Mechanical reliability prediction (MRP) is an important task of mechanical reliability design. In the initial design stage (IDS), the lack of reliability data and some fuzzy characteristics of MRP make this work hardness. Because fuzzy synthetical assessment (FSA) can well utilize expert′s experience and fuzzy data, it is used to assess the influence factors of reliability. On the basis of the assessed results, the predicted value of reliability is inferred by the fuzzy inference system (FIS). This approach particularly suits to predict the reliability of complex machinery (including other products) in IDS, so that it can remedy some defects of the existing methods. An example is discussed to interpret how to utilize it.
