FlexSim 2024 Update 2 is now available for download. You can view the Release Notes in the online user manual. FlexSim 24.2.0 Release Notes For more in-depth discussion of the new features, check out the official software release page: FlexSim 2024 Update 2: Curve Fitter, Process Flow Breakpoints, and more If you have bug reports or other feedback on the software, please create a new idea in the Bug Report space or Development space.

Cycle time per process.fsm When we create simulation models, sometimes we limit ourselves to modeling a process or a part number, in which we have problems. But what happens when we run a complete production plan with different part numbers, which in turn run at different cycle times? This is a way that allows you to run different part numbers in as many different processes as you want, each with its own cycle time. What do we need? 1.- Label on each item that identifies what part number it is. For example • Label: IDpart Value: ABC12 2.-Label on each machine that identifies the process that it runs. For example • Label: Station Value: Processor1 3.- Global table that contains in the columns the different processes that you have in your production line and in the rows the different part numbers that can run in your line. The information contained in this table will refer to the cycle times of each part number in each process. For example: Processor1 Processor2 Processor3 ABC12 20 10 13 BAC21 11 30 20 4.-You must configure the processing time of your processor referring to your global table and placing the following: With this, we will obtain weighted usage statistics for the equipment. Benefits: 1. You can run different part numbers on the same line with their respective cycle time each. 2. More accurate use of equipment and operators. 3. Modifying cycle times in a global table is easier and more controlled than directly in the processes. 4. Calculation of the capacity of your line running a real production plan will be accurate. 5. You can add and remove processes or even modify the flow of your line without affecting the cycle time that processor runs. Since it is referenced by its label to the global table.

This article is basically a follow-up to this question: https://answers.flexsim.com/questions/98195/simultaneous-all-or-nothing-list-pulls.html In version 22.1, we added a new FlexScript feature called Coroutines. Basically, this lets you wait for events in the middle of executing FlexScript, using the "await" keyword. Recently, I decided to revisit this question (how to pull from multiple lists at once) and to see if I could use coroutines to simplify the Process Flow. The short answer is: yes! Here is a model that behaves identically (in terms of which token gets its multi-list request filled first) but replaces about 15 activities with 2 Custom Code blocks: multipullexample_coroutines_ordering_onfulfill.fsm In addition to having fewer activities, this model also runs faster (from ~12s to ~2s on my computer). To determine whether behavior was the same, I added a Statistics Collector and logged request/fullfill times and quantities. I did the same in the original model. The token IDs are off because the older model makes more tokens. Here's the older version, but with that stats collector, if you want to do your own comparisons. multipullexample.fsm The key lines of code are found in the Acquire All activity: // ~line 47 List.PullResult result = list.pull("", qty, qty, token, partition, flags); if (result.backOrder) { token.Success = 0; await result.backOrder; return 0; } // ... The new item here is the keyword "await". When the FlexScript execution reaches this line, the FlexScript execution is paused, and waits for the "awaitable" that you specify. In this case, we want to wait for the back order to be fulfilled. In both models, tokens check all lists to see if they can acquire the complete set of resources. In both models, if a token can't immediately fulfill one of its requests, tokens "go to sleep" until something changes. In the old model, tokens would "wake up" if anything was pushed to the correct list. In contrast, tokens in the new model only "wake up" if enough items are pushed to fulfill their back order. Basically, the second model has fewer false "wakeups" and so runs quite a bit faster.

This model contains example subflows for having a team of travellers travelling and loading/unloading. The RunSubflow for each creates that subflow's expected labels: team, teamItem, teamDesintation. Currently the offset locations are just a multiple of the x size of the first traveller. They are determined from the pick offset and place offset functions. Further work could add traveller un/loading and wait states and combine travel and unload tasks. TeamSubflows.fsl TeamSubflows.fsm Update 24Oct.'24 : Corrected incorrect label name in TeamTravel subflow should be looking for 'team', not 'travellers'

FlexSim 2024 Beta is now available. (Updated November 20) FlexSim 24.0.0 Release Notes To get the beta, log in to your account at https://account.flexsim.com, then go to the Downloads section, and click on More Versions. It will be at the top of the list. The More Versions button does not appear when logged in as a guest account. The beta is available only to licensed accounts and accounts that have a license shared with them. Learn more about downloading the best version of FlexSim for your license here. If you have bug reports or other feedback on the software, please email [email protected] or create a new idea in the Bug Report space or Development space.

Last year a teacher asked me how to simulate public bus transportation, so I created a small sample model of a bus line in Nantes (France). Although all input and output data in the model are labeled in French, I thought that it could be nice to share it here with the worldwide community as 3D visualization is a universal language. Here is the model updated for FlexSim 2023: public_bus_23_0.fsm To set the travel times between the bus stops, and the stop times, I used the bus timetable that was available online in this document: Depliant-L-95-Web-2e.pdf You can check in the simulation if your bus arrives on time: Among the parameters, you can set how many buses are available at each terminus at the beginning. Be careful, if you don't have enough buses, you will not be able to stick to the timetable ! The road is built with network nodes. A checkbox allows you to show/hide the map. A listbox allows you to switch between the 3 network view modes (all details shown / edges only / hide all network).

