Attached is an example simulation of a rail hump yard. Trains in this hump yard are processed in three stages: Arrival - A train engine delivers an arriving train into the arrival area of the yard and then leaves Classification - The shunt engine takes trains from the arrival area to the hump. From there the train is uncoupled into sets of cars for classification, and each set of cars 'falls' to its designated departure train and couples to it. Departure - Once a train has been composed, it is transferred to the departure area, where it waits a random time until departure. I've tried to keep the logic as simple as possible so you can understand the process flow. I've implemented no traffic control between train engines/shunt engine, so they will occasionally run over each other. However, I have used AGV routing constraints to dynamically block off sections of track that are filled by trains, so the engines will move around them. HumpYardSample.fsm

The following article applies to FlexSim versions 26.0 and older. For Autodesk FlexSim 2027 and onward, please visit Autodesk FlexSim 27.0 Licensing and Sign-in Experience   Pools of features, organized by version   A license is actually a set of features. Different license types are made up of different sets of features. This table shows the various features that make up different FlexSim license types (Enterprise, Educational, Runtime, etc):     Each license is set to a given version, and each of the contained features is at that version.   With that background, once a license is activated on a license server, its features are added to a pool of license features at a given version. So for instance, let's say you have the following 2 licenses activated to your license server:   Enterprise 23.0 - 2 seats Runtime 22.2 - 1 seat   Once these licenses are activated to your license server, the server actually has no idea it has 2 Enterprise and 1 Runtime. It sees only the following pools of license features:   dragdropconnect 2 seats [23.0: 2 seats] (the Runtime license didn't provide one of these) compile 3 seats [23.0: 2 seats, 22.2: 1 seat] xmlsaveload 2 seats [23.0: 2 seats] (the Runtime license didn't provide one of these) ... commercialuse 3 seats [23.0: 2 seats, 22.2: 1 seat] createobjects 2 seats [23.0: 2 seats] (the Runtime license didn't provide one of these) modeltree 1 seat [22.2: 1 seat] (not a feature of Enterprise licenses)   FlexSim software is feature-greedy   By default, when a FlexSim install contacts a license server for a license, it will try to get 1 of every feature at the software's version or later. In this way we say that FlexSim software is "greedy". For instance, under the above scenario, when you start FlexSim 22.2, the software will default to pull the following features:   dragdropconnect compile xmlsaveload stochastics consolescript nomodellimit entiretree commercialuse createobjects modeltree   The italicized features are Enterprise-specific. The bold feature is Runtime specific. The software just tries to get one of each feature, so now its feature set is a hybrid of Enterprise+Runtime. In the software it reports a "Custom" license:     If a 2nd person were to open the 22.2 software, they would get that same set, minus the one modeltree feature from Runtime, essentially giving them the 2nd Enterprise seat.   If a 3rd person tried to open the software in version 22.2, they would get a slightly hobbled version of a Runtime license, without the modeltree feature. Any in-software features that relied on that being present would be blocked.   Only checkout features for license type   The software includes an option to limit what features it will ask for:     In this way you can ensure that the right people are getting the right feature set.    

