Best way to sim a long MDR (Motor Driven) conveyor with very close photo-eyes?

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Sofia G21 asked Mar 13 2023 at 3:07 PM Sofia G21 commented Mar 16 2023 at 2:00 PM

Best way to sim a long MDR (Motor Driven) conveyor with very close photo-eyes?

I need to build a series of conveyors (all very long and intertwined), with MDR logic. However, it becomes tricky, when the photoeyes that control the motors are extremely close together. Any suggestions?

Software Version:

FlexSim 22.2.0

conveyors motors

Answer 1 · 2023-03-13T16:24:31Z

Jason Lightfoot answered Mar 13 2023 at 4:24 PM Sofia G21 commented Mar 16 2023 at 2:00 PM

These types of conveyor can often be simplified eg by using the stopping and moving space properties of a single long conveyor:

mdrConveyorWithoutPhotoeyes.fsm

If you need to replicate and verify the real control logic then it will be harder and obviously as tricky as it is in reality (or more so).

mdrconveyor.gif (6.6 MiB)

mdrconveyorwithoutphotoeyes.fsm (37.8 KiB)

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Sofia G21 commented · Mar 14 2023 at 5:59 PM

Thanks Jason! I appreciate the help!

My only question would be... if the items are different sizes, could I enter a variable referencing a table or something similar for the stopping/moving distance? Or how could I approach that?

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Jason Lightfoot ♦♦ Sofia G21 commented · Mar 15 2023 at 9:32 PM

You can make the spacing independent of the item size or a function of the item size or a combination of the two. The limitation is that you can't base it on the previous item's size which would be useful for some cases.

The model I uploaded behaves like this with variable item sizes (1 metre fixed spacing from the leading edge):

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1678915946237.png (156.9 KiB)

Jason Lightfoot ♦♦ Sofia G21 commented · Mar 15 2023 at 10:08 PM

Here's a comparison of two methods - one using the spacing as described above and another using decision points with restricted areas to have the item centres stop 1 metre apart.

mdrConveyor_mixedItemsSizes.fsm

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centerpitchmixedsizes.gif (23.1 MiB)

Sofia G21 Jason Lightfoot ♦♦ commented · Mar 16 2023 at 2:00 PM

Thanks so much for the help Jason. You were very clear and very helpful. I appreciate it!

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