To change the mesh
main topics      examples 

1    Double-click a surface, contour line, or area.

2    Click the Method tab.

3    (Graphs from the Graph menu only) If your data do not fall on a regular x-y mesh, under Interpolation method, choose one of the following methods to estimate the z values:

·    Distance method if your surface has isolated extreme values or abrupt transitions, sampling doesn't capture smooth surface transitions, and sampling error is large. The distance method will always give estimates of z within the range of your data.  

-    In Distance power, enter a number greater than 0 and less than or equal to 12 to indicate the amount of local variation smoothing. The closer to 0, the closer the fits are to the overall mean. The farther away from 0, the more weight is placed on local variation.

-   Check Standardize x- and y-data to standardize the x- and y-data if the data are measured on different scales. (The graph scale does not change.)

·    Akima's polynomial method if your surface has smooth transitions that are captured by your sampling, and sampling error is small.  If these conditions aren't met, Akima's polynomial method may overemphasize swings in the fitted surface and give z-values beyond those you have sampled.

-    In Boundary z-value, enter a z-value to be used at the boundaries (corners and edges) of the plot if your data do not form a regular mesh. By default, Minitab uses the minimum z-value. (If your data follow a regular mesh, this option is not available. This option is not available with response surface or mixtures plots.)

4    Under Mesh for Interpolating Surface, choose one of the following:

·    Automatic to use the default mesh.

·    Custom to customize the mesh.

-    In X-Mesh Number, enter the number of x-values to include in the mesh.

-    In Y-Mesh Number, enter the number of y-values to include in the mesh.

5    Click OK.