FlexSim 2019 Update 2 is available. If you have bug reports or other feedback on the software, please email [email protected] or create a new idea in the Development space. Release Notes Added a Storage System object to improve warehouse modeling. Improved the Rack object. Added more types of racks to the library. Updated the Sketchup SDK to load newer skp file versions. Added a ray tracing render mode. Added a Color Palette tool. Improved the color picker popup. Updated dashboard charts to use color palettes. Added options for showing column names to charts. Added options for showing multiple Y-axes on timeplots and histograms. Updated box plot options for categorizing and coloring data points. Added an option for reordering axis categories on timeplots, histograms, and box plots. Added additional line styles and visualization options to timeplots. Added Table methods for using indexed columns. Added a resetvalues attribute. Added Object getVariable() and setVariable() methods. Updated the SQL IS keyword to work with expressions. Improved performance of SQL queries on tables with indexed columns. Added an array parameter to Math.max() and Math.min(). Added a binary bundle field type. Added a button to Model Settings to export embedded media. Changed the default Person flowitem into separate Man and Woman flowitems. Added options for using the object's color to Person Visuals. Added a changepersonvisuals() command and pick options. Updated the Model Background properties window. Added a right-click option to show/hide model backgrounds from the Toolbox. Added pick options for using lists to the Pick Operator field on the processor. Updated various pick options to use generic label references. Added options to the List for special handling of SELECT values. Added Text options to Quick Properties. Added mean and standard deviation to the statistical distribution popup. Added icons to various pick option menus. Improved the Copy Variable function of Edit Selected Objects. Added the location coordinate system button to the General tab of object properties. Removed the Build menu; its options can still be added to the user toolbar. Changed the run speed slider to behave as a ratio of real time instead of model units per second. Changed the color of the selection box in the 3D view to be more visible. Fixed a bug with deleting array data from a node. Fixed an exception with cloning a table without rows. Fixed a bug with applying experimenter triggers. Backwards Compatibility Note: the following changes may slightly change the way updated models behave. Improved the rendering performance of some imported shapes by optimizing their meshes by material. Some mesh customizations may apply differently for some shapes. Charts now ignore null values instead of trying to categorize or plot them. Changed the FlexScript + operator to concatenate numbers with strings. Fixed some FlexScript math operations with numbers and null variants. Fixed an issue with FlexScript downcasting not always type checking properly in certain expressions. For example, "Object obj = param(1);" will now correctly throw an exception if param(1) is a treenode without Object data. Updated the Rack's place offset to be the actual location that the item will be placed. Fixed a bug with labels added during events at time 0 not being deleted on reset. Fixed a bug in Color.random(). Process Flow Changed the scroll wheel to zoom instead of panning the view up and down. Removed the extra outline around stacked blocks. Changed the default option for Release Batch on max wait timer and max idle timer to have Failed unchecked. Organized the ProcessFlow list on the toolbar based on the Toolbox folder structure. Changed Event-Triggered Source and Wait for Event panels to be collapsible. Added an edit field for the number of arrivals on the Scheduled Source. Added a getlastacquiredresource() command. Changed the color of the selection box to match the 3D view's. Backwards Compatibility Note: the following changes may slightly change the way updated models behave. Updated Move Object's Preserve Global Position checkbox to preserve location and rotation. People Added an experiment variable for changing the number of objects in a People group. Added a visual indicator to show when objects are acquired by the shift schedule. Added A* dividers to waiting lines and other objects. Added a custom window for People Down Behaviors. Added a Keep Person on Transport checkbox to the Transport Person activity. Changed the default Arrivals activities to randomize the created person's visuals. Added state history tables. Adjusted the Staff's walk back to reset position so that it is preempted if acquired by something else. Updated activity subflows so travelers synchronize their speeds when traveling together. Moved copying token labels to the created person to after the people settings labels are added so values aren't overwritten. Fixed a bug with getting the value of certain types of labels defined in People Settings. Walls are now created at the current Grid Z height. Conveyor Improved naming of various objects. Fixed a bug with the height of decision points when created with certain model units. Added a chain texture to conveyor belt visual options. AGV Updated curved path quick properties to be able to specify start and end points. Improved naming of control points and areas. A* Added the A* Navigator to the Toolbox. Updated the A* Navigator Properties window.

This is a demo model for the new warehouse functionality found in version 2019 Update 2: warehouse-demo-model.fsm The basic premise of this model is that items of a particular type come in, and must be placed in slots for that type. Orders also come in, requiring items of a particular type, that must be retrieved from storage. The model is meant to be a general concept model. It demonstrates the use of many of the new features in 19.2, and embodies some high-level "how-to's" of warehousing that are discussed in the user manual. Most logic for the model is implemented in a process flow. The process flow logic is separated into three main categories, namely initial inventory, inbound, and outbound processes. Further, the outbound process demonstrates both random-based order generation as well as history-based order generation. Initial Inventory The model includes a Global Table of Initial Inventory. The process flow's initial inventory section reads this table, and then creates items and places them into slots based on that initial inventory. This logic relies on the Address Scheme defined in the Storage System object, and uses direct addressing to get a slot using Storage.system.getSlot(). Inbound I use the process flow to assign a slot to each incoming item. I use an Assign Labels activity called Find Slot to do this. This uses a pick list option that wraps a call to Storage.system.findSlot(). The query matches the Type of the item with the Type of the slot, and also ensures that the target slot has space to fit the incoming item. The query also randomizes the order. Randomizing the order would likely not be necessary in most situations, but it makes the demo look nice. If the Find Slot activity properly finds a slot to store the item, then I go ahead and assign the the item to that slot, and have an operator place it in the rack. Outbound I also use the process flow to generate orders, and to reserve items in the storage system for those orders. In most warehouse simulations, order generation can be driven in two ways. First, you can use random probability distributions to generate orders based on general throughput metrics. Second, order generation can be based on historical data. This model gives an example of each method. In the random method, orders are generated randomly every ~30 seconds. Each order includes a number of SKU line items (again, random) and each line item includes a quantity of that SKU (again, random). Order tokens spawn line item tokens, which in turn spawn tokens associated with individual picks (the Fill Out Individual Picks process). For each pick, the token finds an item in storage that matches the target SKU. This is an Assign Labels activity (Find Item by SKU) with a pick option that wraps a call to Storage.system.findItem(). It finds an item that matches the required type, again using a query. Once the item is found, it makes reserves the item as "outbound" by assigning the Storage.Item.assignedSlot property to null (Set to Outbound activity). This ensures that no other process will find that same item for picking. The history-based order generation process uses much of the same functionality as the random-based, but it instead reads an "OrderHistory" table to determine when orders are started and what those orders contain. The OrderHistory table represents a simplified format for what you would likely see in a standard orders table. First, the process flow creates a transformed table that aggregates each order into a single row (this could technically be done as post-import code, but I do it in the process flow for visibility). Then the process flow loops through that transformed table, waiting for the start time of each order, then spawning that order. Custom Rack Visualization I have also customized the visualization of the racks. I have added a text to the front (and bottom on the floor) of a rack slot that will show the address of that slot. Further I've given the text a background that is color-coded to the SKU that that slot is designated to store. This was all done through the Storage System's Visualizations tab. I customized the Rack visualization.