This article is an updated version of a previous article by @Paul Toone. Thanks to Paul for the original, which you can read here: https://answers.flexsim.com/articles/23118/flexsim-xml-18.html In FlexSim, you can save any tree (including models and libraries) in XML format. There are many advantages to using this capability in your model development, including: Since XML is an ascii/text based format, it increases the utility of using content management and versioning software such as Subversion, CVS, Microsoft Visual SourceSafe, git, etc. to manage the development of a model. These systems automatically track a history of changes to a model or project, and for ascii/text based files, they allow you to see line-by-line change logs for the files, as well as revert line-item changes if needed. With the added benefit of versioning systems comes the ability to develop a model concurrently by different modellers using a much more stream-lined method. No more saving off individual t files from one modeller's changes to a model and loading them manually into the master model. When saving to XML format, if one modeller is working on one portion of the model, only that portion of the model file changes when saved, so when the modeller checks his changes into the versioning system's repository, another modeller can automatically merge those changes into his copy. If there are conflicts, where two modellers change the same part of the model, then the versioning system has tools that allow modellers to easily see in the XML file where the conflicts occur and quickly perform the manual conflict resolution. FlexSim also has the added ability to distribute a single model across multiple XML files. This increases your control over how to manage the model development in your versioning system, and makes conflict resolution even easier. The distributed save mechanism also opens the door for much more automated control of FlexSim. By saving small pieces of your model off into separate XML files, you can auto-regenerate one or more of those XML files outside of FlexSim, consequently changing the configuration of the model for the purpose of running different scenarios. Tutorial This tutorial will take you through saving a model as XML, and how you can configure the distributed save. Build a Simple Model First build a simple example model containing a Source, Queue, Processor and Sink. Save in XML Format Save the model, and in the save dialog, choose "FlexSim XML" from the drop-down at the bottom. Save the model as "PostOfficeXML". Now you've saved the file in FlexSim's XML format. You can view the file in a regular text editor like Visual Studio Code, Notepad++, etc. It's not necessary to know all the details of the file format. In simple terms, the primary tag in FlexSim XML is the <node> tag, representing a node in FlexSim. The node's name is described in the <name> tag, and the node's data, if applicable, is described in the <data> tag. If you plan on doing automated changes, and need a more detailed definition of the xml format, you can refer to FlexSim's xml schema (see the FlexSim install directory/help/MiscellaneousConcepts/FlexSimXML.xsd for more information). Version Management with Git At FlexSim, the development team uses Git to manage collaboration between developers. Part of development includes updating the MAIN and VIEW trees. In a similar way, you can use Git to collaboratively update the MODEL tree. The standard way to use Git is as follows: Set up a remote repository for the project. There are many online services for this, including GitHub, BitBucket, and many others. Each one has different pricing and terms of use. It is also possible that your company already runs a Git hosting service where you could create your remote repository on a company server. Once you have a remove repository, each user "clones" that repository to their local computer. Everyone "pulls" the latest changes from that repository and "pushes" their changes to that repository. To manage pushing and pulling, you can use Git on the command line. However, most users interact with Git through a client. One free one is called Git Extenstions: http://gitextensions.github.io/ By itself, version management is a deep topic. You might consider reading some tutorials to become more familiar with Git concepts: https://git-scm.com/docs/gittutorial https://github.com/git-guides https://github.com/skills/introduction-to-github https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/learn-git-with-bitbucket-cloud Managing Changes with Git Let's assume you have a repository with the model file already in it. Let's make a change by moving the queue and saving the model: Once you save the model, Git can show you the changes you've made. In this case, you can see the spatialx and spatialy in your Git client: At this point, you could commit and push your changes. Others could then pull the changes into the model. Notice that git looks at changes in terms of lines being added and removed. In this case, we removed two old lines and added two new lines. Distributed Save As models get bigger and more complex, it can be helpful to split a single model file into multiple XML files. To do this you create a "FlexSim File Map" file. This is an xml file with the .ffm extension. It must be placed in the same directory as the model's .fsx file, and, except for the extension, must be given the same name as the .fsx file. So, let's create that file. Let's also create a subdirectory to put the distributed files into. Now edit PostOfficeXML.ffm in a text editor. The first thing we'll do is put the node MODEL:/Tools/ Workspace into a different file. This is something you'll probably want to do always if you're using version management. The node MODEL:/Tools/Workspace stores all of the windows open in the model, so if you're editing a model and change or reposition the windows that are open, that will change the model file. For version management this is often just static that doesn't need to be tracked, so we'll have the node saved off to a different file, and then we can just never (or at least rarely) check that file into the version management system. Specify the following code: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <flexsim-file-map version="1"> <map-node path="/Tools/Workspace" file="distributedfiles/windows.fsx" file-map-method="single-node"/> </flexsim-file-map> Save the file map, then go back into FlexSim. Save the post office model again under the same name "PostOfficeXML.fsx". Now look in the distributedfiles directory. You'll see that it contains a new xml file named windows.fsx. This xml holds the definition of the node MODEL:/Tools/Workspace. All interaction with the model remains the same, i.e. from FlexSim you just load and save the main xml model file, but now the model is distributed across multiple files. If you look a the change to PostOfficeXML.fsx in your git client, you'll see that many lines have been replaced with a single line specifying the other file: This shows how much of the content of PostOfficeXML.fsx has been moved to distributedfiles/windows.fsx. In the file map, the main document element is the <flexsim-file-map> tag. Inside the main document element should be any number of <map-node> elements. Each <map-node> element should have a path attribute, a file attribute, and a file-map-method attribute. The path attribute should specify the path, from the main saved node, to the node that is going to be saved into the distributed file. The file attribute specifies the path, relative to the saved model file, to the distributed file that you want to save. The file-map-method should either have a value of "single-node" or "split-points". In this case "single-node" means you want to save all of the active node into windows.fsx. Now let's do an example of the "split-points" method. Let's say we want to save the Tools folder in one file, the Source and Queue into another file, and the Processor and Sink in a third file. To do this, add another <map-node> element to the file map: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <flexsim-file-map version="1"> <map-node path="/Tools/active" file="distributedfiles/windows.fsx" file-map-method="single-node"/> <map-node path="" file="distributedfiles/Tools.fsx" file-map-method="split-points"> <split-point name="Source1" file="distributedfiles/Source_Queue.fsx"/> <split-point name="Processor3" file="distributedfiles/Processor_Sink.fsx"/> </map-node> </flexsim-file-map> Now save the file, save your FlexSim model, and again you'll see new files created in the distributedfiles directory. If a element uses the "split-points" method, then it can have sub-elements. Each split-point should have a name, defining the name of a node inside the map-node's defined node, and a file attribute defining the file to save to. The map-node has a path="" attribute. This means that it applies to the root node, or the model itself. The map-node's file attribute defines the first file to use. This configuration tells FlexSim to save all sub-nodes in the model up to but not including the node named "Source1" to the file "distributedfiles/Tools.fsx", save everything from Source1 up to but not including the node named "Processor3" in "distributedfiles/Source_Queue.fsx", and save everything from Processor3 to the end in "distributedfiles/Processor_Sink.fsx". Why Distribute? The main reason you would want to distribute your model across multiple files is for version management. It allows you to easily see what you've changed in your model by seeing what files, and consequently which parts of the tree, have changed. If you inadvertently changed one piece of the model, you can easily see that and then revert that change if needed. When multiple modellers are developing the model, one modeller can essentially confine himself to one part of the model tree, and by associating that part of the tree with a specific file, it makes it much easier to merge changes from different developers, it reduces the chance of conflicts in the merge, and makes it easier to do a manual merge if needed. Note on connections: FlexSim's XML save mechanism does have one catch regarding input/output/center port connections, as well as any other mechanism that uses FlexSim's coupling data. If you change connections in one portion of your model, it will actually change the serialized values of all connections/coupling data that occur after those connections in the tree, even if those connections were not changed. This can very easily cause merge issues if multiple modellers are changing connection data. However, if you distribute the model across multiple files, connection changes where both connection end-points are within the same file will only affect that file, and will not change other files. So if you can localize large "connection sets" into individual files, you can minimize the effect of changes and subsequently minimize merge conflicts.

