How do you model transfer batching in simevents if you use orders as entities and order quantity as an attribute?

I am currently modeling a manufacturing system using SimEvents that utilises the concept of transfer batching (part of an order moves to the subsequent work station before the order is finished in the current work station). I have currently modeled my entities in the system as orders and the order quantity as an attribute. Additionally, the processing time on the server is dependent on the order quantity. What I would like to know is whether it is possible to start the production of the same entity on the subsequent work station while it is not completed on the previous? Right now the order is only transmitted to the subsequent work station when it has completed full service.

[RenatoL]

I don't understand the concept of transfer batching, but from my experience with SimEvents, perhaps what you can do is to add another attribute that contains the percentage of completion of the order, so say the value is in the range of 0-100.

Would that be useful for you?

[Sander van den Heuvel]

Thank you RenatoL! That is certainly something worth trying. Maybe I can clarify the concept of transfer batching so that the problem is more clear. Transfer batching is an approach to improve the flow of your system. Imagine their is a production line producing cardboard boxes for an order and a next production line which fills the cardboard boxes with the product. The order includes 50 boxes filled with product.

What you could have is a system that first waits until 50 cardboard boxes are produced on the first line. Then transports these 50 boxes to the next line where they are filled with products. So an order is not transferred until the production step is complete.

Transport batching would be the process where you wait until 10 boxes are produced by the first line and you already move these 10 boxes to the subsequent line to be filled with products and then the next 10 etc. This can help to maintain a better flow in your system. The second production line is now working on the same order as the first production line at the same moment in time.

I hope given this explanation you have a better understanding of what I am trying to achieve.

Answer 1

[Abdolkarim Mohammadi]

You should use an Entity replicator block, which replicates entities based on the order size. Replicas are production batches after batching, which has batch sizes equal to 10 in your example. I have attached a simple model for you to investigate the details. The only point is where the batch size is not an integer multiplier of the order size, which you should specially consider in the attached model.

[Sander van den Heuvel]

Thank you very much for your time Abdolkarim!