Setting priorities on a robot

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Martin Edviken asked May 26, '16 Brenton King answered May 26, '16

Setting priorities on a robot

In my model I have 4 combiners connected to a queue and I use a robot to move the items from the combiners to the queue. The robot also has the ability to carry 4 items at once. As the model is created now, the robot starts moving to the flowitem that first entered a combiner, but as the robot moves it passes over other combiners and due to it can carry 4 flowitems. It picks up other flowitems (that entered directly after the first to another combiner) on its way to pick up the first item. I want to create some kind of priority so that the robot will pick the flowitem that first enters one of the four combiners, and then the second, and so on. How can I create a priority so that the robot always gets the first entered flowitem in a combiner? Is a pull strategy in the queue a good solution and if so, how do you do it?

Software Version:

FlexSim 16.0.1

queue robot priority flowitems combiners

Answer 1 · 2016-05-26T16:14:20Z

Brenton King answered May 26, '16

You can do some sophisticated item selection by making use of a list.

All of the items could push themselves onto a list when they are ready for transport. The Robot would then be able to parse the list using an SQL query to see what item it wants to select next. SQL would allow you to sort the queue of items in many different ways. For example, you may want to sort by closest item, then by longest waiting, then by itemtype. The options available to you while using a list are really limitless.

There are some picklist options for this in the Flow>"Use Transport" field of any object. You would use the "Push to Task Sequence List" option. Then you would select, "Pull from Task Sequence List" in the OnResourceAvailable trigger of the disptacher or task executer. That picklist option allows you to do some cool priority stuff by taking advantage of SQL in the query field. Hope this gives you some guidance.

There is some good information on lists in the user manual.

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