MQTT is a communication protocol designed for IoT devices. Clients (the devices) connect to a Broker which allows them to publish (send) and subscribe (receive) messages. Each message is associated with a Topic. Each client can choose which topics to use for publishing and subscribing. Usually, the MQTT broker discards messages once they are sent to all subscribers. However, a publisher can mark a message as "retained." This means the broker will keep the last message for that topic and make it available to other subscribers. Only the most recent message is retained. When developing a digital twin, you may need to access these retained messages. This article describes how to do that using FlexSim's Python connection. This article is not meant as a comprehensive guide, but as a starting point, which you certainly will modify for your circumstances. Here are the python scripts and FlexSim model used in this example: MQTT.zip A quick note: since MQTT is a device communication protocol, support for MQTT in the Emulation module is in progress. This article describes how to import data from an MQTT broker like any other file/database/http server, rather than connecting for Emulation purposes. Step 1: Gaining Access to an MQTT Broker Your facility may already have an MQTT Broker running. In the end, your digital twin will need to connect to that broker to retrieve the latest retained messages. However, for testing, or if you don't have an MQTT Broker yet, you can easily get one. One possibility is to use Docker to run the EMQX Broker. However, there are dozens of brokers and installation steps You can download Docker Desktop here: https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/ Once docker is running, you can use the following command in a terminal to download and run the EMQX Broker: docker run -d --name emqx -p 1883:1883 -p 8083:8083 -p 8084:8084 -p 8883:8883 -p 18083:18083 emqx/emqx Note that this command runs a Linux container, so if Docker is in Windows mode, you'll need to switch before running this command. Step 2: Publishing Messages to an MQTT Broker A real facility will have many publishers and subscribers. However, for testing, it can be convenient to create publishers and subscribers that you control. Once your broker is running, you can use code like the following to create a publishing client: https://github.com/emqx/MQTT-Client-Examples/blob/master/mqtt-client-Python3/pub_sub_tcp.py For this example, I created two clients that publish tabular data: one that publishes a set of "raw materials" available for use in the process, and another that publishes a set of "finished goods" available to fulfill orders. To create some data, run the finished_goods_client.py and raw_materials_client.py files for a few seconds each. Note that both of these clients mark the messages to be retained, so FlexSim can access the latest message, even if neither client is actively running. Step 3: Writing a Python Script to Retrieve Messages This approach is demonstrated in fs_client.py, shown here: import paho.mqtt.subscribe as subscribe import json def get_retained_msgs(topics): auth = { 'username': 'emqx', 'password': 'public', } msgs = subscribe.simple( topics, qos=0, msg_count=len(topics), retained=True, hostname="localhost", port=1883, client_id=None, auth=auth, keepalive=5) if type(msgs) == list: return [json.loads(m.payload) for m in msgs] else: return [json.loads(msgs.payload)] if __name__ == "__main__": topics = ["python-mqtt/raw-materials", "python-mqtt/finished-goods"] print(get_retained_msgs(topics)) Run this script to verify that it returns the latest data from the two publishers. When FlexSim calls this function, FlexSim can convert python Lists and Dictionaries into FlexSim Arrays and Maps. So you can return complex data structures directly to FlexSim. Step 4: Writing a User Command to Call the Python Command In FlexSim, create a new user command, and edit the code. Be sure to toggle the node for external use, and set it to the following: /**external python: */ /**/"fs_client"/**/ /** \nfunction name:*/ /**/"get_retained_msgs"/**/ To use Python like this, you need python installed on the path. You also need the paho-mqtt package installed globally. Finally, you need to verify that your global preferences indicate the correct version of Python. For more information on connecting to python functions, see FlexSim's documentation: https://docs.flexsim.com/en/23.2/Reference/DeveloperAdvancedUser/ConnectingToExternalCode/ConnectingToExternalCode.html Step 5: Writing a User Command to Write Messages to Global Tables In this example, the messages we are interested in store tabular data, so it makes sense to store the data in Global Tables: Array tables = ; Array topics = ["python-mqtt/raw-materials", "python-mqtt/finished-goods" Array msgs = getRetainedMessages(topics); for (int m = 1; m <= msgs.length; m++) { Table fsTable = tables[m // header code elided; see example Array msgData = msgs .data; Table msgTable = Table(msgData); msgTable.cloneTo(fsTable); // header code elided; see example } If you run this new user command, you can see the latest data pulled in to FlexSim. Conclusion This example shows just one way you could import data from an MQTT broker into FlexSim. In addition, the kind of data you import or what you do with that data is up to you as the user.

