Allowing for Partial Pallets in Combiner

[mcmckay723]

I'm trying to use a combiner to batch together items coming down a conveyer. However, for my process, I may end up a product run with a partial batch that I would like to still batch and create a state called "partial." The combiner will then start combining the next product coming down the line using the standard batching setup.

I've searched through the simbits and examples and was unable to find anything similar. Does anyone have any experience with how I might set this up?

Thanks!

Melissa

[dsturrock]

The batch quantity is an expression evaluated in the context of the parent entity. So if the parent entity can recognize this situation, then the expression could cause that to happen.

To take a simple example...

I have 10 members coming down the line and I want (ideally) to batch them in groups of 4. If the 3 parents coming in had a state named MyBatchSize, that was set to 4, 4, and 2, respectively, then the BatchQuantity expression would simply be MyBatchSize.

Although I recognize that most situations would be more complex, perhaps this can give you some ideas.

[mcmckay723]

Thanks but unfortunately we won't know exactly how many full pallets and what partial we will need ahead of time due to random losses for QC checks. I suppose I could calculate on the fly, but was wondering if there was an easier way to do it.

This would be similar to the logic in the filler where we allow for a partial fill.

Thanks again,

Melissa

[dsturrock]

I always fall back to looking at how the real system operates.

Exactly who makes the decision on when to allow a small batch and on what information is the decision based. Once you determine that I expect that you can represent that behavior in Simio.

For example:

Does the last batch member have some sort of indicator on it?

Is there only a fixed amount of time that a partial batch will wait to be completed?

You could possibly hold the parent just outside the combiner until the last member of its batch is determined, then tell it (the parent) what batch size to use.