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Qstat Desktop
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3D Surface Plot Maker

Paste a wide table such as speed × temperature and see the values as a 3D surface. Rotate it with the mouse to find the best conditions (peaks) and the low regions.

1Data Table

Paste a table copied from Excel into a cell (Ctrl+V). Click a column header (A, B…) before pasting to use the first line as column names. Double-click a header to rename it, right-click to insert/delete rows and columns, and formulas such as =A1*2 work too.

23D Surface Plot Options

Select the value columns. The selected column names become the X-axis categories (e.g. select '08:00', '12:00', ... in order):

※ Drag the result chart with the mouse to rotate the 3D view.

How to make a 3D surface plot

  1. Copy the row-name column (e.g. speed) and the value columns (e.g. 20°C, 30°C, ...) together with the header.
  2. Click the column header (A) in the data table and paste - the first line becomes the column name. You can also open a CSV or Excel file.
  3. Choose the Y-axis (row) category column and tick two or more value columns for the X axis in the order you want.
  4. Press Draw, rotate the chart with the mouse, and check the highest/lowest point interpretation.

What is a 3D surface plot?

A 3D surface plot uses the rows (Y) and columns (X) of a table as the floor grid and the cell values as the height (Z), joined into a surface. It shows as real relief the highs and lows a heatmap shows only as colors, making the peaks and valleys of a response (yield, strength, ...) to two conditions intuitive.

Each surface patch is colored from blue (low) to red (high) by the mean of its four corners. Rows with the same name are averaged, and cells without values are left out of their patches.

How to read a 3D surface plot

  • The automatic interpretation reports the position (row/column) and value of the highest and lowest cells (the same rule as the heatmap).
  • A peak at the edge of the table may mean the best condition lies outside the measured range - try measuring a wider range.
  • A surface tilted in one direction only means that axis's condition has a strong effect on the result.

Frequently asked questions

Is the data layout the same as the heatmap?

Yes. It uses the same table of one row-category column and several value columns. At least two value columns are needed to form a surface.

How do I rotate the chart?

Hold the left mouse button on the chart and drag. The Home button returns to the original angle (elevation 30°, azimuth -60°).

What appears when I hover?

The row name, X-axis name and value of the nearest grid point, at the top left.

Is my data sent to a server?

No. Everything is processed inside your browser and nothing is transmitted or stored.

Other chart tools

Heatmap MakerColor a table such as equipment × time slot to see high and low values at a glance.Contour Plot MakerShow how Z is distributed over X and Y with color bands and contour lines.3D Scatter Plot MakerPlot three variables in 3D space and rotate with the mouse to explore their relationship.

Need process capability, control charts or DOE?

The Qstat desktop program offers about 250 analysis features: histograms and box plots plus process capability (Cp, Cpk), control charts, measurement system analysis (MSA), design of experiments (DOE), regression and machine learning.

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