Managing Conveyors

You can manage conveyors by editing stations, and by defining conveyors as continuous flow lines before simulating the scenario.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin: Open a scenario containing a conveyor.
See Also
Adding Activities
Simulating Power and Free Conveyors

Edit Stations

You can define and edit stations on a conveyor.

Before you begin: Define the decision zones on the conveyor.
  1. Click the Resource Configuration command in the Programming section of the action bar.
  2. In the Resource Configuration table that appears, right-click a conveyor.
  3. In the context toolbar that appears, click Edit Stations .
    In the Create/Edit Stations table that appears, mark the beginning and end of each station.

    Note: For each operation defined on the decision zone, if there is worker assigned then there must be a resource zone assigned as well.

You have edited the stations on a conveyor.

Define a Conveyor as a Continuous Flow Line

You can define a conveyor as a continuous flow line and play the simulation using a mobile storage pallet with the mobile storage pallet flowing directly to the conveyor. A mobile storage is a storage type that you have defined as mobile, which allows it to be on a conveyor.

Before you begin: Open a scenario with a mobile storage pallet on a conveyor and a buffer activity.
  1. Select a conveyor and click Edit SLA Resource or Edit Product Flow.
  2. In the Processing Mode section of theEdit dialog box that appears, select the Continuous Flow Line option to define the conveyor as a continuous flow line.
    Note: The part accumulation mode is always nonaccumulating for a continuous flow line, so you must manually ensure appropriate speed and part spacing on the conveyor.
  3. To specify the position of the part on the conveyor during simulation, right-click a part in the Resource Configuration table, then click Part Position > Define Part Position.
    You have modified the part position during simulation.
  4. Click the Play  command on the Compass to begin the simulation.
    The continuous flow line simulation plays with the mobile storage pallet flowing directly to the conveyor. The simulation also shows the product flows for the parts moving directly to the decision zone.
    Note: During the simulation, you must trigger the operation at the decision zone when the mobile storage pallet meets the decision zone. Due to this, the mobile storage pallet must flow directly to the conveyor during the operation. If there is a worker assigned to the operation, then the worker must move along with the mobile storage pallet.

    The worker must also meet at the midpoint of the mobile storage pallet on the moving conveyor. When the pack activity is complete, the part will be at the corresponding product zone of the mobile storage pallet.

  5. Stop the simulation if the operation is not complete before the mobile storage pallet reaches the end of the conveyor.


  6. Resume the simulation when the unpack activity is complete, then route parts out of the conveyor.
  7. Select the buffer activity and click Edit SLA Resource or Edit Product Flow.
  8. In the Edit dialog box that appears, check the Sequence Mode option to control the production sequence of machines.
    When you define the sequence mode on the buffer activity, the buffer sequences parts based on the resource level capacity only.

You have defined the conveyor as a continuous flow and simulated the scenario with a buffer activity.

Route Parts with Cyclic Non-Blocking

You can enable cyclic Non-Blocking to control how the conveyor routes parts.

  1. Select the first conveyor in the work area and click Edit SLA resource .
  2. In the Edit dialog box that appears, set Flow mode OUT to Cyclic Non-Blocking.
    The first conveyor routes parts to downstream resources on the second conveyor in a cyclic manner. If the downstream resource is blocked, it routes to the next resource in the cycle.

  3. Select the second conveyor in the work area and click Edit SLA resource .
  4. In the Edit dialog box that appears, set Flow mode IN to Cyclic Non-Blocking.
    The second conveyor accepts the part in a cyclic manner from upstream resources on the first conveyor. If the part is not available in an upstream resource, then it takes from the next resource in the cycle.

Simulate a Transform Activity on a Conveyor

You can edit a transform activity and set the input and output to parts inside the pallet or mobile storage, then simulate it along a conveyor decision zone.

  1. Click Resource Configuration from the Programming section of the action bar.
  2. Right-click an existing transform activity in the Resource Configuration table that appears and click Edit .
  3. In the Edit dialog box that appears, define the first Input Product as a part inside the pallet or a mobile storage, then define other parts as subsequent inputs.
  4. Specify the Output Product as a part inside the pallet or a mobile storage, then define other parts as subsequent outputs.
  5. Click OK, then close the Resource Configuration table.
  6. Click Play  from the 3DCompass to start the simulation.
    The part inside the pallet moves across the conveyor decision zone with the transform activity that you defined. The transform activity is executed on the part inside the pallet.



    Note: If the transform activity has an additional input apart from the part already inside the pallet, then the decision zone requests for a part from an external source. The activity to be launched is decided based on the first part inside the pallet.