Define / Edit Conveyors (3-D)

'Simulation' docking window > Conveyor

The conveyor moves all parts of an assembly in a defined direction, along a defined surface, and with a specified speed. The movement continues until the parts lose contact with the defined surface. The surface must belong to the active simulation assembly. Conveyors are only considered for physical simulations. The conveyor function is, for example, useful for the simulation of assembly lines or sorting processes.

Proceed as follows:

1. Specify the surface that is to serve as the conveyor. Click the symbol and identify the surface. The conveyor surface will be highlighted in the drawing.
2. Define the conveyor direction: Click the symbol and specify the direction by identifying one edge or two points (right-click). The specified direction will be indicated by a vector symbol.
3. Enter the speed of the conveyor movement in the Velocity field. Specify the unit of length and unit of time, and enter the desired values. Entering a negative value reverses the direction of the movement.

4. Close the window with OK.

The conveyor will then be shown in the simulation tree. The name of the conveyor will be Conveyor_n, with n being a consecutive number that is automatically assigned by HiCAD.

To edit the parameters of a conveyor, double-click the name of the conveyor in the simulation tree. The Conveyor dialogue window will then be displayed. In the drawing, the conveyor surface will be highlighted and the conveyor direction will be indicated .

Change the settings as desired and close the dialogue window with OK.

Recalculate the simulation!

Right-clicking the name of a conveyor in the simulation tree opens a context menu with further functions:

A deactivated conveyor will not be considered for the recalculation of the simulation. A deleted conveyor can be restored with UNDO.

Whether a conveyor is active or inactive is indicated by a corresponding symbol in the simulation tree:

Please note:

• Conveyors can also be defined while the parts are in motion, i.e. while the simulation is temporarily stopped. To ensure that the new conveyor will actually be considered in the simulation, it must be recalculated.
• The Conveyor option is only available for Physical simulations. In the Motion simulation mode, the button is greyed out.
• If a part has been fixed to the conveyor surface via a HCM constraint (e.g. a Coincidence constraint) , it cannot be moved by the conveyor.
• The length of a time interval can be taken over as a time value for the speed (velocity) of a conveyor. Right-click on the timeline and select Apply time. The dialogue window for the conveyor will then be displayed, an the changed value will be highlighted in red.

Simulations (3-D) • The 'Simulations' Docking Window (3-D) • Simulation: Examples (3-D)