FlexSim 2017 Update 1 or later is compatible with Windows Mixed Reality headsets and controllers, such as the Samsung HMD Odyssey. To configure such devices, you use the Windows Mixed Reality Portal app in Windows 10 and SteamVR. FlexSim uses SteamVR's OpenVR API to communicate with these devices. Microsoft provides instructions for how to Play SteamVR games in Windows Mixed Reality. I will provide additional summarized steps below: 1. Configure your hardware with the Windows Mixed Reality Portal app in Windows 10. 2. Install Steam. 3. Within Steam, install SteamVR and Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR. 4. If you are able to do the SteamVR tutorial with your headset, then you should now be able to use VR Mode in FlexSim: Note: While using a Windows Mixed Reality HMD (head-mounted display), pressing the Windows button on the controllers may take you to the Windows Mixed Reality Portal Home: If you end up here, you can take the headset off and put it back on to transfer back to FlexSim: Also, if you appear to be floating far above the ground, you can recenter the headset pose with this script, which you could map to a Custom Button on your toolbar: applicationcommand("recenteroculusrift");

FlexSim 2019 Beta is available. (Updated 21 December 2018) To get the beta, log in to your account at www.flexsim.com, then go to the Downloads section, and click on More Versions. It will be at the top of the list. If you have bug reports or other feedback on the software, please email [email protected] or create a new idea in the Development space. Release Notes Added support for importing JT files. Added a way to directly animate 3D shapes with bones. Added a way to parent subcomponents to a bone on a 3D shape. Updated calculated tables and chart templates to be able to save their data during an experiment. Added support for SQL keywords UNION, UNION ALL, INTERSECT, and EXCEPT. Updated the time table's weekly and daily modes to use a graphical display. Improved the time table's user interface. Added options for stacking bars on a histogram and added more bar modes. Added a Column Sets feature to statistics collectors. Added more options for event listening in statistics collectors. Added an option to statistics collectors and calculated tables for object path display depth. Added an option to statistics collectors to stop tracking row values after specified events. Added an option to milestone collectors to start new entries on the next milestone. Added options to record more data in additional columns on a milestone collector. Added enable/disable right-click menu options to statistics collectors in the toolbox. Improved the performance of calculated tables in certain configurations. Fixed a bug with Always Leave Entries on List when reevaluating multiple back orders. Fixed a bug with color spilling from one mesh to another when using shape data overrides. Fixed scaling issues and a crashing bug when loading certain STEP and IGES files. Process Flow Improved the Token.create() method to be able to create child tokens. Added a new Person Flow type of Process Flow. Fixed a bug with a resource connected to a global list deleting the list when the resource was in an instanced flow. People Added a Process activity. Added a Remove Person activity. Added various activity sets to quickly create common groups of activities. Added a priority value to resource objects that is used for acquiring and preempting resources. Added advanced options to the Process activity for handling preemption. Added functionality for simulating shift schedules with time tables and down behaviors. Improved the UI for how people objects are added to groups. AGV Improved control point selection on paths in the 3D view. A* Added a way to draw a heat map based on a node's percentage of total traversals. Added a Two Way option to preferred paths and dividers. Added a Condition option to A* objects to optionally disable them under certain circumstances. Added a Mandatory Path object used for defining sets of paths where certain connected objects can travel. Updated the Barrier object to be able to specify patterns to determine how it affects the grid. Added a FlexScript API for A* objects and data. Backwards Compatibility Note: the following changes may slightly change the way updated models behave. Fixed a bug with A* barriers blocking space larger than their actual size.

As many of you have seen from our youtube video, we recently released an early beta version of a new FlexSim Agent module. This module can be downloaded from the Downloads section of your FlexSim account, under the Modules tab. Note that the Agent module will only work properly with FlexSim 20.1.1 or later. Here I'm posting some of the models I created and showed on the video. BasicProximitySystem.fsm TwoPhaseAGVSystem.fsm OnePhaseAGVSystem.fsm Boids.fsm AStarSystem.fsm RoomEvacuation.fsm HallwayTravel.fsm The AGV models aren't perfect (there's some tweaking needed, and there are some bugs that need to be fixed), put I'm putting them out there anyway. Since this is a beta version, I'm going to just upload unannounced module updates to the downloads section, so you can check the dates/versions on the downloads page against the version you have installed if you want to get the latest and greatest.

