1. Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena
Build It Yourself
Build the same model from scratch – see book for more details
Handy user-interface tricks:
Right-click in an empty spot in flowchart view – small box of options, including Repeat Last Action … useful in repetitive editing like placing lots of the same module type
Ctrl+D or Ins key – duplicates whatever’s selected in flowchart view, offsetting it a bit … usually drag elsewhere and edit
Open a new (blank) model window – name it, save it, maybe maximize it
Attach modeling panels you’ll need to Project Bar if they’re not there
It is suggested that you always have your Arena doe file saved in a folder, since every run on a doe file generates several output files. That includes the file with the “out” file extension, which we will be using to obtain simulation output (as demonstrated in class). This and the next slides simply outline model construction. This requires reference to the details discussed in the packet starting on page 75, Section 3.4.
(Beginning slide for the fourth class)
Simulation with Arena
Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena

2. Build It Yourself (cont’d.)
Place and connect flowchart modules
Edit flowchart and data modules as needed
Experiment with Expression Builder – right-click in expression field
Optional: Add plots, animation, artwork
Add named views (? key or View/Named Views)
Name, hot key (case-sensitive) – useful in big models
Edit Run/Setup dialog
“Displays” in text
Compact way of saying what needs to be done in a dialog
Omits Arena defaults
Shows completed dialogs
We will always refer to animation as optional. While animation in simulation is a powerful tool, and can be very impressive in presentations on simulation to other workers or to management, it is still not the core of simulation. Hence, we give it less attention in the course. You can read over comments on animation in the reading assignments, but you will not be tested on this topic.
Simulation with Arena
Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena

3. Display for the Create Module
You can get dialog boxes like the above by double left clicking with the mouse on a module (the above is for the Create module). For our course, you will be able to ignore some of the fields in the dialog box since some of these fields draw on features that go beyond a basic introduction to simulation. However, knowing which to use and which to ignore will require practice in model construction on your part. How do you get the practice? The answer is to carefully and diligently read the assignments from the packets, and practice with the assigned problems.
Simulation with Arena
Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena

4. Display for the Process Module
This slide illustrates a second dialog box coming from the first one. Hence, Arena has dialog boxes imbedded in other dialog boxes. It can get a little confusing. However, a reasonable effort at practice is the way to become comfortable with Arena.
Simulation with Arena
Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena

5. Display for the Dispose Module
Here we have the easiest dialog box of them all. Note that we normally check the box for “Record Entity Statistics.” This assures that output will show up in the file with the “out” file extension.
Simulation with Arena
Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena

6. Optional: Display for the Queue-Length Plot
You will not be responsible for the contents of this slide, and we are unlikely to have time to discuss it.
Simulation with Arena
Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena

7. Optional: Expression Builder for Queue-Length-Plot Expression
You will not be responsible for the contents of this slide, and we are unlikely to have time to discuss it.
End of slides for the fourth class
Simulation with Arena
Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena

8. Optional: Display for Number Busy in Drill Press Center
You will not be responsible for the contents of this slide, and we are unlikely to have time to discuss it.
Simulation with Arena
Chapter 3 – A Guided Tour Through Arena