Overview and Key Concepts

The flow source is used to create flow or bulk material for a model. The source generates material at a continuous flow rate that can be set in the properties window, or changed dynamically during the model run.

Events

The source uses the standard events that are common to almost all FloWorks objects. See FloWorks Triggers for an explanation of these events.

Note that the source only provides flow output so all events and properties that are related to the input flow, such as the On Input trigger, are not available for this object.

States

For statistical purposes, the source's FloWorks state profile will be in one of the following states at various points during a simulation run:

• Idle - The source is not releasing any flow. This may be because its own output is closed, downstream objects are blocking, or the maximum outflow rate is set to zero.
• Generating - The source is generating flow and releasing it downstream.

Properties

The source object has five tabs with various properties. The first three tabs are standard tabs that are common to all flow objects. For more information about the properties on these tabs, see:

• The Settings Tab
• The Flow Tab
• The Triggers Tab

The last two tabs are the standard tabs that are common to all fixed resources. For more information about the properties on these tabs, see:

• The Labels Tab
• The General Tab

Custom coding

You may control the behavior of the flow source dynamically by writing FlexScript, for example in a Script window or by changing the code behind one of the options in an object trigger.

The flow source is an instance of the FlowObject class, see the class reference for information about its properties.