FlexSim 2019 version 19.0.0 Enterprise

FlexSim Software Products, Inc. is pleased to announce the availability of FlexSim 2019 (version 19.0.0), is 3D simulation software designed for modeling processes. Processes include manufacturing, packaging, warehousing, material handling, supply-chain, and many others.

What’s New in FlexSim – version 2019 (19.0):

Visuals + Animation
– JT File Importer
Import 3D model files from CAD software using the JT file format. These files import into FlexSim quickly without having to sacrifice data.
– Directly Animate Bones
FlexSim has supported bone animations on 3D shapes for a while, but FlexSim 2019 now provides a way to directly animate 3D shapes with bones. Simply enter the Animations tool for the 3D shape, click the Bone Animations button, and choose Animate Bones Directly. The bones in the 3D shape will become visible and are now able to be rotated as part of your own custom animations.
– Parent Subcomponent to Bone
Ever wanted to have an operator hold something throughout an animation, like a tool or a clipboard? You now have the option to parent a subcomponent to a bone on a 3D shape within the Animations tool. All you have to do is use the Sampler to choose the bone that the subcomponent will parent to-it will "stick" there during the animation, moving and even rotating with the bone.

People Module
– Person Flow, a New Process Flow Type
The new Person Process Flow type adds a few extra features from other types of Process Flows. It automatically creates an "Arrivals" flow where you can set the arrivals for people in your model. These arrivals are automatically connected to the "Person Flow," where people move through the logic and behaviors you’ve specified in the model.
– People Activity Sets
FlexSim 2019 comes with various activity sets to quickly create common groups of activities. Simply drag these templates into the model, hook them into your process logic, and edit as needed. For example, this lets you simply drag out the activity set for Transport then Process instead of having to individually drag out and arrange all the acquire activities, resources, and other elements that are involved.
– Process Activity
The Process activity allows you to represent a delay time for a process, like the Delay activity. But unlike the Delay activity, you can also specify which objects or entities are involved in the process, what state they’re in during the process, and what happens when the process is preempted or resumed.
– We’ve also…
. Added a priority value to resource objects; it’s used when acquiring and preempting resources.
. Made it easier to simulate shift schedules with Time Tables and Down Behaviors.
. Improved the UI for how people objects are added to groups.

A* Module
– Conditional Travel
You’ll notice a Condition field in the A* objects’ properties. This gives you the option to have travelers either follow or ignore a path, barrier or divider based on a condition, such as a label.
– Barrier Update
The barrier object has received a big update-instead of simply being a full-time barrier as before, it can now be partitioned into sections with different directions of allowed travel through each section. For example, you could partition the barrier to only allow travel through a small corridor, or you could have the barrier restrict the flow of traffic to only a northeastern direction.
– Two-Way Path Toggle
Dividers and paths can quickly be toggled to be either one-way or two-way. You can find this checkbox in the new Properties window or Quick Properties menu for these objects.
– We’ve also…
. Developed a FlexScript API for A* objects and data.
. Added a Mandatory Path object.
. Added a heat map option based on the percentage of total traversals.

Other
– Improvements to Data and Charting
. Added support for more SQL keywords: UNION, UNION ALL, INTERSECT, and EXCEPT.
. Calculated tables and chart templates can now save their data during an experiment.
. New options for the Milestone Collector.
. More options for event listening in Statistics Collectors.
. Can now enable/disable Statistics Collectors in the toolbox (right-click option).
– Time Table Improvements
. The Time Table’s weekly and daily modes now use an improved graphical display.
. Various improvements to the user interface.