This model shows one method of creating a turntable that rotates counterclockwise at 90° to different stations. In this model, a box is assembled on the turntable. One robot will deposit a box at the southern side of the turntable, and a second robot will deposit a lid on the box at the eastern side of the table. When the finished box arrives at the west side, an operator will pick it up and put it on an outbound conveyor.
Lids and bases are created with 3D sources. They will be put onto one conveyor each. When they reach the exit transfer, they will be pushed to a list. Bases will be pushed onto the list under partition 1, and lids will be pushed onto the list under partition 2.
I created one token for the turntable that will delay for a set amount of time between turns (called Delay: Process). Then the token will apply kinematics to the turntable and rotate it 90° at a rate of 15° per second. The turntable token will update labels on itself and on the turntable to indicate which stations are at which position. Then, the turntable token will release Base and Lid tokens. Lastly, this token will create a new token for the finished part that may have arrived at the outbound area. Then this process will be repeated.
A separate token represents the Base process. This token pulls a base from the list, loads it onto the robot, and then holds at a Decide until the turntable has turned. Once the table is finished turning, the base is unloaded onto the turntable.
A separate token represents the Lid process. This token pulls a lid from the list, loads it onto the robot, and then holds until the turntable has rotated. Then, the token checks to see if there’s a base on the newly arrived station. If there isn’t a base, the token will wait until the table turns again and check for a base. If there is a base, the lid is placed onto the box.
When a token is created from the Turntable flow in the Outbound Part flow, it will check to see if there is a part on the station that just arrived at the outbound location. If a part is on the station, an operator will pick it up and deposit it onto the outbound conveyor.
One thing to note with this system is that parts will only be unloaded onto the station once the turntable has rotated. If a part is picked up right after the turntable moves, it will have to wait for another rotation.
There are many changes that could be made to this model, but my hope is that users can see this as a jumping off point for creating a turntable or indexed conveyor.
