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shanice.c asked Eric M answered

Use Decision point to Pick from conveyor

Hi, This is my first time using conveyor, I want to let Type1 item go to stocker1, Type2 item go to stocker2. (Now I only build stocker1 in model.)There is a robot responsible for picking item from conveyor, and then place item into rack.

I'm new in FlexSim. Now my problem is I have no idea I should use Decision point or Process flow to distinguish item type. I suppose using decision point is a simple way to complete, is it? How to connect decision point to conveyor and connect to robot?

After picking an item from conveyor, I want to let robot move on the rail. Do I have to use networknode to complete this??

Can somebody help me with my problem, also explain when is right time to use Process flow. As I understand process flow is used when I want to design a whole model logic or for an object logic. But sometimes both FlexSim's 3D modeling tools and Process flow are used in a model. In such case, I can't connect between objects and set properties, I have to do all the settings in process flow?

robot picking.fsm

FlexSim 20.2.3
conveyorflexsim 20.2.3decision point
robot-picking.fsm (10.5 MiB)
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Eric M avatar image
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Eric M answered

Hi @Fiona C, I would suggest checking out the conveyor tutorial for help with understanding how to send items by type and how to get the connections right. It looks like you had the connections correct in your model. Network nodes would be a good option for having the robot move along the rail.

That is a good question about whether to use the 3d logic or process flow logic. In a lot of cases, process flow and the 3d object logic are interchangeable and there isn't a right or wrong option (although 3d objects can be faster to use since the logic is already built in). Process flow is very useful when you are trying to do something that isn't built into the logic of 3d objects. Knowing what you can and can't do with the 3d objects becomes more clear the more experience you have with Flexsim. In your example, decision points already have built in logic that allows them to send items based on type. Because of this, I would probably use the 3d logic instead of process flow (although that doesn't mean it's "wrong" to use process flow). Part of the decision of when to use process flow is preference and part of it is when you need extra control over the logic in a certain part of your model.

The great thing about process flow and the 3d logic is that they can be used in the same model. Just because you use process flow for something doesn't mean you are stuck using process flow for the rest of the model. For example, you could use process flow to create items in a queue. You can move that item with process flow into a processor. Then you can use the processor 3d logic to process the item. If you want to have a better understanding of this, there are also some good tutorials here you can learn from.

I also updated your model so you can see how some of this works. robot-picking (1).fsm


robot-picking-1.fsm (10.5 MiB)
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Up to 12 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 23.8 MiB each and 47.7 MiB total.