Frame (object)

Create your simulation models in the Frame located in the folder Models in the Class Library. The Frame serves for grouping objects and to build hierarchically structured models by inserting any of the built-in objects or any objects you design. The Frame represents the entire plant, while you can model sub-sections of the plant in Frames of their own, which you insert into the Frame representing the entire plant. Model transitions from Frame to Frame with the object Interface . Connect objects within the Frame and Frames with the object Connector .

When you connect Frames with Connectors, Plant Simulation opens the dialog Select Interface in which you have to select an Interface, which you inserted into the Frame. A Frame counts as unconnected when one of its Interfaces is not connected to the outside.

The dialog Select Interface:

• Highlights the Interface that has the least number of connections. In our example the Interface named Unlimited has one (1) out of an unlimited number of possible connections.

• Lists in brackets how many connections out of the number you defined the Interface has. In our example the Interface named Max3 has one (1) out of the three (3 ) possible connections.

• Marks the Interface, which has reached its maximum number of external connections with an asterisk *. In our example the Interface named Only1 has reached one (1) out of one (1) possible connections.

  
  Note:

  We modeled most of the Tools, such as the TransferStation and the ExperimentManager, and some of the objects in the Object Libraries as application objects in a Frame. For this reason F1 opens the help for the Frame.

  To open help for the tool, select Help > Help on in its dialog.

After you start 3D, the 2D Frame window shows the x-axis and the y-axis in red. The point where these two red Conveyors intersect is the point, which will be mapped to the zero point, i.e., the Position of the grid, in 3D. You can set the origin of the grid in 2D with the attribute AxesOrigin.

You can also show a screenshot of the contents of a Frame in an HtmlReport, compare Display a Frame.

When you insert a new Frame into your 3D Only model, it contains temporary (internal) deco graphics labeled Under Construction to represent it outwards as long as you do not insert any other object into the Frame. This is because the default (external) graphics are set to be invisible.

To add the Frame to your simulation model, click Manage Class Library > Basic Objects > MaterialFlow > Frame on the Home ribbon tab.

Compare the sample models: Click the Window ribbon tab, click Start Page > Getting Started > Example Models and click Small Examples. Then, select the respective Category, the Topic, and the Example in the dialog Examples Collection and click Open Model.

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