RT Journal Article T1 Comparative analysis of explainable AI methods for manufacturing defect prediction: a mathematical perspective A1 Marín Díaz, Gabriel AB The increasing complexity of manufacturing processes demands accurate defect prediction and interpretable insights into the causes of quality issues. This study proposes a methodology integrating machine learning, clustering, and Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) to support defect analysis and quality control in industrial environments. Using a dataset based on empirical industrial distributions, we train an XGBoost model to classify high- and low-defect scenarios from multidimensional production and quality metrics. The model demonstrates high predictive performance and is analyzed using five XAI techniques (SHAP, LIME, ELI5, PDP, and ICE) to identify the most influential variables linked to defective outcomes. In parallel, we apply Fuzzy C-Means and K-means to segment production data into latent operational profiles, which are also interpreted using XAI to uncover process-level patterns. This approach provides both global and local interpretability, revealing consistent variables across predictive and structural perspectives. After a thorough review, no prior studies have combined supervised learning, unsupervised clustering, and XAI within a unified framework for manufacturing defect analysis. The results demonstrate that this integration enables a transparent, data-driven understanding of production dynamics. The proposed hybrid approach supports the development of intelligent, explainable Industry 4.0 systems. PB MDPI SN 2227-7390 YR 2025 FD 2025-07-29 LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/129645 UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/129645 LA eng NO Marín Díaz, G. (2025). Comparative Analysis of Explainable AI Methods for Manufacturing Defect Prediction: A Mathematical Perspective. Mathematics, 13(15), 2436. https://doi.org/10.3390/math13152436 DS Docta Complutense RD 7 jun 2026