FlexSim 2018 includes functionality for creating a custom table view GUI using a custom data source from within FlexSim. This article will go through the specifics of how to set this up. The Callbacks Custom Table Data Source defines callbacks for how many rows and columns a table should display, what text to display in each of the cells, if they're read only etc. If you require further control of your table you can use a DLL or module and sub class the table view data source in C++. An example of how this data source is used can be seen in the Date Time Source activity properties. In the above table, the data being used to display both of these tables is exactly the same. The raw treenode table data can be seen on the right. The table on the left is displaying the hours and minutes for each start and end time rather than the the start time and duration in seconds. In FlexSim 2018, there are a number of tables that currently utilize this new data source. They can be found at: VIEW:/modules/ProcessFlow/windows/DateTimeArrivals/Table/Table VIEW:/pages/statistics/ChartTemplateProperties/tabcontrol>variables/tabs/StatePieOptions/SplitterPane/States/Table VIEW:/pages/statistics/ChartTemplateProperties/tabcontrol>variables/tabs/CompositeStatePieOptions/SplitterPane/States/Table VIEW:/pages/statistics/ChartTemplateProperties/tabcontrol>variables/tabs/StateBarOptions/SplitterPane/States/Table Copying one of these tables can be a good starting point for defining your own table. The first thing you have to do in order for FlexSim to recognize that your table is using a custom data source is to add a subnode to the style attribute of your table GUI. The node's name must be FS_CUSTOM_TABLE_VIEW_DATA_SOURCE with a string value of Callbacks. Set your viewfocus attribute to be the path to your data. This may just be a variable within your table. It's up to you to define what data will be displayed. If you want to have the default functionality of the Global Table View, you can use the guifocusclass attribute to reference the TableView class. This gives you features like right click menus, support for cells with pointer data (displays sampler), tracked variables (displays edit button) and FlexScript nodes (displays code edit button). If you're going to use this guiclass, be sure to reference the How To node (located directly above the TableView class in the tree) for which eventfunctions and variables you can or should define. At this point you're ready to add event functions to your table. There are only two required event functions. The others are optional and allow you to override the default functionality of the table view. If you choose not to implement the optional callback functions, the table view will perform its default behavior (whether that's displaying the cell's text value, setting a cell's value, etc). These event function nodes must be toggled as FlexScript. The following event functions are required: ---getNumRows--- This function must return the number of rows to display in the table. 0 is a valid return value. param(1) - View focus node ---getNumCols--- This function must return the number of columns to display in the table. 0 is a valid return value. param(1) - View focus node The following event functions are optional: ---shouldDrawRowHeaders--- If this returns 1, then the row headers will be drawn. The header row uses column 0 in the callback functions. param(1) - View focus node ---shouldDrawColHeaders--- If this returns 1, then the column headers will be drawn. The header column uses row 0 in the callback functions. param(1) - View focus node ---shouldGetCellNode--- Allows you to decide whether you want to override the table view's default functionality of getting the cell node. param(1) - The row number of the displayed table param(2) - The column number of the displayed table If shouldGetCellNode returns 1 then the following function will be called: ---getCellNode--- Return the node associated with the row and column of the table. param(1) - The row number of the displayed table param(2) - The column number of the displayed table ---shouldSetCellValue--- Allows you to decide whether you want to override the table view's default functionality of setting a cell's value. param(1) - The cell node as defined by getCellNode param(2) - The row number of the displayed table param(3) - The column number of the displayed table If shouldSetCellValue returns 1 then the following function will be called: ---setCellValue--- Here you can set your data based upon the value entered by the user. param(1) - The row number of the displayed table param(2) - The column number of the displayed table param(3) - The value to set the cell ---isCustomFormat--- Allows you to decide whether you should define a custom text format for the cell. param(1) - The cell node as defined by getCellNode param(2) - The row number of the displayed table param(3) - The column number of the displayed table If isCustomFormat returns 1 then the following functions will be called: ---getTextColor--- Return an array of RGB components that will define the color of the text. Each component should be a number between 0 and 255. [R, G, B] for example red is [255, 0, 0]. param(1) - The cell node as defined by getCellNode param(2) - The row number of the displayed table param(3) - The column number of the displayed table param(4) - The text to be displayed in the cell param(5) - The desired number precision ---getTextFormat--- Return 0 for left align, 1 for center align and 2 for right align. param(1) - The cell node as defined by getCellNode param(2) - The row number of the displayed table param(3) - The column number of the displayed table param(4) - The text to be displayed in the cell param(5) - The desired number precision ---shouldGetCellColor--- Allows you to decide whether you should define a color for the cell's background. param(1) - The cell node as defined by getCellNode param(2) - The row number of the displayed table param(3) - The column number of the displayed table If shouldGetCellColor returns 1 then the following function will be called: ---getCellColor--- Return an array of RGB components that will define the cell's background color. Each component should be a number between 0 and 255. [R, G, B] for example red is [255, 0, 0]. param(1) - The cell node as defined by getCellNode param(2) - The row number of the displayed table param(3) - The column number of the displayed table ---shouldGetCellText--- Allows you to decide whether you want to override the table view's default functionality of getting a cell's text. param(1) - The cell node as defined by getCellNode param(2) - The row number of the displayed table param(3) - The column number of the displayed table If shouldGetCellText returns 1 then the following function will be called: ---getCellText--- Return a string that is the text to display in the cell. param(1) - The cell node as defined by getCellNode param(2) - The row number of the displayed table param(3) - The column number of the displayed table param(4) - The desired number precision param(5) - 1 if the cell is being edited, 0 otherwise ---shouldGetTooltip--- Allows you to decide whether a tooltip should be displayed when the user selects a cell in the table. param(1) - The cell node as defined by getCellNode param(2) - The row number of the selected cell param(3) - The column number of the selected cell If shouldGetTooltip returns 1 then the following function will be called: ---getTooltip--- Return a string that is the text to display in the tooltip. param(1) - The cell node as defined by getCellNode param(2) - The row number of the selected cell param(3) - The column number of the selected cell ---isReadOnly--- Return a 1 to make the cell read only. Return a 0 to allow the user to edit the cell. param(1) - The row number of the displayed table param(2) - The column number of the displayed table

