Correlation Analyzer builds upon the simple idea of X-Y Scatter Charts. Unlike time series plots, scatter charts show the values of two different time-dependent process variables at equal points in time so you can see how one variable behaves as a function of another. When pulling on a spring, for instance, one can chart both force and displacement over time. A scatter chart would show force vs. displacement for any point in time, thus illustrating Hooke's law. Frequently, in manufacturing, you want to compare one process variable against another, but offset by the time delay caused by one thing occurring earlier than the other. The Correlation Analyzer addresses this issue.
In ThinkIQ there is the notion of process flow - materials moving through equipment with a Can Feed relationship - and the notion of material flow time, which is how long it takes material to move between two pieces of equipment that are connected by a Can Feed relationship. If you have a process segment, which is a set of equipment where one piece of equipment feeds another piece of equipment which feeds another piece of equipment, ThinkIQ understands the dynamic material flow time over that segment, and can plot two variables in correlation with one another.
In other words, if you select an attribute on equipment A and another attribute on equipment B, (which are related by a Can Feed relationship), the Correlation Analyzer will automatically align the variables in time for you so you can see how they really correlate. This is possible because the offset is calculated using material flow time (an attribute on a piece of equipment) and the existence of the Can Feed relationship. Note that the attribute type material flow time must exist on all equipment in the process segment for the calculations to succeed.