Warehouse Yard - 53' Trailers and Yard Trucks

[Steve_meleth]

Hi FlexSim team, I am new to this software and currently use the 2026 version.

I am trying to simulate a warehouse yard in FlexSim. I would like to have a Yard truck/spotter able to travel to different yard locations and couple the trailer and move it to a dock door and back. Looking to simulate the functions of a spotter. I want to create new trailer as flow items and can have 1 task executioner - the yard truck which moves those trailers around. How can I simulate the yard with proper visuals showing the spotter linking with the trailer and pulling to the door?
I tried different methods from the forum related to this top but all of them are related AGV. I couldn't find any relevant discussion for this topic.

Looking for support here!

Thanks

[rgaskinsR7T27]

Your approach of using a task executer for the yard truck and a flowitem for the trailer will work.  You could create a task sequence for the yard truck where it travels and loads/unloads trailers.  The load task would model the connection.  Once connected (loaded), the setLocation and setRotation commands could be used in a Custom Code activity to position the trailer as needed relative to the yard truck.

[joerg_vogel_HsH · Accepted solution]

Since FlexSim doesn't have a physical engine as a feature, you must implement the relative location of a attached trailer while moving yourself. This is exactly what Robert has mentioned above. Maybe you consider to implement different identically movements as animations, you can call on an invisible drawsurrogate object on which you load your item to. While your taskexecuter is starting a turn you call a predefined animation to have a near realistic visual look of an involved movement.   

@phil.bobo  Please can you upload in the section of knowledge base the first tutorials of the animation creator from the manual when the feature was introduced. Thank you very much.  

[Steve_meleth]

Really appreciate the responses!!

can anyone of you share a flexsim file with the solution mentioned above? something basic to help me understand and then I can build off of it. 

[rgaskinsR7T27 · Accepted solution]

Attached is a simple model showing how setLocation and setRotation commands can be used to position an item after being loaded.  Here the item represents a 53' trailer pulled by a task executor.  The positioning happens in zero time, but custom animations could be used to show the movements as Joerg described.

[Steve_meleth]

I found this solution and it helped. sharing it here: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/flexsim-forum/it-is-possible-to-simulate-advanced-kinematics-of-tugge...