FlexSim 2018 Beta is available. (updated 8 Dec 2017) To get the beta, log in to your account at www.flexsim.com, then go to the Downloads section, and click on More Versions. It will be at the top of the list. If you have bug reports or other feedback on the software, please email [email protected] or create a new idea in the Development space. Release Notes Added a new People module. (Try out the Sample Models) Added new dashboard chart templates to quickly collect and display statistics. Legacy charts are hidden by default in the Library and can be enabled through Global Preferences. Removed the basic Person flowitem and renamed the TaskExecuterFlowItem to Person. Added functionality to the List's pull method to allow you to pull an object/node directly (without writing SQL). Updated ODA to be compatible with DWG 2018 shapes. Updated Assimp to be compatible with the latest FBX file format. Added a RegExResult class for iterating over the matches in a regular expression. Lists can now use arrays as partition ids. Added a mechanism for automatically setting the reset position of objects after moving them by setting their resetposition variable to 1. Added a By Lazy Interval update mode to the calculated table. Improved calculated table performance by reducing the amount of table updates. Improved statistics collector performance by reducing the number of updates to Always columns. Table views can now be set as read-only using the grayed attribute. Added an Ignore Warmup option to statistics collectors. Updated OptQuest so that it can run more than 10,000 solutions. Added a pick option for restoring default values in the Global Table's On Reset trigger. The Query test field is now a multi-line text box. The Source now adds labels to items before calling the OnCreation trigger. Updated the table selection for the Excel Import/Export. Improved color options in various dashboard charts. Changed the model update dialog to be able to autosave the model with an incremented number. Added many new animations for the operator and the person flowitem. Updated many stochastic pick options to use getstream() as the default stream parameter. Updated the TaskExecuter to connect to the DefaultNavigator when created. Improved the Group UI. Updated the Library view to not change when clicking on the User Manual view. Changed the Tree view's Explore > As Code so that it closes the tree's edit view. Fixed a bug with list initial contents having old values in label fields. Fixed a bug with the statistics collector chart interface checkboxes. Fixed an OnDropWindow exception. Fixed some exceptions in the Table View when viewing an Array that no longer exists. Process Flow Added a Date Time Source activity. Added a Wait for Simultaneous Arrivals Before Entry option to the Zone. Added autocomplete for instanced flow labels (current). Added a zoneistokeninsubset() command. Conveyor Added a Round Robin destination option to the Send Item pick option. AStar Added a visual option to show the travel threshold for objects. Improved the draw performance and fixed the timing of some graphical updates. Fixed a bug caused by using the distancetotravel() command in conjunction with collision avoidance. AGV Fixed a bug with redirecting AGVs at times other than On Pre-Arrival of way points.

