Arena(R) software tutorial

The Arena modeling system from Systems Modeling Corporation is a flexible and powerful tool that allows analysts to creates animated simulation models that accurately represent virtually any system. First released in 1993, Arena employs an object-oriented design for entirely graphical model development. Simulation analysts place graphical objects-called modules-on a layout in order to define system components such as machines, operators, and material handling devices. Arena is built on the SIMAN simulation language. After creating a simulation model graphically, Arena automatically generates the underlying SIMAN model used to perform simulation runs. The graphical modules used by simulation analysts to create models are provided ''off-the-shelf' with Arena. These modules can also be custom designed by the end user to produce a modeling environment that is tailored to a specific application area (e.g., welding, cross-dock, etc.) or a specific vertical market (e.g., semiconductor, textiles, etc.). The resulting collection of user-created modules is contained inside an Application Solution Template (AST) that can be shared by any licensed Arena user.