Visual tool as a container qs

[Paul Dowling]

Apologies if this is already documented but i can't find it.

Im trying to use a visual tool as a container (specifically trying to create a robotic palletizer object) that acts as a black box- no connections to anything within the object just connections to the visual tool and have come across a few problems:

- I can't create links to centre ports- (eg i create a centre port link from conveyor to visual tool, and then visual tool to an operator but it just creates a 2nd centre port link to the visual tool- the conveyor isn't joined to the centre port)

- It won't allow me the create an output port link from a dispatcher to the visual tool.

- Can't think of a simple way to batch the robot picks/ pick more than one carton from a single location at a time (using a queue doesn't look too good visually)

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I will attach an example file shortly...

Thanks,

Paul


Example attached

[Jeff Nordgren]

Paul,

I'm not sure I understand all that you want but maybe I can answer a few of your questions.

Connecting a center port to the Visual Tool is just that. A center port connection to the Visual Tool. It doesn't mean that an internal center port connection is going to be "passed on" by the Visual Tool. It stops at the Visual Tool. But you could send a message through that connection and then in the OnMessage trigger of the Visual Tool you could do what you needed to do.

It won't let you connect the dispatcher to the Visual Tool because the Dispatcher can only be connected to transporter type objects. And the Visual Tool is not a transporter type object.

The reason that the robot won't pick up more than one flowitem from any given conveyor is because of the conveyor, not the transport (robot). The conveyor only has one flowitem that is "ready" to be picked up (leave). And the is the last item on the conveyor. So in the attached model, I did what you didn't want to do by putting a queue at the end of each conveyor. That way the robot can pick up more than one flowitem of the same type. The queues are hidden under the last piece of conveyor (now just dummy conveyor pieces).

Does that cover most of it?

[Paul Dowling]

Thats helpful, thanks Jeff.

I'll stick with the queue it seems to be the simplest way of achieving what im after.

Re ports basically what im trying to do is build up a library of very self contained modules (eg the palletizer module) and was hoping i could pass all of my ports (in out and centre) through the visual tool. In other words i would like to be able to treat the palletizer module in a similar way to how i treat any of the simple objects (eg conveyor); just drag it from the library, connect a few ports to it and away it goes (without having to connect to individual objects within it). If you have any further thoughts on how i may achieve this they would be appreciated, otherwise i guess it's not the end of the world if i need to to link to a single object within the visual tool.

EDIT- In answer to my own question (just on the off chance someone has the same problem one day) i'm going to design my modules in such a way that the tranportation control is done outside of them (just have flow in/ flow out). Pretty obvious solution but managed to allude me for a while...