Create tokens using a Date Time Source

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In FlexSim, most process flows begin with the creation of tokens,

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which are used to represent physical or abstract items flowing through a model.

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This involves setting the arrival method to control when and how tokens enter your process flow.

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The Date Time Source activity is one of four token creation methods,

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and can be used to set start and end dates and times of arrival within a specified interval,

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or to set arrival appointments on a daily or weekly schedule.

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Typically, you select an arrival source in your Library, add it to your ProcessFlow,

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and then set the Quick Properties to meet the needs of your model.

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In this case, a process container is already set up in the ProcessFlow with a Date Time Source included.

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Here, click Date Time Source to open the Quick Properties,

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and then click Edit Arrivals to open a separate window with multiple options for setting up the arrivals schedule.

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In the table, you can specify the arrival Start and End time,

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assign a Quantity of arrivals within that interval, and apply a Name to the tokens.

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You can also add Labels, or additional columns of information.

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Here, a Type label was added.

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Note that military time is used for time intervals.

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In the example shown, between 8 AM and 4 PM, 25 of Type 1 will arrive, 50 of Type 2, and 30 of Type 3.

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The Quantities here are specified values, but you can also set a distribution.

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Above the table, you can specify the Time Mode as starting From Time 0,

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or, as in this example, select Use Model Start Date/Time to use clock time.

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You can specify as many Rows as needed, and time intervals can be successive or overlapping.

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Here, the Mode is set to Repeated, with a Repeat Interval of Daily.

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You can also set the Cycle Count to the number of times to repeat or Indefinitely to continue as long as the model is running.

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Next, set the Arrival Spacing.

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Here, tokens will arrive Evenly spaced throughout the interval.

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You can also set a scheduled arrival time or have tokens arrive randomly throughout the interval.

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To have FlexSim set up the table for you, click Generate Table,

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select a Division Length to set the arrival increments, and then set the Type to Daily or Weekly for the interval.

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Click Generate to automatically set up the table based on these settings.

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You can also create the schedule in Excel first and then click the Excel icon to import it.

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In this case, Date Time Source is used with an interval, which is useful when you do not know the exact time items arrive,

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but you know how many arrive within a time interval.

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Close the dialog.

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Select the Date Time Source - Interval Dashboard.

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Since this example was set up with a certain quantity arriving each day, in the Simulation bar, expand Run Time,

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select Stop Times, and set the simulation to run for 1 day.

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As a reminder, 25 of Type 1, 50 of Type 2, and 30 of Type 3 are set to arrive daily.

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Click Reset, and then Run to see that the correct number of each type arrives after one day.

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You can also use Date Time Source to create a daily or weekly schedule of appointments.

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Reset the model, then select the Date Time Source activity for Appointments to open the Quick Properties.

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Click Edit Arrivals to open the arrivals window.

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Here, you can see that the first arrival is scheduled at 8:00AM, with the next appointment at 8:05AM,

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and the Time Mode is set to Use Model Start Date/Time.

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By setting up the first appointment with a 5-minute interval,

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rather than the same start and end times, then adding Rows will automatically create successive 5-minute appointments.

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For each appointment, you can also set a Quantity to arrive, a Name, and a Type.

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The Type can be entered as a value, or in this case, By Percentage.

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With the Type column selected, click Edit Properties to expand the Type Properties,

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where you can see that 25% of the time Type 1 will arrive, 45% will be Type 2, and 30% Type 3.

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Back in the Date Time Source dialog, you can see that the appointments run from 8AM until about 4PM,

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with 1 item arriving at each, and with an Appointment label added to note the specific appointment time for each token.

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If you want each token to arrive at the start time, rather than any time within the 5-minute interval, set the Arrival Spacing to At scheduled time.

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Also, since appointments do not always occur on time,

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a Variability distribution has been added to allow items to arrive 3 minutes before or after the appointment time.

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Close the dialog.

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Reset and Run the simulation.

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Select the Date Time Source – Appointment Dashboard.

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In the table, you see the scheduled appointment times and actual arrival times, with some tokens arriving early and some late.

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In the variability histogram, because it is set up as a uniform distribution,

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the more you run the simulation and add more days, the more the histogram will resemble a box.

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Now, you know how to use the Date Time Source activity to set specific arrival dates and times for tokens,

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in intervals or as scheduled appointments.

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Take some time to review the remaining token creation methods, so that you can select the best method for your model.