Proceedings of the 1997 Winter Simulation Conference

ed. S. Andradóttir, K. J. Healy, D. H. Withers, and B. L. Nelson

AN INTRODUCTION TO QUEST

Martin R. Barnes

Deneb Robotics, Inc.

3285 Lapeer Road West
Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT

This paper describes QUEST, a true 3D discrete event

simulation package that is designed for simulating
manufacturing processes. QUEST is used as a tool in
ensuring cost-effective process design, identifying and
understanding process problems and in evaluating
proposals for changes to processes.
The objective of this paper is for the reader to obtain a
basic understanding as to how QUEST is used to build
models and how the models are used to identify and
solve problems.
Figure 2: 3D Model
1 2D AND 3D MODELING ‘WORLDS’
QUEST allows models to be transferred from the 2D
QUEST allows the user to select between building world into the 3D world. In this way, the model can
models in a 2D or 3D ‘world’. start off at a simple conceptual level of detail and then
The 2D world is typically used for rough cut modeling, evolve as the design process progresses. This approach
where the physical layout of the facility is not considered avoids the requirement for two different models being
to be important. For example, the conceptual level created on different software.
design of a manufacturing process does not usually QUEST provides an extensive library of 2D and 3D
include the lengths of conveyors; as it may be geometries enabling the user to simply select an existing
inappropriate to try and include such details at an early geometry to represent resources and parts.
stage of process design.

Figure 1: 2D Rough Cut Model

In the 3D world, the modeling is based on accurate 3D

geometries. This level of detail is required as the Figure 3: NC Machine
process design becomes more firm and clear and
accurate performance measures are needed. At this stage QUEST also provides complete CAD capability to
the length and location of conveyors and other material create and modify geometries or to import geometries
handling equipment and the distance walked by people is from a wide range of CAD packages. Note that 2D and
likely to have a critical effect on the overall process 3D geometries can be saved and used in different
performance. models.

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2 USER INTERFACE

QUEST’s user interface enables building and running of

models. It is very powerful and allows quite complex
models to be built without the need for programming.
As an overview, the user interface is used to create
model elements, describe their behavior, run the
simulation, review results and perform ‘what if’
simulation experiments.

2.1 Classes and Elements

Building a model through the interface consists of

creating elements (e.g., conveyor XYZ), locating them in
the model world (by point and click or by specifying
coordinates), and then providing details on the elements’
behavior (location, length, speed, etc.). Figure 5: Element Class Details
Each element is created within an element class of
similar elements (e.g., conveyors with the same The scope of the dialog boxes allows quite complex
characteristics as conveyor XYZ). When elements are models to be built entirely within the user interface.
created they are located in the 3D world either by point- Note that any element class can be saved as an
and-click location or by specifying the coordinates. independent object and can be reused in different
Each element class has a set of detailed data models.
(parameters) that control the look (geometry) and
behavior of its elements. An individual element may 2.2 Element Class Types
also have its own behavioral characteristics. Data is
typed into a dialog box or selected as an option. QUEST provides a powerful range of element classes
that include:

Accessories - geometries for improving the realism

of the model
AGV - transporter e.g. fork lift, automated
guided vehicle, crane
Buffer - storage of parts
Conveyor - continuous linear parts movement
Failure/Repair - failure/repair patterns
Labor - labor moves parts, works on
machines
Machine - processing of parts/assemblies
Part - parts, tools, fixtures
Power and Free - fixed interval carrier-based
transportation
Process - details of loading, unloading or
part/assembly processing
Sink - removal of parts
Source - generation of parts

2.3 Part Flow

Routes for parts flow are created in two stages. First,

possible part flows are created by selecting ‘from’ and
‘to’ elements. This is done quite simply through point-
and-click methods. Second, control rules are specified to
Figure 4: Element Class Dialog Box govern part flows under various circumstances. Control
rules may be selected from an existing library and
applied to either class or element levels.
 An Introduction to QUEST 621

report). There is a wide range of standard reports

available and customized reports can be easily created.
The following are just a few examples:

• At the overall model level there is a table of

statistics, including overall throughput and the
maximum utilized resource.

