Use kinematics to change object positions

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In FlexSim, you can use kinematics to perform movement operations for 3D objects within your model,

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including changing location, rotating, and turning objects in different directions.

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This allows you to control the movement and position of objects to create realistic and effective models.

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In this model, a turntable is in the center and should rotate to receive items from both the X and Y direction.

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Right now, the object does not turn, but you can use kinematics to rotate the turntable appropriately.

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Before applying kinematics, it is important to ensure that the proper setup is complete in your process flow.

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While this may take some time, it is critical to the effective functioning of the kinematics.

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In this example, Zones in a Process Flow will be set up for both the X and Y directions.

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When the turntable is in the appropriate direction, items will proceed into the Zone and across the turntable.

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Otherwise, items will be instructed to wait until the Zone is clear to activate kinematics, and then proceed into the Zone.

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Here, you see the X and Y Zones already created so that tokens flow to the first decision point,

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enter the Zone, and then wait until the matching token reaches the second decision point to exit the Zone.

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The simulation is Run and you can see that the Zones are operating as expected.

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Next, tokens need to be duplicated and set up in the process flow with the appropriate labels,

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to determine if the orientation of the turntable matches their direction.

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From the Library, the Create Tokens activity is added to both the X and Y Zones after Source.

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Then, a connected Assign Labels activity is added using the Quick Library.

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In the Quick Properties for Create Tokens, the tokens are set up to be created as Independent Tokens,

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sent to the Assign Labels activity, and the activity will Copy Labels to Tokens on Create.

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Get Variable and Decide activities are then added to the activity blocks as well.

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In the Assign Labels Properties, the tokens are set to be assigned a Type label equal to the value of the item.

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This means that tokens in the Y direction—the red tokens—receive a label of Type 1,

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and the green tokens in the X direction receive a label of Type 0.

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Additionally, the Orientation variable is connected to the two Get Variable activities

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and set up to have a value of 0 when oriented in the X direction and a value of 1 when oriented in the Y direction.

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The Decide activity will compare the Type of the token to the value of the Orientation variable.

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If the two values do not match, then the orientation is not in the correct direction,

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and the token will wait.

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If the values do match, then the token will enter the turntable.

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This is set up by selecting each of the Decide activities, and then using the Code Editor to create a custom code.

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Here, the code is set up so that if token.Type is equal to token.variable, then return 2, otherwise, return 1.

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Once the code is applied, the Decide activity is then connected to the two paths—1 is the Custom Code, and 2 is the Sink.

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Next, you want to ensure that items wait for the kinematics when routed to the Custom Code.

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In the Quick Properties, Add drop-down, Control > Conveyor > Stop / Resume Item on Conveyor is selected, with the Action set to Stop Item.

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The activity is renamed “Stop Item”, and the same changes are applied to the other Custom Code activity.

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Now, when the simulation is Reset and Run, you see that the green items flow across the turntable, while the red items stop and wait.

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Next, a Wait for Event is added to both Stop Items in the ProcessFlow

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to make sure items wait until the Zone is clear to activate kinematics.

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For the Y Zone, the Sampler is used to select the X Zone, and then, in the menu, X Zone: On Content Change is selected.

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In the Quick Properties for the Wait for Event, Change Rule is set to Arrive At Value, with a Value of 0,

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and Fire If Initial Value Meets Rule is also selected.

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This means that tokens in the Y direction will wait until the X Zone has a value of 0 to proceed.

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The same is repeated for the X Zone, except tokens in this direction will wait for the Y Zone to be clear.

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When kinematics are in motion, the orientation variable must have a value other than 0 or 1,

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and it is recommended that you select something recognizably different from the other variables.

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A Set Variable activity is added to each Zone, and in this example, the Value is set to 90.

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The process flow is now set up appropriately, and you are ready to apply kinematics.

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First, add Create Kinematics to the ProcessFlow for the Y Zone.

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In the Quick Properties, click the Sampler.

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Then, in the model, select the Processor.

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Next, add Apply Kinematics to the ProcessFlow as well.

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Again, use the Sampler to select the Processor, then set the Type to Rotate.

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Back in the ProcessFlow, join the two kinematics activities in a block.

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Then, in the Quick Properties for Apply Kinematics, set the Offset Z Rotation to -90 degrees and the Target Speed to 50.

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Add Finish Kinematics to the activity block.

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Then Copy the kinematics activity block and Paste it into the X Zone.

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The only difference is that for the X Zone, you want to click Apply Kinematics, and then adjust the Offset Z Rotation to 90.

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Connect each kinematics block to the respective Stop Item block,

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then create another Custom Code to Resume Item once the kinematics are complete.

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The last thing you need to do is add a Set Variable activity

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to change the value of the Orientation variable once the rotation has occurred.

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For the Y Zone, add Set Variable to the kinematics activity block,

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link it to the Orientation, and then set the variable to a value of 1.

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Repeat these steps for the X Zone, but with a value of 0.

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Finally, add connectors to the Sink activity.

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To limit the number of items processed at a time, select the Processor,

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and then in Properties, set the Max Content—in this case, to 5.

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Now, Reset and Run the simulation to watch the process in action.

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Here, you can see that the process flow runs smoothly and the kinematics function as planned.

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Again, while it may take some time to prepare your process for kinematics,

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once it is set up, you can easily adjust properties to fit different scenarios.

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For example, here is an alternate scenario with the same general process flow;

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however, in this case, the kinematics are adjusted to lift the processor diagonally to another conveyor.

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Now you can create a process flow using kinematics.