Manufacturing Simulator (Small)

Manufacturing Simulator (Small) logo

Manufacturing Simulator (Small) is open-source educational software that lets students create, simulate, and compare their own manufacturing layouts without writing low-level SimPy processes. It models physical footprints, product flow, Workers, Machines, finite Buffers, Forklifts, AGVs, queues, movement, stochastic variability, and WIP draining. The Python package and import name remain manufacturing_sim_s.

Intended use

The provided version is intended for classroom instruction. It can serve as a starting point for research, but research applications require system-specific modifications, assumption validation, and appropriate verification before results are relied upon. The included defaults and examples are teaching models, not validated representations of a particular industrial facility.

The framework uses:

  • feet for positions, dimensions, and travel distance;
  • seconds for processing, arrivals, movement, and run duration;
  • feet per second for speed;
  • Manhattan center-to-center distance by default;
  • a six-foot minimum clearance between stationary components;
  • an eight-hour (28,800-second) default arrival window.

A Part counts as a produced unit only after it reaches a Sink. When the scheduled window ends, Sources stop releasing Parts and the simulation continues until all WIP is completed or scrapped.

Where to begin

The tutorials form one continuous workflow, but each page can also be used independently. Instructors can find solution-output and bottleneck guidance in the Instructor Guide.