To go along with the launch of Flexsim 2018, we've put together a few sample models to show some of its features. Internet Cafe internetcafe.fsm This model shows off several of the new animations added to the Operator and Person flowitem. It also demonstrates how the Create Person activity can be used to attach a Person flowitem to an Instanced Process Flow. People with yellow shirts are attached to the ComputerUsers flow. They acquire a computer desk and then have an employee bring them over to their computer. Those in orange shirts are attached to the FoodCustomers flow. They buy drinks or snacks at the counter and then hang out at the tables. Casual Restaurant casualrestaurantredux.fsm Clinic clinic.fsm Grocery Store grocerystore.fsm Airport Security airportsecurity.fsm Bus Stop busstops.fsm

Cams Module flexcon-cams v17.0.zip This module permits to place cameras in the model and so to follow an object using the nearest camera. How to install it: put the "Cams Module" folder into the Flexsim "modules" folder run Flexsim This module adds: the "Camera"object into the "Visual" section of the Flexsim standard library "Cams" menu button How to use it: insert cameras into your model where you want and adjust z locations (it's not important where camera is looking) highlight the object (maily a task executer) you want to follow click on the Cams menu voice: "Set Cam focus to highlighted" click on the Cams menu voice: "Camera activate" run the model the nearest camera to the focused object follows it click on the Cams menu voice: "Hide Cams and Camera Manager" to hide or unhide cameras Example:

FlexSim 2019 Update 2 Beta is available. (Updated 28 August 2019.) To get the beta, log in to your account at www.flexsim.com, then go to the Downloads section, and click on More Versions. It will be at the top of the list. If you have bug reports or other feedback on the software, please email [email protected] or create a new idea in the Development space. Release Notes Added a Storage System object to improve warehouse modeling. Improved the Rack object. Added more types of racks to the library. Updated the Sketchup SDK to load newer skp file versions. Added a ray tracing render mode. Added a Color Palette tool. Improved the color picker popup. Updated dashboard charts to use color palettes. Added options for showing column names to charts. Added options for showing multiple Y-axes on timeplots and histograms. Updated box plot options for categorizing and coloring data points. Added an option for reordering axis categories on timeplots, histograms, and box plots. Added additional line styles and visualization options to timeplots. Added Table methods for using indexed columns. Added a resetvalues attribute. Added Object getVariable() and setVariable() methods. Updated the SQL IS keyword to work with expressions. Improved performance of SQL queries on tables with indexed columns. Added an array parameter to Math.max() and Math.min(). Added a binary bundle field type. Added a button to Model Settings to export embedded media. Changed the default Person flowitem into separate Man and Woman flowitems. Added options for using the object's color to Person Visuals. Added a changepersonvisuals() command and pick options. Updated the Model Background properties window. Added a right-click option to show/hide model backgrounds from the Toolbox. Added pick options for using lists to the Pick Operator field on the processor. Updated various pick options to use generic label references. Added options to the List for special handling of SELECT values. Added Text options to Quick Properties. Added mean and standard deviation to the statistical distribution popup. Added icons to various pick option menus. Improved the Copy Variable function of Edit Selected Objects. Added the location coordinate system button to the General tab of object properties. Removed the Build menu; its options can still be added to the user toolbar. Changed the run speed slider to behave as a ratio of real time instead of model units per second. Fixed a bug with deleting array data from a node. Fixed an exception with cloning a table without rows. Fixed a bug with applying experimenter triggers. Backwards Compatibility Note: the following changes may slightly change the way updated models behave. Improved the rendering performance of some imported shapes by optimizing their meshes by material. Some mesh customizations may apply differently for some shapes. Charts now ignore null values instead of trying to categorize or plot them. Changed the FlexScript + operator to concatenate numbers with strings. Fixed some FlexScript math operations with numbers and null variants. Fixed an issue with FlexScript downcasting not always type checking properly in certain expressions. For example, "Object obj = param(1);" will now correctly throw an exception if param(1) is a treenode without Object data. Updated the Rack's place offset to be the actual location that the item will be placed. Fixed a bug with labels added during events at time 0 not being deleted on reset. Fixed a bug in Color.random(). Process Flow Changed the scroll wheel to zoom instead of panning the view up and down. Removed the extra outline around stacked blocks. Changed the default option for Release Batch on max wait timer and max idle timer to have Failed unchecked. Organized the ProcessFlow list on the toolbar based on the Toolbox folder structure. Changed Event-Triggered Source and Wait for Event panels to be collapsible. Added an edit field for the number of arrivals on the Scheduled Source. Added a getlastacquiredresource() command. Backwards Compatibility Note: the following changes may slightly change the way updated models behave. Updated Move Object's Preserve Global Position checkbox to preserve location and rotation. People Added an experiment variable for changing the number of objects in a People group. Added a visual indicator to show when objects are acquired by the shift schedule. Added A* dividers to waiting lines and other objects. Adjusted the Staff's walk back to reset position so that it is preempted if acquired by something else. Added a custom window for People Down Behaviors. Added a Keep Person on Transport checkbox to the Transport Person activity. Changed the default Arrivals activities to randomize the created person's visuals. Updated activity subflows so travelers synchronize their speeds when traveling together. Moved copying token labels to the created person to after the people settings labels are added so values aren't overwritten. Added state history tables. Conveyor Improved naming of various objects. Fixed a bug with the height of decision points when created with certain model units. Added a chain texture to conveyor belt visual options. AGV Updated curved path quick properties to be able to specify start and end points. Improved naming of control points and areas. A* Added the A* Navigator to the Toolbox. Updated the A* Navigator Properties window.