This demo model shows the type of material handling logic that would be found in Bombay sorter system. This tiered conveyor system has products lined up in rows, then drop onto the next conveyor below while staying as a row. More a proof of concept than a fully-featured sample model, FlexSim users can use this as a springboard for more complex horizontal loop conveyor systems. A Bombay sorter (also known as a flat sorter) is a horizontal loop-style sorter. It's used for high-speed automated sortation of small, lightweight items, such as pharmaceuticals, books, and other small parcels. The chutes or cartons are located below the sorter, and when the product is in position, the doors swing open like a trap door to divert the product to the correct location. Bombay-sorter-demo.fsm

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.    

Note: these demo models have been designed for the French-speaking FlexSim user community (all explanations and statistics shown in dashboards are labeled in French). However as 3D animation is a universal language, feel free to download these models whatever language you speak. Manutention de marchandises / Material handling download link: https://redirect.flexsim.fr/download_demomanutention niveau: ★☆☆ Ce modèle donne une vue d'ensemble sur les ressources disponibles dans la librairie FlexSim pour transporter des produits: AGV, opérateur, cariste, ascenseur, robot 6 axes, pont roulant, transtockeur. This model gives an overview of available resources in the FlexSim library to transport products: AGV, operator, forklift, elevator, 6-axis robot, crane, ASRS. Triage sur convoyeur / Conveyor sorting system download link: https://redirect.flexsim.fr/download_demotriage niveau: ★★☆ Dans ce modèle, des colis arrivent sur un carrousel et sont triés sur un des 6 convoyeurs de sortie en fonction de leur référence de commande. Si la cellule photoélectrique du convoyeur de sortie est saturée, les colis font un tour de carrousel supplémentaire. In this model, packages arrive on a carousel and are sorted on one of the 6 exit conveyors, according to their order reference. If the exit conveyor's photocell is saturated, packages make an additional carousel lap. AGV - Automated Guided Vehicle download link: https://redirect.flexsim.fr/download_demoagv niveau: ★★★ Ce modèle illustre une application des capacités de simulation d'AGV de FlexSim. Des caisses y circulent entre divers modules via des AGVs. This model demonstrates a subset of FlexSim's AGV simulation capabilities. Loads are transported by AGVs between several modules. Workshop download link: https://redirect.flexsim.fr/download_demoworkshop niveau: ★★★ Ce modèle présente une approche possible pour simuler des gammes de fabrication. Une gamme est assignée à chaque produit entrant dans le modèle. Le produit traverse ensuite chaque étape de sa gamme. This model presents a possible approach for data-driven product routing. Each product moves through a series of processing steps defined in a table. Clinique / Clinic download link: https://redirect.flexsim.fr/download_democlinique niveau: ★☆☆ Ce modèle est un exemple de parcours patient dans une clinique: enregistrement, triage par une infirmière, examen par un médecin, soins (ECG, radio ou IRM) et enfin présentation du diagnostic au patient avant raccompagnement vers la sortie. This model is an example of patient flow in a clinic: sign in, triage by a nurse, consult with a doctor, treatment (EKG, X-ray or MRI) and finally patient education before escorting him to the exit.

