Search the Community

Hi, In the modell I'm working on I have a set of sources that generate different types of entities and two workers that have to grab those entities and trasport then to another node. The decision of which source is unloaded first is defined by a specific probability distribution. However, I don´t know where to define this decision to route the worker. Could someone please help?

Hi all, I've got a vehicle on a fixed route that has a capacity greater than one. Each entity has a loading and unloading time of 15 seconds. Now I want to let the vehicle dwell for 20 seconds at a node, but only if it has at least one pick-up or drop-off. When there is no pick-up or drop-off, there is no dwell time. So, if the vehicle loads or unloads only one entity it takes 20 seconds. But loading/unloading multiple entities at one node takes the loading/unloading time required. For a pick-up I can dwell only if the RidePickUpQueue of the current node is > 0. For a drop-off I'm however clueless what to put in the "dwell only if" How to implement this logic? Thanks!

Dear Simulationists, I am trying to model a manufacturing cell consisting of a metrology station, CNC machine, and an airblast station. Each processed batch contains 3 different parts. The batch is inspected in the metrology station, then is mounted on the CNC where the first part is machined. After the first part is machined, it is then taken out of the CNC machine and transported to the airblast station, and after that to the metrology station and the finished parts store, while the CNC machines the second part of the batch. The same is repeated for the second and third part of the batch. After all three parts are machined, the plate used as a fixture for the batch is also processed on the CNC, followed by transportation to the metrology station and the plate store. There are defect rates of different magnitude associated with different operations. My idea was to represent each of the operation steps as separate servers (4 CNCs, 4 metrology stations, 3 airblast stations) and create a process logic that assigns a single shared processing capacity on all servers performing the same function. For example, this would not allow the second CNC to start operating if the first is already operating. I have been struggling to define this process logic for three days now, and as my desperation levels grew progressively higher, I decided to seek assistance from the experts in this forum. I would deeply appreciate it if you share your ideas on how this process logic might look like, ideas about more efficient methods to model the scenario and any general feedback or suggestions! Thanks, Hristiyan

Dear Simulationists, I am trying to model a manufacturing cell consisting of a metrology station, CNC machine, and an airblast station. Each processed batch contains 3 different parts. The batch is inspected in the metrology station, then is mounted on the CNC where the first part is machined. After the first part is machined, it is then taken out of the CNC machine and transported to the airblast station, and after that to the metrology station and the finished parts store, while the CNC machines the second part of the batch. The same is repeated for the second and third part of the batch. After all three parts are machined, the plate used as a fixture for the batch is also processed on the CNC, followed by transportation to the metrology station and the plate store. There are defect rates of different magnitude associated with different operations. My idea was to represent each of the operation steps as separate servers (4 CNCs, 4 metrology stations, 3 airblast stations) and create a process logic that assigns a single shared processing capacity on all servers performing the same function. For example, this would not allow the second CNC to start operating if the first is already operating. I have been struggling to define this process logic for three days now, and as my desperation levels grew progressively higher, I decided to seek assistance from the experts in this forum. I would deeply appreciate it if you share your ideas on how this process logic might look like, ideas about more efficient methods to model the scenario and any general feedback or suggestions! This is a repost of the thread from the public forum to allow file attachments. Thanks, Hristiyan

Hi, there. I'm very interested in Customizing objects. What I'm trying to customize is a vehicle which has more than one station. I have added some stations on the vehicle and tried an entity is stored in that new station when the vehicle picks up an entity. I know there is a ridestation in the standard vehicle. So, my plan is, first, entities are stored in ridestation then it goes to new stations I made, and when the vehicle arrives at destination node, the entities move to RideStation again , then drop off. are there any process logic to do that? Thank you for your help. Jay.

Hi, I have different type of entities queue up at an server output content waiting for a worker comes to pick them up for further process. After picking up, each entity will be sent to the corresponding location for further process. Ex: Product A goes to Server A, Product B goes to Server B ...etc. Can I pick up the entity based on the condition of capacity remaininig of the destination? Ex: Suppose we have 4 products A, B, A, C queue up. When the worker comes to pick up the first product A, he will check the capacity remainig of the destination Server A. If there is still capacity in the Server A, then go. If there is no capacity in the Server A, the worker go check the second product B and see if there is capacity in the Server B... etc. Can someone give me some idea how I can do this? Thanks for the help!

Hello I have a question about how to set up an Add-on process so that vehicle could drop off the entity based on the capacity of the conveyor, and if the capacity if full and the vehicle will be on idle.

