Can a combiner free the items that it didn't use?

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Paúl Alejandro R asked Jul 25, '17 Paúl Alejandro R commented Jul 31, '17

Can a combiner free the items that it didn't use?

I have 48 combiners that are fed by different sources, and these combiners pack the items in function of their item types, but there are a lot of items that do not complete the number to make a pack, and they keep locked inside the combiner. I want to free those items. How can I do it?

Software Version:

FlexSim 17.1.2

combiner

· 1

Jacob Gillespie ♦ commented · Jul 25, 2017 at 11:35 PM

@Paúl Alejandro R It sounds like you want a max wait timer. This is possible using process flow.

2 ·

Answer 1 · 2017-07-26T07:00:56Z

Raja Sekaran answered Jul 26, '17 Paúl Alejandro R commented Jul 26, '17

Hi,

You can find the attached model.combiner-target-quantity.fsm

In the attached model,

Source1 >> Arrival schedule, I have set the "BatchSize" as a label for each "ItemType".

Queue1 >> OnEntry, I have updated the Queue target batch size based on the "BatchSize" label and change the combiners batch quantity based on Queue1 target batch size. I have set max wait time of queue1 as 20 sec.

Combiner >> OnExit, I wrote the below code to update the combiners target quantity if target batch size is not met in 20 sec in Queue1.

if(current.inObjects[2].subnodes.length<getvarnum(current, "targetcomponentsum") && current.inObjects[2].subnodes.length != 0)
{
  Table thelist = getvarnode(current, "componentlist");
  treenode thesum = getvarnode(current, "targetcomponentsum");
  int targetqty = current.inObjects[2].subnodes.length;
  thesum.value = 0;


  for(int index = 1; index <= thelist.numRows; index++) 
  {
    thelist[index][1] = targetqty;
    inc(thesum, targetqty);
  }
}

I hope this will help you to get started.

screenshot1.png (24.7 KiB)

screenshot2.png (16.3 KiB)

screenshot-3.jpg (54.8 KiB)

combiner-target-quantity.fsm (19.8 KiB)

· 1

Paúl Alejandro R commented · Jul 26, 2017 at 02:14 PM

Thank you! It worked!

1 ·

Answer 2 · 2017-07-26T14:15:46Z

Jeff Nordgren answered Jul 26, '17 Paúl Alejandro R commented Jul 31, '17

@Paúl Alejandro R

Attached is a model that will release a pallet from the Combiner if the pallet hasn't been filled with the proper amount of flowitems after a specific time (label).

Basically, each time a flowitem comes into the Combiner through port 2, it saves the entry time in a label on the Combiner called "LastItemIn". Then it sends a message back to itself in the time specified in the "TimeToWait" label. When the pallet is not full and the wait time expires, it releases the pallet from the Combiner and sets the "ForceRelease" label so that it doesn't repeat the code for each flowitem that is on the pallet (they each send a message back to the Combiner).

All the code is on the Combiner. Take a look at the model and see if this is what you had in mind and if this approach would work for your situation. If you have any questions or problems, please let us know.

Thanks.

releasepartials-jn1.fsm

releasepartials-jn1.fsm (127.2 KiB)

· 1

Paúl Alejandro R commented · Jul 31, 2017 at 02:38 PM

Dear Jeff,

Thanks a lot, it worked and it was precisely what I was looking for.

0 ·

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