I created this custom visual tool because I had a situation where we needed to see the progress of activites in the 3D View. I basically just change the size of a plane based on the completion level and calculate a percentage. Model is attached and contains some explanations. Enjoy, Custom visual tool.fsm

In this example model you'll see two identical elevator setups. However, you will notice that ElevatorBank1 allows the patient to move to the next floor properly, whereas ElevatorBank1_2 will float the patient up the network node instead of using the elevator. There are a few steps you must follow to ensure you will have a properly working elevator in your model. Make sure everything is working the way you intended, without an elevator. Now you can add in the elevator, select it and then check the 'Connect to Path' box as seen below Now ensure that the elevator is connected to the nearest path node and any nodes above it. One thing to note is that after resetting if you click on any of the Path nodes that the elevator is connected to you will see that the On Arrival Trigger now says Send Message to Request Elevator. This is the code that actually calls the elevator when a patient arrives at the node. The elevator automatically adds this to the nodes connected to when resetting, but this trigger option can be added to any node. Another good practice, especially if patients walk by the elevator without always using it, is to make a separate node off on a spur. That way patients aren't triggering the elevator every time they walk by.

This article reviews one method for making a state Gantt chart for the default and alternate state profiles: Example Model You can download the model for this walkthrough ( stateganttdemo.fsm). The model has two multiprocessors, in a Group called Multiprocessors. Each multiprocessor has two processes: Process1 and Process2. To make the chart, we will first make a Statistics Collector, and then a Calculated Table. Making the Statistics Collector Make a new Statistics Collector. On the Event Listening tab, use the Sampler to listen to On State Change of the group of multiprocessors. You can leave the parameter names alone. However, we need to add a label, so we can record the profile number. Select the new event, and then use the green plus button in the Event Labels area to add a label for this event. Set its name to ProfileNum, and its value to the following code: data.StateProfileNode?.rank The event settings should look something like the following: Next we need to set the row mode. Make sure it's set to Add Per Event, with no row value. As the final configuration step for the statistics collector, we need to set up the columns. There should be four columns in this collector: Time - In the pick options, select Time, then Model Date/Time Object - In the pick options, select IDs, then ID of Event Object Profile - Type data.ProfileNum for the value. The default storage and display format are fine. State Type the following code: data.eventNode.as(Object).stats.state(data.ProfileNum).profile[data.ToState + 1][1] Set the Storage Type to String The code is necessary because On State Change occurs before the state is set to the new state. So the code is looking up the name of the future state in the profile table. When you reset and run this model, you will see a table like the following: Making the Calculated Table Make a new Calculated Table, and give it the following query: SELECT Object, Time as StartTime, LEAD(Time) OVER (PARTITION BY Object) AS EndTime, State FROM StatisticsCollector1 WHERE Profile = 1 This query creates an Object column as well as a Time column. To get the time that the current state ends, we look to when the next state begins. The LEAD() function looks ahead in the table, and the OVER(PARTITION BY Object) clause makes sure that LEAD() makes sure to look to the next row with the same Object. We also record the state column, and filter out the standard state profile, keeping the special multiprocessor state profile. Once you get this query to work, change the Update Mode to By Interval, and set the interval to 20 or 30. Since the Statistics Collector table will get longer and longer, the query will become more and more expensive as the model runs. To control how much time is spent running the query, we use an interval. The final configuration of the Calculated Table should look like this: You will need to set the Display Format of each column on the Display Format tab (Object, Date/Time, Date/Time, and Raw). Making the Chart Make a new dashboard, and create a Gantt chart. Point it at the Calculated Table. When you do that, the chart should fill in all the other columns correctly. Charting Both State Profiles for Both Objects In order to chart both profiles on the same chart, we first need to add a column to the Statistics Collector, and then update the query in the Calculated Table. The new column should be named ObjectAndProfile, and a Storage Type of String. Use the following code for a value: data.eventNode.name + " - " + string.fromNum(data.ProfileNum.as(int)) Then change your query to the following: SELECT ObjectAndProfile, Time as StartTime, LEAD(Time) OVER (PARTITION BY ObjectAndProfile) AS EndTime, State FROM StatisticsCollector1 With these changes, you should be able to view both profiles for both multiprocessors.