Hello, I am trying to model a situation when a truck which comes for unloading and requires a worker or combination for worker to do the task. Basically I want to know how can I engage secondary resource (Worker or forklift) for loading, unloading or even for transit ( transit I require for cranes ). I am a novice in Simio and will be thankful for any kind of help.

Hi, I have few questions about workers. I have a model where there are 5 types of workers. A specific number of workers will be seized (let's suppose 10), but some will be seized using a "specific" seize request and some will be seized using different lists. After that, I want to move all workers with the entity to another server. Ideally, I want to move all of them using a few vehicles (more than 1), because I also have transporters restrictions (which makes me think that maybe is better modeling the workers as an entity). But before I take this path, I want to know if: 1. Is it possible to combine workers (similar to how we combine entities)? 2. Is it possible to use a transporter to move a worker? My guess is not, because the worker itself is a type of transporter. 3. Is there any way to only move an entity from one node to another by using multiple transporters? I know we can select the transporter from a list, but I could not figure out a way to move the entity using multiple transporters. If the answers for the above questions are no, is there a simple way to keep track of the indexes of the workers being seized by a specific entity (e.g. by using tables or state vectors)? Thanks for your insights. If you can point me to any SimBits I would definitely appreciate it.

One machine in my model needs to realize three type of failure event during the simulation. The first type of failure will happen every random.expo(3) minutes and need an operator to adjust it, the second type of failure will happen after every 100 entities be processed and need the same operator to deal with, the third type of failure is random.exponential(3) days and need engineer to repair. All the three types are independent occurred. How can I model this condition? Any suggestion will be appreciated!

Hi I am trying to create a model that the vehicle can pick up entities from different location based on the capacity of the Track. For now, my model will be stuck whenever the Track is full. Based on my model, I have attached a picture below. The Transfercar2 will pick up an entity from extrusion2 and drop it off at Track_2A, or pick up an entity from extrusion1 and drop it off at Track_3A. However, the transfercar2 does not know the capacity of the Track. I wonder how to do an add-on process or any other methods could fix this problem. As a result, if the Track_3A is full, the transfercar2 will go to extrusion2 to pick up an entity and drop it off at Track_2A, if the Track_2A is full, the transfercar2 will go to extrusion 1 to pick up an entity and drop it off at Track_3A. (On the picture, Track_3A is above Track_2A) Thank you.

Hi, currently my model has 2 manufacturing lines that are mirror to each other, depending on constraints by diameter, parts will go to a specific line. If parts are <60 inches they would go through line 1, but if parts are greater or less they can also go through line 2. My problem is I want to have Multiple Sequences on a entity and then be filter by diameter and line capacity. Any ideas?

Hi everyone, I'm a freshman university student and am new to Simio, so please correct me if I make any beginner mistakes or say anything wrong. Also, I apologize for posting this in the general section - I didn't know where to post it. In my simulation, I am trying to use excelRead and excelWrite to input and output data to an excel file. I am also using labels to show the exact values. During the simulation, I would like to run a MATLAB script to modify the data in the excel sheet, and read it back into Simio. I have no trouble at all running a MATLAB function using the CallMATLAB step. The problem is reading the modified file back into Simio, which is not explained by the simbit or online tutorials, as far as I know. For example, the values initially in the spreadsheet were all 1's. The first time I use excelRead to read a file, Simio shows the data without a problem. After that, I change the values to 2's, but when excelRead process is triggered, Simio doesn't show changes. Note that the data in the excel file did change. Once I completely stop the simulation and run it again, Simio finally shows the new values. I apologize if I am completely incorrect, but I have been thinking of what the problem might be. It appears to me that the first time Simio uses excelRead to read a file, it somehow stores a copy of it and works only with it, and when it stops it somehow copies it back? I'm really confused about what's happenning. The point is that I just cannot read the same file more than once. Is it possible to modify and read an excel sheet several times while the simulation is running, or is it just not possible using excel files? If so, what would be some solutions to this issue? If I decide to use mySQL databases instead of excel files, would I face the same issue? Please note that I am not familiar with databases, and would like to use excel files if possible. Thank you all. Please let me know if my question is unclear or if you need any more information.

Hey, guys. Quick question: Can a vehicle from a model enter another model within the same project? I have a warehouse as a parent model and I need my forklift (vehicle) to enter another model while carrying an entity. I tried setting a transporter reference property, but without much success. Any sugestions? Thanks.

