How to reference item in Storage Location for Matrl Cons. & Replen. Process Flow

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Sofia G21 asked Jul 19, '23 Sofia G21 commented Jul 20, '23

How to reference item in Storage Location for Matrl Cons. & Replen. Process Flow

Hello everybody, I think I have the right idea, but I need some help in how to do it. Here's my objective, I'd appreciate any help possible:

- I have a model with tons of processors that are consuming some material (i.e. pallets) every time they produce x number of units --> this is done using the Material Consumption and Replenishment Process Flow Template. Example: For every 20 items, 1 pallet is consumed.

- For each processor, I have a storage location (selected through the process flow variables from the Material Consumption and Replenishment Process) by central port connection.

- These storage locations are simple queues to which AGVs deliver every time they are empty. Each queue can only hold 1 pallet.

Since I have so many processors and so many storage locations, I had the idea of incorporating this into the Material Consumption and Replenishment Process Flow Template. And what I wanted to do was reference the item in the queue, using current or storage location variable, in a destroy object so every time the process flow 'reorders' material, it 'uses' up the pallets that are in the queue. This would then trigger the AGVs to come fill the queue.

So the question is:

-How do I reference the item inside the queue in the Process Flow [remember there can only be one pallet at a time inside the queue] using the available information?
-How do I make it so that the processor does not run unless there is a pallet in its storage location to be supplied by?
-Is there a better way to go about this?

Attached a simplified model.Flexsim - Replenishment Model.fsm

Thanks in advance to any help possible!

Software Version:

FlexSim 23.0.8

process flow material replenishment item calling

1689796818367.png (291.8 KiB)

1689796833921.png (50.5 KiB)

1689796859570.png (113.7 KiB)

flexsim-replenishment-model.fsm (54.3 KiB)

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Carter Walch commented · Jul 19, 2023 at 08:26 PM

Hi @Sofia G21,

Are you able to attach a model so we can better answer your question?

If your model contains sensitive information, you could first toggle your post as private. Private questions are visible only to site moderators.

Also have you tried continuing the dot notation in your destroy object activity to reference the Queue and the pallet within it? i.e. current.centerObjects[1].subnodes[1]

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Sofia G21 Carter Walch commented · Jul 19, 2023 at 10:02 PM

Hey Carter, I have attached a simplified model to my post.

The main thing I want is not to reference directly to the queue, I want to reference the item inside the Storage location queue, so it applies to all Processors attached to the Material Consumption and Replenishment model.

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Answer 1 · 2023-07-20T07:33:13Z

Felix Möhlmann answered Jul 20, '23 Sofia G21 commented Jul 20, '23

I'd place the logic to destroy the pallet as a part of the replenishment subflow.

The template will stop the processor's input if the available quantity reaches zero. You just have to make sure to set the starting values of the variables accordingly.

flexsim-replenishment-model-fm.fsm

In case you are not aware of this. Each instance object has its own set of variables that are set independently of other instances. When you first add an object as an instance, the variables will be set to the values defined on the template. Changing those defaults afterwards will not change the values for the instance objects. To do that, click on the respective processor and change the values in its properties.

flexsim-replenishment-model-fm.fsm (56.9 KiB)

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Sofia G21 commented · Jul 20, 2023 at 03:48 PM

Thanks so much Felix! This is a better approach.

As always, I very much appreciate your time and help!

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