This article borrows from @jordan.johnson's original guide for deploying a distributed experiment/optimization with Amazon. Distributed Terminology Please be familiar with the terminology related to experiments and optimizations. Replication - a distinct model run. We'll use this term below for both replications (experimenter) and solutions (optimizer). Instance - a system, whether virtual or bare-metal, local or remote, meeting FlexSim's recommended requirements, and used for running distributed replications. Main PC - the system from which the user configures and initiates the distributed experiment or optimization. The Cloud - a shorthand term for remote servers/systems hosted in a data center, sometimes by a 3rd party such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, or others. Background Concepts In discussing distributed experiments or optimization, you should start with a good understanding of both the Experimenter and the Optimizer. Please read and understand this user manual entry which includes explanations of key concepts that will be important as you continue. Other user manual articles provide additional guidance on configuring your own experiments or optimizations. Search the online user manual and this community if you have additional questions regarding experiments or optimizations, as needed. Using the experimenter requires a FlexSim license. The optimizer requires a license for the OptQuest add-on. Please contact your local distributor for more information or to request a test license for FlexSim and/or OptQuest. What are distributed experiments or optimizations? Experiments or optimizations can create dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of distinct model runs (or replications) to test various scenarios, build confidence intervals of the results, or zero-in on an optimal solution. A distributed experiment or optimization takes those individual model runs and assigns them (distributes them) to run across a group of computers. If you needed to run 1000 replications, and you have 4 computers available, each computer could run 250 replications, getting your results 4 times faster. When should you distribute? Using distributed replications can significantly reduce the required time to run an experiment if: The single-run time for your model is high (a couple minutes or more) You anticipate running a high number of replications If the time per replication is short, then the increased communication overhead may outweigh the benefit of using distributed replications. The communication overhead increases because all distributed replications still report results to a single FlexSim process on the Main PC, and that communication occurs over the network (local instances) or internet (remote instances), rather than on a single computer. If an experiment or optimization completes in an acceptable amount of time, you may not need to use distributed replications. Financial Costs 3rd party cloud providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and others, charge for their services. Your cost is usually based on the hardware you provision for your Windows instances, and the length of time those instances are live. Typically you only run your instances when running your experiment or optimization, and cancel or decommission your instances when your replications are complete. In this way you minimize the cost of your distributed experiment or optimization. The costs and process of decommissioning your provisioned instances differ based on which 3rd party cloud provider you use. You may have access to local computing resources that could be configured for use in your FlexSim experiments or optimizations. In this case you may avoid additional costs relating to 3rd party cloud providers by using your own on-premises computers. Licensing for distributed Windows instances Windows instances used solely for distributed replications DO NOT need an individual FlexSim license. Only the FlexSim installation on the Main PC must be licensed. System requirements for distributed Windows instances Graphics A Windows instance should meet or exceed FlexSim's recommended requirements. However, because replications run as background processes without graphics, they need not meet the graphics requirements and do not need hardware accelerated graphics. CPU An instance can run as many concurrent replications as it has CPU cores. If, for example, an instance has 32 CPU cores, it can run 32 replications of your model simultaneously. RAM For this example of a 32-CPU Windows instance, if you want FlexSim to run 32 replications simultaneously - one on each core - then the instance must also have enough RAM to handle 32 concurrent model runs. On your Main PC, use Windows Task Manager to watch a single model run's RAM usage to determine its peak RAM utilization. If your model's RAM utilization peaks at 3GB throughout the course of a model run, you should make sure your 32-CPU system has at least 32*3 = 96GB of RAM for replications alone, along with a good ~10% more for additional overhead used for the Webserver and the statistics gathering and reporting from all the replications (this number could be more or less, depending on the model's stats gathering). In addition, you must account for your system's baseline RAM utilization - how much RAM it uses just to run the operating system and all its background processes. You can find this baseline by checking the Task Manager at a moment when you're not running any simulations. Add all these together to see how much RAM would be necessary to run a replication on each core of the instance. If your instance doesn't have enough RAM to handle that many simultaneous replications, you'll need to limit the number of CPUs FlexSim will use when configuring your Cloud Computing settings from the Main PC. Disk Disk space is usually not an issue. However, if you are using the Store Data on Hard Drive option in the Statistics Collector, you will need to be sure that there is enough disk space to run the model to completion on the hard drive, multiplied by the number of cores. The amount of disk space on each instance may affect the total cost of using a 3rd party cloud provider. More information See the related sections in the article Recommended System Requirements for a more in-depth discussion of system components such as CPU and RAM, and how they relate to running your simulations and experiments. Provisioning distributed Windows instances The process of provisioning 3rd party cloud instances for running distributed FlexSim replications will differ from provider to provider. FlexSim has guides for the following cloud providers: Amazon Web Services Wherever you decide to host your instances, the important part is that eventually you end up with a group of Windows instances, each with a unique IPv4 address accessible from the Main PC. A custom Windows image Your 3rd party cloud provider probably allows you to save a custom Windows image that can include software and settings that you need for each Windows instance. Doing this once for a custom Windows image saves you time when starting new instances - each instance will start with the software and settings preconfigured for your purpose. On your custom image, do the following Download and install FlexSim. Use the same version of FlexSim as is licensed on the Main PC. Remember, you DO NOT need to activate a license. Run FlexSim. This creates a directory that is needed later. After FlexSim finishes its first start, close FlexSim. Download and install the FlexSim Webserver for your installed version of FlexSim. Edit the Webserver's configuration file appropriately for your situation. Default location is here: "C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexSim Web Server\flexsim webserver configuration.txt" Start the FlexSim Webserver from your Windows Start menu, or manually from the default location here: "C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexSim Web Server\flexsimserver.bat". The Webserver will download necessary files the first time it is run. Close the Webserver after it has completed its initial startup. Allow both FlexSim and node.js through the Windows Firewall. To do so, use Windows' Allow an App through the Windows Firewall tool. You will need to browse for both FlexSim and Node.js. Example locations (exact locations may vary by version): C:\Program Files\FlexSim 2023\program\flexsim.exe C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe If you are not familiar with the FlexSim Webserver, please review its documentation and test it out on a local machine to understand what it does, its configuration options, etc. If you cannot configure a custom Windows image, you will need to do the above on each instance individually. Initialize instances Launch your instances. On each instance, do the following: Log in to the instance with Remote Desktop or some other solution. Start the FlexSim Webserver from your Windows Start menu, or manually from the default location here: "C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexSim Web Server\flexsimserver.bat". Note the instance's IPv4 address. Once all instances are running the Webserver, you are ready to configure a distributed experiment or optimization from the Main PC. Author's Note: There is probably a way to make it so that when instances start up, they automatically run the Webserver, so that you don't have to manually connect to each one. I welcome any suggestions or steps for how to make that happen. Configuring a distributed experiment or optimization Once you have a list of running instances available, launch FlexSim on the Main PC. Open the experimenter interface from FlexSim's Main Menu > Statistics > Experimenter. Configure your experiment. As part of your configuration, under the Advanced tab, select the option to Use Distributed CPUs. Press the button to Configure Cloud Nodes. This will open the Global Preferences' Environment tab. Enter the IP addresses of your instances into FlexSim. Enter the port numbers you configured in their FlexSim Webservers. If your instances will max out RAM before CPUs, enter a CPU count representing the maximum number of concurrent replications your instance can handle. For more information on using remote computers for Experiment Jobs, see Running Jobs on the Cloud for more information.