Hello, I am modeling a container terminal. I have different servers which model my container storage yard. I have two different Model Entities, "ImportContainers" and "ExportContainers". I created an Add-On Process on Entering the OutputNode of the storage servers. In this process, the destination node is defined ("SetNode"-step) based on the type of Entity and a transporter ride is initiated ("Ride"-step). It works. Now I want to change the destination to a group of servers (which represent a group of truck loading stations). So I grouped the InputNodes of these servers into a NodeList. But in the Add-On Process I can't set the NodeList as a Destination in the "SetNode"-Step. I need this, because I want to set different NodeList's as a destination for my "ImportContainers" and "ExportContainers" respectively. My questions are: 1. How can I set a NodeList as a destination in an Add-On Process? 2. When using NodeList's as destination, how can I be sure that only servers are choosen randomly from that list which are not full? Thanks!

Hello Simio Forum, I have an issue I can’t quite get my head around. In a warehouse model I have created I have a server that (via a task list table) seizes workers (2) from a list and a vehicle for a series of tasks. In reality both workers work at the same time blending the individual tasks involved. How can I reproduce this in the model plus what will happen if I only have 1 operator. Issues 1. Can I seize both operators to perform a single task but if I have only 1 worker can the cycle time be extended 2. If I separate the individual tasks to worker 1, worker 2 (not done in reality) what happens if I only have 1 worker can he perform all tasks. Cheers Martin

Hello, I am very new to Simio and still learning. I have 2 different entity types, Long and Short. I have a source which goes to any of 2 available workstations, no restrictions needed here. Those 2 workstations then need to send their processed entities (randomly Long or Short) to 2 other workstations, Saw A and Saw B. If the entity is Long, it absolutely must go to Saw A, if it is the Short entity, it must prioritize Saw B, but if Saw A is available and Saw B is in use, it should go to A. How can I do this? Thanks in advance. Samuel

Hello, I was wondering if it is possible to change the vehicle initial home node during the simulation. In my model , I want to vehicle to park at home after his work, but in the middle of the simulation I want him to go wait in another place. Is it possible ?

I am building a model of a distribution network. There are two separate types of vehicles in my system. Steel trucks which transport entities from the source to the distribution centers, and boom trucks which transport entities on the final leg from the distribution centers to the sinks. Each of my distribution centers has boom trucks parked at the output node with the exception of "ElktonStagingYard" which should have no trucks parked at the output node. Each time an entity arrives at "ElktonStagingYard", a boom truck should travel from the nearest distribution center, "RockyMountDC", to "ElktonStagingYard" and then to the customer. How can I make this happen? I have tried to build a path from "RockyMountDC" to "ElktonStagingYard" but this seems to mess up vehicle routing since I want the output node at each distribution center's outbound routing logic to be By Link Weight. I have attached my model. Thank you in advance! MeganVasshCurrentModel - Copy.spfx

I have a situation where I have entities at a single source that are transferred to their destination by a vehicle. Each vehicle delivers 1 entity per trip. The destination is dictated by the entity's state variable ModelEntity.DropOff (if=1, then drop off at server 1, if=2, drop off at server 2, etc..). The vehicle path is the same for all vehicles (pick-up, then server 1, then server 2, etc.... return home) until they drop off their entity. Once they drop off their entity, they immediately return home to pick up another entity. With support's help, I have the model working fine except for the drop-off part (right now vehicles pick-up an entity, follow a nodelist, and dropoff entities at random destinations in the nodelist, and return home to pick up another) . I cannot figure out how to tell a vehicle to drop off a particular entity at a particular destination based on the attributes of the riding entity. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Scott

