Use the Movement submenu if you want the Decision Point or Photo Eye to change the orientation (rotation, tilt angle, etc.) or location of the item. The Movement submenu has two options: Rotate Item and Translate Item.
The Rotate Item and Translate Item Behaviors use kinematics-based offsets. This means that these Behaviors don't change the item's properties, logic, or orientation (with some exceptions, as noted below). These Behaviors are primarily only visual. In light of the fact that items will only appear to change visually, you should keep in mind:
- You will likely not want to translate the item along the conveyor-forward axis (forward or backward along the conveyor), unless you are willing to have accumulation and other conveyor logic fire at weird points visually because the item has been visually offset forward or backward from the location where the conveyor is tracking it.
- If items are offset on the conveyor-left axis, and they pass over photo eyes with an offset angle applied, they will still cover/clear the photo eye as if they were in the center of the conveyor.
However, there are some exceptions to this visual-only rule:
- When an item starts a side transfer, the transfer logic will take the item's conveyor-left offset into account in determining how far the item must move to complete the transfer.
- If a photo eye's height is non-zero, then when an item's front edge reaches the photo eye, the cover logic will take the item's current conveyor-up offset into account in determining whether the item covers the photo eye.
The following sections will discuss each Movement submenu option.
Rotate Item
Select Rotate Item from the Movement submenu if you want the Decision Point or Photo Eye to rotate and/or tilt the item when the Trigger fires. When selected, the following dialog box will appear:
The Condition field defines the condition by which the item should be rotated. See The Condition Field for more information.
The Rotation Axis menu determines the axis around which the item will be rotated, relative to the conveyor. It has the following three options:
- Conveyor Up - The item will rotate around the axis pointing up on the conveyor.
- Conveyor Left - The item will rotate around the axis pointing left on the conveyor.
- Conveyor Forward - The item will rotate around the axis pointing forward along the conveyor.
The Rotate Angle text box determines the degree of the angle that the item will rotate. So, if the Rotate Angle is set to 90, the item will rotate 90 degrees. You can also enter in a negative number to move in the opposite direction.
Rotation Angle Between 60 and 120
If you enter in a rotation angle between 60 and 120 (or between -60 and -120), the behavior will change the conveyor orientation of the item. This means that the item's length, width and height, as tracked by the conveyor, will be recalculated based on the newly-rotated orientation of the item. Note that this may have weird effects if the item is straddling a conveyor transfer when the behavior executes. In such a case, make sure the Decision Point that executes the logic is on the upstream conveyor.
The Pivot Point menu controls what part of the item will be the pivot point when it rotates. The available options depend on which axis is being rotated. For Conveyor Up, for example, the available options will be:
- Item Center
- Item Front Left
- Item Back Left
- Item Back Right
- Item Front Right
The Rotate menu determines how or when the item will complete its rotation. It has the following options:
- Over Time - Once the rotation begins, the item will complete the rotation after a set amount of time has elapsed. The rotation will be completed whether the item gets stopped on the conveyor or not.
- Over Conveyor Distance - Once the rotation begins, the item will complete the rotation over a particular convey distance. The rotation will pause if the item gets stopped on the conveyor.
The Time text box is only available when Over Time is selected from the Rotate menu. Enter in the amount of time it should take the item to rotate. This text box will use the model's units of measurement, so if you enter 10 and the model's time unit is in seconds, it will take 10 seconds to rotate.
The Distance text box is only available when Over Conveyor Distance is selected from the Rotate menu. Enter in the distance the item will need to travel before it rotates. This text box will use the model's units of measurement, so if you enter 1 and the model's length unit is in meters, it will take 1 meter to rotate.
Translate Item
Select Translate Item from the Movement submenu if you want the Decision Point or Photo Eye to move the item when the Trigger fires. When selected, the following dialog box will appear:
The Condition field defines the condition by which the item will be moved. See The Condition Field for more information.
The Conveyor Forward, Conveyor Left, and Conveyor Up fields determine the position of the item as it moves. The position is relative to the conveyor:
- Conveyor Forward - The item will move forward on the conveyor (the conveyor's head).
- Conveyor Left - The item will move left on the conveyor.
- Conveyor Up - The item will move up on the conveyor.
The Translate menu determines how or when the item will complete its movement. It has the following options:
- Over Time - Once the movement begins, the item will complete the movement after a set amount of time has elapsed. The movement will be completed whether the item gets stopped on the conveyor or not.
- Over Conveyor Distance - Once the movement begins, the item will complete the movement over a particular convey distance. The movement will pause if the item gets stopped on the conveyor.
The Time text box is only available when Over Time is selected from the Translate menu. Enter in the amount of time it should take the item to move. This text box will use the simulation model's units of measurement, so if you enter 10 and the model's time unit is in seconds, it will take 10 seconds to move.
The Distance text box is only available when Over Conveyor Distance is selected from the Translate menu. Enter in the distance the item will need to travel before it moves. This text box will use the simulation model's units of measurement, so if you enter 1 and the model's length unit is in meters, it will take 1 meter to move.
