of ID3 algorithm, and
(2) Investigate important process parameters of mold: then the expert interview using a semiformal questionnaire.
with reference to domestic and foreign literatures and The mold processes contain the following ten important oper-
experts’ opinions through interviews, sort out the evalu- ating parameters: injection temperature, mold temperature,
ation parameters of mold tooling test process. injection speed, injection pressure, injection time, injection
(3) Mine mold process knowledge: the mold tooling test pro- velocity, packing time, packing switch, cooling time and
cess is very complicated and is an instable loop program. ingredients melt index (MI) value.
The decision tree algorithm and the neural network algo-
rithm are selected as the data mining method. These two
Mining mold process knowledge
methods are combined for application and comparison,
to expect a preferable mining outcome.
This section will describe the knowledge discovery steps for
(4) Design and develop knowledge-based system: this sys-
mold processes according to the data mining steps (Wang
tem uses information technology to support the mold
2007a).
process to set up an electronic knowledge base. Its four
primary objectives are experience accumulation, data (1) Stipulate data mining target
sharing, knowledge sharing and computerized operation, It aims to find out the implicit meanings of variable data
and it provides accumulated mold tooling test in the mold processes, conclude the reasons for failure,
experiences, modification experiences, experiences in and propose a directory guideline to adjust the direction
setting of different parameters and implicit knowledge and range of parameter setting, so as to reduce mate-
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rial loss in the processes and reduce the times of mold Table 6 Classified orders of all nodes on each decision tree
tooling test. Order Parameter name Information gain
(2) Extract attribute parameter
Table 3 shows the ten important parameters of mold pro- 1 Mold temperature 0.43
cesses after extraction using ID3 algorithm and expert 2 Injection pressure 0.26
interview. 2 Injection velocity 0.26
(3) Determine target type 3 Injection temperature 0.24
Six variables for identifying failure of mold processes 4 Packing time 0.21
are defined according to frequent badness of finished 4 Packing switch 0.21
products, as shown in Table 4. 5 Cooling time 0.18
(4) Data normalization 6 Injection speed 0.10
It defines and separates values of parameters for conver- 7 Injection time 0.04
sions. The following three steps are used for the con- 8 Ingredients MI value 0.00
version of data, and the amplitude of change in each
parameter value is set, as shown in Table 5.
a. Set the first odd number (Ex: 00001) as the optimal Table 7 Parameter settings of decision tree
initial parameter, which acts as the basis of amplitude Parameter name Parameter setting
modulation setting.
Data collection period April 2007 to March 2008
b. Take the mean value of multi-segment data, for exam-
Data mining algorithm Decision tree
ple, mold temperature has six data such as N1, T1,
Input data 43 Training data
Maximum severity of root node 100
Minimum record number of root node 3
Table 3 Ten important parameters of mold processes after extraction
Maximum depth of the decision tree 5
Item no. Parameter name Item no. Parameter name
Class label Molding result
Output column 1
1 Injection temperature 6 Injection velocity
Molding result OK or NG
2 Mold temperature 7 Packing time
3 Injection speed 8 Packing switch
4 Injection pressure 9 Cooling time
5 Injection time 10 Ingredients MI value
T2, T3, T4 and T5, sum up N1–T5 and calculate the
mean temperature.
Table 4 Six variables for identifying failure of mold processes c. Eliminate unwanted parameters, import parameters
wanted only.
Item no. Variable name
(5) Set up data mining model
1 Streak
All original data are converted into variables of each
2 Stain
adjustment range through data conversion, and the clas-
3 Burn marks sified order of all nodes on each decision tree is set
4 Edges according to the information gain results of ID3 algo-
5 Unfilled parts rithm, expert opinions, and changes in all variables. The
6 Warped parts order is shown in Table 6.
(6) Result view and verification
Finally, as for the complete decision tree constructed in
Table 5 Amplitude settings of change in each parameter value data mining model, the results are validated and viewed
Category Positive range (%) Category Negative range (%) through the following two steps.
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Ingredients
MI Value
Injection
Temperature
Injection
Packing Time
Time
Cooling
Time
Packing
Time
Injection
Time
Injection
Velocity
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Mold Temperature
Injection Temperature
Injection Spee
Speedd
Fig. 4 The final decision tree pruned through the information gain
Using the effective rules obtained above, the model of (1) Rule verification
decision tree was to be verified by testing data. The In order to check whether the explored rule was effective
experimental results are presented as follows. The coin- for mold tooling test personnel in adjusting parameters
cidence matrix for predicted classes is shown in of forming injection machine, this study used a set of
Table 8. bad injection parameter data to verify the rules, and the
process is as follows.
A. In training stage, the accuracy rate of prediction is 97.6%, a. Procure an example case of molding defective during
and the error ratio is 2.4%. tooling test injection molding for case of improve-
B. In testing stage, the accuracy rate of prediction is 86.9%, ment suggestion (see Table 9).
and the error ratio is 13.1%. In Table 9, the cause of molding defective is surplus
burr. The mold tooling test personnel would adjust the
parameters of injection molding machine and repeat-
Model verification edly tests according to expert experience and intui-
tion, until defective condition is improved.
For the sake of closing to actual situation, this study provided b. Make adjustment suggestions based on explored
two ways, rule verification and effectiveness comparison of knowledge rules
mining algorithms, to conduct model verification. The fol- Although the molding yield rate could be 96.4% by
lowing shows the details. adjusting the mold temperature, molding defective
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Table 10 Parameter settings of back-propagation neural network validation of the system, this study took the only high-alloy
Parameter name Parameter setting steel manufacturer among the top 500 enterprises in Taiwan
as the case study, and classified 43 data of 66 mold tooling
test record data of injection molding machine as training data
Data collection period April 2007 to March 2008 and 23 of which as testing data. The data mining technique
Data mining algorithm Back-propagation neural network adopted was the decision tree algorithm. The experimental
Input data 43 Training data results showed that, the prediction accuracy rate of training
Module Training model data is 97.6%, and the prediction accuracy rate of testing data
Learning rate 0.3 is 86.9%. In addition, two classification rules of decision tree
Momentum factor 0.2 learning method were explored, and concrete proposals for
Maximum learning cycle 500 parameter adjustment were proposed according to these two
Number of neurons in hidden 6 (Processing units in input layer knowledge rules.
layer + processing units in output Moreover, this study provided two ways, rule verifica-
layer)/2
Input column 10
tion and effectiveness comparison of four mining algorithms,
Output column 1
to conduct model verification. The four classification algo-
rithms were decision tree, back-propagation neural network,
Class label Molding results
combination of decision tree, and discriminate analysis. The
Molding results OK or NG
experimental results indicated that, the decision tree algo-
rithm has an excellent classification discriminating ability,
and it can provide clear and simple rules as the guideline for
Table 11 Experimental results of four mining algorithms
decisions.
Data mining algorithm Data type Mean accuracy
rate (%)
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