The attached model illustrates 2 concepts: 1st the ability to pick up Entities mid-route, 2nd how to create a 2 Task Selection Strategy when deciding who to pick up. In this model, there are high priority Entities (illustrated by the red Entities) that are created at HiPrioSource. These Entities are to be loaded first, even with low priority Entities waiting. And when the high priority Entity is loaded the vehicle takes it directly to the sink. However, when a low priority Entity is loaded, the vehicle is supposed to stop and pick up any other waiting low priority Entities that are waiting along the vehicle’s route to the sink. So, to maximize the number of Entities loaded, the vehicle wants to pick up at the farthest location (LowPrioSource1) so that it can pick up any waiting Entities as it passes through LowPrioSource2. Now the Vehicle chooses the next Entity to pick up based on its Task Selection Strategy where it can be Largest/Smallest Priority or Largest/Smallest Distance – but it can’t be both. In this example, we want to FIRST make the decision based on Priority, THEN if we know its low priority we want to base it on Largest Distance. Because we want to first base it on Priority we set the Task Selection Strategy to Highest Priority. This means that it will handle the first tier of the decision process for us. Creating the second tier requires us to customize the Standard Library Vehicle. So we subclass a Vehicle and add an Entity Reference State called ‘NextEntityToPickup’. Then we Override the OnVisitingNode Process in this new vehicle and about 2/3s of the way through the process, after Decide-IfIdel and before the Plan Visit-NewTransportationTask we place a Search step. This Search Step searches the QueueState ‘MyVehicle.CurrentNetwork.VisitRequestQueue’ (the queue of all waiting Entities) with a Search Type of ‘MaximizeReturnValue’ with a Return Value Expression of ‘MyVehicle.NetworkDistanceTo.Node(Candidate.Entity.CurrentNode)’ – meaning the Entity that is farthest away from me. This Step will find the farthest Entity out of all waiting Entities, so on the Found Branch we assign NextEntityToPickup the value of ‘Object’ – meaning the specific Entity that is farthest away. *Note, we have to reset the NextEntityToPickup State before this Search. Now, in the OnEvaluatingTranportRequest Add-on process we place a Decide Step with the following expression ‘Math.If((MyVehicle.ResourceState==0) && (MyVehicle.NextEntityToPickup != Nothing), MyVehicle.NextEntityToPickup == Entity, True)’ and a Reject Assignment on the False Branch. So, this expression says If the MyVehicle is Idle and there IS a value for NextEntityToPickup, Then “am I the next Entity to pick up?” (which gets evaluated by every Entity), if it is not idle or there is no value for NextEntityToPickup then continue on – the vehicle will pick you up. So, this combination of letting the Vehicle handle the Priority mixed with Finding > Assigning > and Checking the Farthest Entities will give you the 2 tiered Task Selection that was desired. Also, don’t forget that this Vehicle is supposed to pick up low priority Entities Mid-Route. Doing this requires further Customization of the OnVisitingNode Process. Right after the Execute-Entered Add-On Process Step we placed a Search Step that checks to see if there is any High Priority Entities in the Ride Station. If the Ride Station has a High Priority Entity OR it is completely empty, the process will continue on as normal. If the Ride Station is NOT empty and it is carrying a Low Priority Entity, that means we can try to pick up more Entities along the way. To do this, we just force the Vehicle to try to DropOff/PickUp at this node (which it would not do normally, unless it was at the dropoff node). If there are no Entities to pick up or drop off at this node, both the Pickup and Dropoff Nodes will fail and the token will eventually route itself out of the process and the Vehicle will continue on. If there are waiting Entities, the vehicle is forced to pick them up by avoiding the logic that would normally tell the Vehicle to exit the node. Custom Pickup Process.zip

In our model, we have a server and vehicles of different capacities entering the server at different points of time. We wish to make the vehicle wait until all the entities carried by the vehicle are unloaded and then processed by the server. Usually the vehicle leaves after it has unloaded. Is there a way to do this? We initially thought of using an add-on process for this. But we're unaware as to how to know the count of entities inside a vehicle, without having a specific numbered reference like vehicle[1].NumberRiders

I have 5 parts and 4 servers, each parts has different travel with different sequence. Some parts need to be carried by a cart and I'm having problems assigning carts for parts i want to be carried. can anyone please help me.

Dear all, I would like to know how to model the following problem: At creation, each entity gets a destination node. But 5 % of the entities have to make a stop-over at a certain node called "security check". After going through "security Check" the entity has to go to the destination he gained at creation. How to model such a "stop-over"? Thanks!

Hi All, I have a question regarding a maintenance workshop that consist of 11 workers who are used as resources for 4 servers. The worker keeps on working while he is off shift. I tried the simbits; Worker Uses Work Schedule Interrupt Working Off Shift and Resource States When Off Shift. These work with one worker. However, i get the following error when I try to add more workers. Entity: Defaultentity.94 A runtime error was detected at time 11,0 hours at the following process step: Object: Model Process: Resourceoffshift1 Token: Mytoken1.46 Step: [Release] Release1 Property: ResourceReleases.NumberOfObjects Error releasing resources of type specific 'Worker1[1]' owned by object 'Defaultentity.94'. Unable to release '1' object(s) of the resource type because the number of individual resources owned and satisfying the specified release criteria is only '0'. Does anyone know how I can get my workers to stop working while they are of shift? I've added my model to this post. Thanks!! Roeland van Rijssel modelmaintworkshop.spfx