The attached model provides an example of how to record and display overtime hours worked by staff in a small clinic. The following screen capture of the model after a 30 day run shows the various dashboards displaying information about the working hours of the staff in the model. The code snippet shown for the Activity Finished Trigger of the final exit activity in the patient track is used to record information on a couple global variables and then trigger a recording event on the OT_DataCollector. The code snippet is documented in detail, so hopefully you will understand what is being done. As you can see by the Data Collector properties window, nothing special is going on there except to record the two global variables named GV_Overtime_Hours and GV_TotWork_Hours. The third and final piece to the puzzle is to create some User Defined dashboard widgets to display the information captured by the data collector in a few different ways. clinic-overtime-example-with-custom-data-collector.fsm

Attached is an example DLL Maker project that calls a Java function using the Java Native Interface (JNI) from C++. The steps for how this works are outlined below: 1. Install the Java Development Kit (JDK). In creating this example, I used OpenJDK installed via Microsoft's special Installer of Visual Studio Code for Java developers. 2. Write a Java program. In my example, I created a simple Hello class with an intMethod() as described in IBM's JNI example tutorial. 3. Compile the .java file into a .class file. I did this using the Command Prompt and executing the following command: javac Hello.java 4. Configure the DLL Maker project to include the JNI library: In VC++ Directories > Include Directories, add the following two directories: C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jdk1.8.0_131\include C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jdk1.8.0_131\include\win32 In Linker > Input > Additional Dependencies, add jvm.lib In Linker > Input > Delay Loaded Dlls, add jvm.dll 5. Include jni.h in your code. (Line 51 of mydll.cpp) 6. Create a JVM in your code. (Lines 61-102 of mydll.cpp) 7. Get a handle to the method you want to call and then call it. (Lines 118-126 of mydll.cpp) 8. Connect a User Command in FlexSim to fire that C++ code that executes Java code. See the dll_maker_test_model.fsm included in the attached zipped directory. * Note: this example was built with 32-bit FlexSim because the JDK I installed was 32-bit. Using a 64-bit JVM is beyond the scope of this simple example and is left as an exercise for the user.

In this phase You will be introduced to shared assets, specifically, zones. Post Office: Phase 3 Purpose Learn about Zone Shared Asset Description Restrict access to the waiting line queue so that only 5 Customers can be present at a time. Follow Up What happens to the 'Customers' that show up when the Zone is at capacity? How can we add Customer behavior that says if the waiting line is already full, they leave the post office? Video of Post Office: Phase 3 build: If you'd like to download the completed Post Office: Phase 3 model, you will find it here.

In this phase You will be introduced to Tasks, Tasksequences and Task Executors. In order to build Phase 2, you will need to start by having Post Office: Phase 1 pulled up in FlexSim. Tasks and Tasksequences Task A single instruction or action to be performed by a TaskExecuter object (ex. LOAD flowitem) Tasksequence A series of tasks to be performed in sequence. (example tasksequence with tasks below) Post Office: Phase 2 Purpose Modify our model to increase visual appeal. Description Create visuals so that the "Customer" flowitem looks and behaves more like a person standing in line, IE is able to walk to each location we send them to. Follow up How can the use of labels and resources help us easily add additional service desks? Video of Post Office: Phase 2 build: If you'd like to download the completed Post Office: Phase 2 model, you will find it here.