Interacting with your licenses isn't something you do every day, but it doesn't need to be intimidating. We've documented all the main procedures you'll use to manage your FlexSim licenses like a pro.   When you purchased your FlexSim licenses you chose one of two methods for licensing your software. Click below to jump to the licensing procedures for your style of licenses:   Network Licensing Standalone Licensing Need a refresher on the differences between network and standalone licensing? Our Standalone vs Network Licensing.pdf is a basic intro or check out our in-depth article on License Models. Network Licensing With an in-house license server you don't activate your licenses directly in the software (as in standalone licensing). Instead, your FlexSim software is configured to obtain a seat from a license server in your organization's network. Your organization will need to provision, install, and maintain a license server.   Here are instructions for all the primary server licensing tasks.   Install, Configure, Activate Here are our instructions for installing, configuring, and licensing your server, and for configuring FlexSim to get a seat from your license server. This document covers both online and secure/offline scenarios.   PDF installation guide Online Answers articles index We have some shorter guides focused specifically on just the license activation step. If you already have an installed and configured license server, these guides are provided as a convenience for use in subsequent licensing procedures, like upgrading your licenses.   License Server - Activation - Online License Server - Activation - XML / Offline   Return You may occasionally need to migrate your licenses to a new license server or return your license as part of a license version upgrade.   License Server - Return - Online License Server - Return - XML / Offline   Repair In rare circumstances your activated license can become "broken". This means that even though the license is still activated on your server it is no longer able to serve seats to client PCs. This can happen if your server hardware or operating system changes significantly.   License Server - Repair - Online License Server - Repair - XML / Offline   Upgrade FlexSim releases new feature-versions several times per year. If the licenses activated on your license server are lower than the version of FlexSim software you're trying to run, FlexSim software won't be able to be licensed by your license server. You can learn more about how licensing works for a given version number in our Answers article FlexSim Version Numbering.   In this case you'll need to upgrade the activated licenses on your license server. If your maintenance is current, follow the procedure linked below to upgrade your license server for use with the latest versions of FlexSim. If your maintenance is expired contact your local FlexSim distributor to renew.   This article covers both online and secure/offline scenarios.   License Server - Upgrading your hosted licenses   Miscellaneous These items don't pertain to any particular licensing procedure but may be useful in some situations.   License Server - View licenses License Server - Delete fulfillment License Server - Troubleshooting tips License Server - Client/Server connectivity   Standalone Licensing With standalone licensing you'll activate a license code (also called an Activation ID) directly in FlexSim.   Below are detailed instructions for all the primary licensing tasks used in managing your standalone licenses:   Activation To apply a license to your computer, follow the linked instructions depending on whether your computer or network allows FlexSim to communicate online.   Standalone - Activation - Online Standalone - Activation - XML / Offline   Return Returning your license removes it from your computer and makes your seat available for a new activation. This is useful if you need to free up a seat for a colleague or move your license to a different computer. You may also return your license as part of the upgrade process for a new version of FlexSim - returning the old version so that you can activate an upgraded Activation ID.   Standalone - Return - Online Standalone - Return - XML / Offline   Repair In rare circumstances, your activated license can become "broken". This means that even though the license is still activated on your computer it no longer enables additional features allowed by your license type. This can happen if your computer hardware or operating system changes significantly.   There is no online method available. Please use the XML / Offline method. Standalone - Repair - XML / Offline   Upgrade FlexSim releases several new feature-versions per year. An upgraded version of the software requires an updated license key to enable its licensed features. Licenses with a current maintenance subscription are eligible to be upgraded to the new version. You can learn more about how licensing works for a given version number in our Answers article FlexSim Version Numbering.   If your maintenance is current, follow the procedure linked below to upgrade your license for use with the latest versions of FlexSim. If your maintenance is expired contact your local FlexSim distributor to renew.   This article covers both online and secure/offline scenarios:   Standalone - Upgrading your license   Miscellaneous These items don't pertain to any particular licensing procedure but may be useful in some situations.   Standalone - View licenses Standalone - Delete fulfillment

