control flow in to the conveyor

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Sachin T asked Sep 6, '22 Andrew O commented Sep 12, '22

control flow in to the conveyor

i haeve 2 conveyors and one is accumulating and other one is a slug forming conveyor. after 30 items passed through the sllug conveyor I want to stop incoming objects into the sliug. The conveyor behind will still accumulate the parts but it wont move any items to slug conv for 500 seconds. Once 500seconds are passed I will again start moving the items to slug conveyor.

I tried closeinput, closeinputall & closeip but nothing is working. Can anyone help to resolve this issue.

@Matthew Gillespie @Joerg Vogel

I am not able to attach model for some reason.

Software Version:

FlexSim 22.1.4

conveyor

1662485729837.png (124.1 KiB)

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Attachments: Up to 12 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 23.8 MiB each and 47.7 MiB total.

Jacob W2 ♦ commented · Sep 06, 2022 at 07:36 PM

Hi @Sachin T,

It's hard to know how to help without looking at your model. To receive a more accurate solution, please post your model or a sample model that demonstrates your question. You can upload your models or other files by appending ".jpg" to the filename. Files ending in .jpg are not effected by the bug. You can also upload your model and other files to FlexSim's file share site. Include the file name in your question so that we know which upload to reference.

Proprietary models can be posted as a private question visible only to FlexSim U.S. support staff. You can also contact your local FlexSim distributor for phone or email help.

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Sachin T Jacob W2 ♦ commented · Sep 06, 2022 at 07:40 PM

i uploaded the file by the name "controlObjectFlowin Conveyor" . Please check and the question remains the same.

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Andrew O commented · Sep 12, 2022 at 04:54 PM

Hi @Sachin T, was Logan Gold's answer helpful? If so, please click the "Accept" button at the bottom of their answer. Or if you still have questions, add a comment and we'll continue the conversation.

If we haven't heard back from you within 3 business days we'll auto-accept an answer, but you can always unaccept and comment back to reopen your question.

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Answer 1 · 2022-09-06T22:51:08Z

Logan Gold answered Sep 6, '22 Felix Möhlmann commented Sep 7, '22

You'll need to use Conveyor.Item.stop() to stop an item on a Conveyor (and any upstream items that follow). You can also use a Custom Code activity with the dropdown option Control > Conveyor > Stop / Resume Item on Conveyor:

Or with a Decision Point's triggers:

The tricky part is getting the right item to stop, since the 30th item that triggers the 500 seconds of stopped time is different than the 31st item that is actually stopped. The easiest way to handle that would be to have the 30th item set a label somewhere, like on the Conveyor or in the Process Flow, and then use that label in part of your logic to determine when to stop the 31st item.

Then, the same part of the logic that sets the label will wait for 500 seconds before clearing the label and resuming the 31st item if there is one (in case it takes more than 500 seconds for the 31st item to arrive). Again, you'll probably want to use a label to keep track of which item is stopped, and then use that label when resuming the item after the 500 second delay.

I can come up with an example model if anything is unclear. Let me know if that is needed and the best way to get you that model (email, temporary link, etc.). I believe you can post a comment that only the moderators (FlexSim U.S. employees) can see if you don't want to publicly share an email address.

customcodeactivity-stopresumeitemonconveyor.png (22.0 KiB)

decisionpoint-stopitem.png (73.0 KiB)

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Attachments: Up to 12 attachments (including images) can be used with a maximum of 23.8 MiB each and 47.7 MiB total.

Felix Möhlmann commented · Sep 07, 2022 at 06:17 AM

In this particuar case, I would suggest to use the "Stop Item and Delay" option of a Photo Eye (or Decision Point). A label on the Photo Eye determines when the next item should be allowed to continue onto the slug conveyor. Items are only stopped if that time is larger than the current model time.

This way, you only have to set the label on the Photo Eye to stop the input to the slug conveyor. Resuming the flow happens automatically at the specified time.

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Sachin T Felix Möhlmann commented · Sep 07, 2022 at 02:06 PM

thank you for the answer. The purpose of this is to let the conveyor accumulate but not pass it to the slug conveyor because the system is executing a special Grid Lock situation. So it cannot let the slug to form until the system is out of Grid Lock. In the sample model i put the waiting just to replicate a simplified version. Ideally there is no time limit to how long the Accumulating conveyor behind slugs will not pass..it may be 100 seconds or may be hours. hence the above logic its practically difficult to know how long the items will be blocked on previous conveyor. I hope this gives a little context.

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Felix Möhlmann Sachin T commented · Sep 07, 2022 at 04:24 PM

Then you can do as Logan suggested: Stop the item based on a label and later resume it from the process flow. For this you can first check if there is actually an item waiting at the photo eye in a decide activity.

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