Hi everyone, I had a discussion with @Jordan Johnson recently and I also wanted to share with the distributors group some thoughts about the autosave feature: Comment #1: there is no autosave if your model is in a run state every 10 minutes When a user reads this checkbox, he thinks that FlexSim will "autosave a model backup every 10 minutes" exactly as it is written. But it does not. As explained in the user manual: "AutoSave will only save your model if it is reset and not running." (https://docs.flexsim.com/en/20.1/Reference/GeneralModelSettings/GlobalPreferences/#environment) Let's take an example: a user saves his model file at 10:00 am. The first autosave is scheduled at 10:10 am. The user starts building his model, then runs his model between 10:09 and 10:11. As at 10:10 am his model was running, there was actually no autosave. So the first autosave is postponed at 10:20 am. The user does some modifications in his model, then resets and runs his model between 10:19 and 10:21. As at 10:20 his model was running, there was actually no autosave. So the first autosave is postponed at 10:30 am. And so on... So after 1 hour of work, a user could actually have no autosave of his model. And I already have seen this with some users. If FlexSim crashes, then the user looses his work since he forgot to regularly save his model. So he looks for the autosave file, but there is none, even after 1 hour. You might answer me that users are supposed to save their model more regularly, but if they would do so then there would be no need to have an autosave feature. Idea: if the model is in a run state when the autosave is scheduled, the autosave should not be postponed in 10 minutes, but instead the autosave should be triggered at the next model reset. Comment #2: there is no autosave if you save your model at intervalls less than 10 minutes Let's take an example: a user saves his model file at 10:00 am. The first autosave is scheduled at 10:10 am. But the user saves his model at 10:09. So the first autosave is postponed at 10:19 am, there is no autosave at 10:10. Then the user saves his model at 10:18. So the first autosave is postponed at 10:28 am, there is no autosave at 10:19. And so on... So after 1 hour of work, a user will also have no autosave file if he saves regularly his model. I am not shocked by this behaviour, but again when a user reads that FlexSim will "autosave a model backup every 10 minutes" , he thinks that FlexSim does autosave a model backup every 10 minutes as written on the checkbox. If saving the model postpones the next autosave, then the label of this checkbox should be more precise. And there should also be at least a tooltip on the checkbox and one more sentence in the user manual to explain that the autosave is postponed everytime the user saves his model. I know that you are all experienced users and you save regularly your models. But I would be interested if you have already seen some of your users loosing their work, and then when looking for an autosave file there was none, or the autosave file was much older than 10 minutes. Don't hesitate to add comments to this post.

FloWorks 22.2.0 is now available (31 August 2022). This version of FloWorks is intended for use with FlexSim 2022 Update 2. If you are using FloWorks with FlexSim 2022 Update 1, please use FloWorks version 22.1.1. If you are using FlexSim 2022 (LTS) please use FloWorks version 22.0.2. All versions can be found in the Downloads section of your FlexSim account on the 3rd party modules tab. Please do not hesitate to report any bugs, usability improvements and feature requests to [email protected]. About FloWorks FloWorks is a 3rd party module developed and maintained by Talumis BV ( talumis.com). It provides faster and more accurate modelling and calculation of fluid systems than the default FlexSim fluid library. It is especially useful within the oil, gas, and bulk industry both for production and supply chain optimization. This module requires a FloWorks license with active maintenance. For any questions, please email [email protected]. Release notes FloWorks 22.2.0 New: Added a Flow Gauge object to measure and visualize the flow through a connection New: Added a Time Series object to the Toolbox as a source of daily, weekly or monthly changing values Improvement: Added several alternative shapes for Flow Source such as Plant and Well Improvement: Level Triggered Event now has an OnTriggerFired event that ProcessFlow can await Bug fix: Some additional issues with incorrect scaling when not using meters Bug fix: Flow tank level triggers issue with multiple levels (not) firing All bug fixes in FloWorks 22.0.2 below. Backwards Compatibility Note: The following change may change the way updated models behave. Flow Impact Event has been deprecated and may be removed in the future. Picklist options for applying impact factors have been added to FlexSim's own MTBF/MTTR and Timetable. As an improvement, the same picklist options are also available in Down Behaviors. FloWorks 22.1.1 All bug fixes in FloWorks 22.0.2 below. FloWorks 22.1.0 (12 May 2022) All bug fixes in FloWorks 22.0.1 below. FloWorks 22.0.2 Bug fix: FlowMixer.loadRecipe can handle re-ordered product tables Bug fix: Statistics are now correctly initialized for flow tanks created during run. FloWorks 22.0.1 (12 May 2022) Added support for Object Property Tables Bug fix: incorrect MassFlowConveyor content Bug fix: LoadingPoint issue with not-released positions (and status) Bug fix: Object created at incorrect scale when not using meters

Attached is an example model that simulates a Kiva system. kivasystem.fsm See Dev Talk: Kiva System Modeling for the steps I took in building the model.

Building a Model In this training section we will introduce to you how to begin a modeling project. To begin, you need to gather all available information that describes the system, from how it looks to how it behaves. To build a model we take an incremental approach to the design and implementation of the model; think layers. We will be building a model in the following 5 steps: Create a 3D layout (this includes a CAD drawing, if available) Create a flowchart of the process steps Define the logic for each step, testing as you go Revise Logical steps as needed Run the model View results Post Office: Phase 1 Purpose Gain familiarity with Abstraction in models, Flowcharting steps, basic ProcessFlow activities Description Customers arrive at a post office every 45 seconds, on average. The statistical probability distribution which best simulates the inter-arrival pattern is an exponential distribution with a location value of 0 and a scale value of 45. The service time at the one and only service window in the post office is lognormal2(45,3.1,0.5) seconds. When the delay for service is complete, Customers leave the post office Follow Up (see video below at time 7:16) If there is more than one Token at the Delay activity, what does that say about how many Customers can be served at once? How can we apply limits to Tokens at activities? Video of Post Office: Phase 1: If you'd like to download the completed Post Office: Phase 1 model, you will find it here.