tl;dr   must be stable and persistent, always able to maintain a constant connection with the client software don't use a user's personal computer as a license server use a currently supported Microsoft OS bare-metal hardware, virtual hardware, cloud hosted - all are fine if the hardware meets the OS specifications, it meets the license server specifications configure your network and firewalls to allow the client-server communication   Use an always-on, accessible server (not a user's PC)   Your license server should be on a stable, persistent system that is always on and always accessible via a stable IP address or fully qualified domain name. A user’s personal system is not a good license server, unless they are only serving licenses to themselves, in which case please consider contacting your local FlexSim distributor to exchange for a standalone license.   Operating System   Hosting FlexSim licenses requires a currently supported version of Windows (desktop or server versions are supported). FlexSim and FlexNet do not support Windows operating systems that have reached their end-of-life. See Microsoft guidance on product lifecycle.   You should perform all Microsoft Updates so that your operating system is fully patched prior to installing the license server software.   In the future we hope to allow FlexSim licenses to be hosted on Linux or Mac license servers, in addition to Windows. Work toward multiplatform is ongoing. We do not currently have an estimated timeline.   Server Hardware   If your license server hardware meets the specifications required for the chosen Microsoft OS, it will be adequate to run the license server software. Hosting licenses is generally NOT a demanding workload.   Please do not confuse these minimal license server hardware requirements with the different and more demanding system requirements for running FlexSim Simulation Software.   Cloud Hosting   Your license server could be hosted by a cloud provider or on premises, on a virtual machine, or a bare-metal OS.   Keep in mind that your license server should be a stable, persistent server that client PCs can remain connected to. If your server setup works by creating and destroying new instances of a virtual machine each time you reboot, it is NOT suitable for use as a license server. You will lose your Trusted-Storage-based FlexSim licenses when the virtual machine is terminated.   Networking, firewalls, connectivity   For the client software to remain licensed, it must maintain a constant network connection to your license server. The exact details of such a configuration are up to you.   If you want to limit client-server connections to the local network, allow access to the license server worldwide over a VPN, or make your licenses available over the public Internet, these are all decisions you must make and configure your network and firewalls accordingly such that your FlexSim client PCs can maintain a constant connection to the license server.   Further networking guidance, including information regarding firewalls and port numbers, is found in the individual instructions for lmtools or lmadmin.  

FlexSim 2023 is now available for download. For more in-depth discussion of the new features, check out the official software release page: FlexSim 2023: Enhancements to Bonsai Integration (AI), Emulation, AGV/AMR, and more You can view the Release Notes in the online user manual. FlexSim 23.0.0 Release Notes If you have bug reports or other feedback on the software, please email [email protected] or create a new idea in the Development space.

FlexSim 2022 is now available for download. You can view the Release Notes in the online user manual. For more in depth discussion and videos of the new features, check out the official software release page. If you have bug reports or other feedback on the software, please email [email protected] or create a new idea in the Development space.