This section will provide more information about how to change the settings for the general Conveyor System. Before reading this section, you should be familiar with the purpose and basic functionality of the Conveyor System tool. See the following sections for more information:
The Conveyor System Settings properties window has two tabs:
- Default Types - settings that determine the default Types that are assigned to conveyor objects when they are first added to the simulation model.
- General - settings for the visual appearance of conveyor objects within the model.
Each of the different settings available on each tab is explained in the following sections.
Conveyor System Settings should not be confused with Conveyor Type Settings, which are the settings for Straight or Curved Conveyors.
Accessing Conveyor System Settings
To access the Conveyor System Settings dialog box, you must first ensure that there is at least one Straight or Curved Conveyor in your model. Otherwise, the Conveyor System tool will not appear in your toolbox. Once you have a conveyor in your model:
- Click View on the main menu, then click Toolbox to open the Toolbox. Alternatively, you could access the Toolbox by clicking the Tools button on the toolbar.
- You'll see several different tools listed in the toolbox. Double-click Conveyor System to open the Conveyor System Settings dialog box.
The Default Types Tab
The following image shows the various settings available in the Default Types tab:
You'll notice there are several fields with pull-down menus. From each pull-down menu you can select the default Types that are assigned to various conveyor objects when they are first added to the simulation model.
For more information about the Type Properties dialog box and different settings for each object, see:
- Conveyor Types
- Transfer Types
- Decision Point Types
- Photo Eye Types
- Entry Transfer Types
- Exit Transfer Types
The General Tab
The following image shows the various settings available in the General tab:
The available settings are:
- Draw Render Mode - When checked, Straight or Curved Conveyors will visually appear to have rollers (for accumulating conveyors) or belts (for non-accumulating conveyors). See Conveyor Type Settings - The Visual Tab for more information about simulating roller conveyors.
- Show Decision Points - When checked, Decision Points will appear as a diamond icon on a conveyor.
- Show Photo Eyes - When checked, Photo Eyes will appear as a green or red line across a conveyor.
- Show Transfers - When checked, Transfers will appear as a square icon on a conveyor.
- Show Fixed Intervals - When checked, conveyors will show a line on a conveyor indicating where the dogs are in a Power and Free conveyor system. See Conveyor Types - Power and Free Settings for more information.
- Snap Threshold - Conveyors will snap and join together when they are within range of the value indicated in this field.
- Decision Point Draw Size - Determines what size Decision Points should be drawn visually.
- Propogate Non-Accumulating Stops to Straddled Conveyors - If checked, stopping/blocking items that are straddling multiple non-accumulating conveyors will also stop all upstream conveyors they are straddling (instead of just the conveyor that is driving the item's speed).
Many of the fields in the Conveyor Type Properties dialog box have editable Unit of Measurement fields. See Adjusting Units of Measurement for more information.