Figure 6: Part Routing Rules

3 OBSERVING THE SIMULATION RUN

While a QUEST simulation is running, the user has Figure 7: Model Summary Statistics
complete interactive control to zoom in and fly through
to examine model behavior. This observation can be • For each element, various statistics may be
done with Virtual Reality devices such as stereo glasses, displayed on individual tables such as the
or full immersion devices. Realistic 3D simulation can throughput, busy, idle and repair times.
be a very effective medium for communicating to
observers from various disciplines.
By now, the value of graphics in communication is
well established in discrete event simulation. However,
the ability to relate to conceptual 2D iconic
representations is not general. The use of high level
graphics, texture maps, virtual reality makes it easy to
understand what the simulation represents. QUEST
extends this capability via Virtual Collaborative
Engineering (VCE). VCE enables observers, who are
located in different parts of the world, to view and
interact with the 3D simulation, connected by a normal
telephone line.
QUEST’s animation should be distinguished from a
3D fly through of static 3D ‘models’, 3D animations
which have no simulation base and from post-process
animations of simulations. In QUEST, as the simulation
is running, the true behavior of the facility is being
animated and displayed. The observers can not only
‘walk’ or ‘fly’ around the running simulation, but they
can modify parameters or examine performance
statistics of the model.

4 SIMULATION RESULTS Figure 8: Element Statistics

Performance statistics can be displayed or sent to file for
use by other software packages (e.g., including in a
622 Barnes

• Statistics can also be displayed in graphical 6 SIMULATION CONTROL LANGUAGE (SCL)

form and continuously updated as the
simulation is running. All elements in QUEST are controlled by a set of
behavioral rules that can be selected by the user from a
list of alternatives displayed in the user interface. Each
behavioral rule is a simulation program that is written in
QUEST’s Simulation Control Language (SCL). SCL
code is provided for each standard behavioral rule. The
user can modify or rewrite a selected rule and can even
add new rules to the user interface. This open
architecture allows the user to control model behavior at
a very detailed level. In most cases, provided SCL
behavioral rules are sufficient. However, modifications
can be made where ever necessary.
SCL is extensive and powerful in order to meet the
unique needs of complex models. It is object-based in
that each element class has its own SCL programs that
control the behavior of the elements in the class.
Features of SCL include:

• Access to model state information

Figure 9: Pie Chart • Event control
• File input and output
Performance statistics can be shown using pie • Full-featured on-line debugging
charts, bar charts and time plots. These graphs will • On-line documentation
show the statistics changing as the model is running, • Socket communication with C programs
allowing the user to observe the effects of behavior on • Standard text handling, mathematical routines
performance. There is a wide range of standard graphs • Structured programming
and customized graphs can be produced. • Variable types, including dynamic lists and
structures
5 EXPERIMENTATION
Note that modified or new programs can be saved for
By running the simulation several times with some use in other models.
changes, or with randomness, different behaviors can be
examined and compared. QUEST automatically 7 BATCH CONTROL LANGUAGE (BCL)
captures results for each simulation run and allows the
user to select and examine the comparative performance QUEST models can be run several times through the
statistics across the different runs. user interface. However, the user may want to specify a
series of simulation runs for experiments. Typically,
BLC is used to create a series of runs with alternative
scenarios without user intervention.
BCL has been developed beyond the run control stage.
Now, advanced users can drive QUEST modeling and
simulation run control from other custom-built user
interfaces.
For example, a company that has a central expert
simulation group may want to provide simulation
capability to other engineers, and reduce their learning
curve and the modeling time. By creating a user
interface in a toolkit such as Visual Basic™, the central
function can provide their users with an interface that is
Figure 10: Confidence Interval Across Runs geared specifically to their facilities and terminology.
 An Introduction to QUEST 623

8 THE VIRTUAL FACTORY • Access to process information from MRP or other

process planning system
QUEST is one of a suite of integrated simulation • Schedule-based input from MRP, or other
products that together provide the capability to produce a scheduling system
virtual factory simulation. Each product, including • Shifts, setups, loading/unloading times
QUEST, can operate entirely stand-alone. However, • Sub-model storage and retrieval
together they provide a worldwide collaborative • Video output
engineering simulation capability.
The products include: REFERENCES

• IGRIP – simulation and off-line programming for QUEST User Manual Ver. 4, 1997, Deneb Robotics Inc.
robots SCL Reference Manual, 1997, Deneb Robotics Inc.
• UltraArc – simulation and off-line programming for BCL Reference Manual, 1997, Deneb Robotics Inc.
arc weld robots
• UltraSpot – simulation and off-line programming AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
for spot weld robots
• ERGO – simulation of human movement, including MARTIN R. BARNES is a Support Manager at Deneb
posture analysis and energy expenditure analysis Robotics, Inc. with responsibility for QUEST. Martin
• VNC – simulation of NC machinery, including received a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Statistics from the
verification of NC code University of Leeds and an MA in Operational Research
• UltraGrip – simulation and off-line programming from the University of Lancaster.
for water jet cutting robots
• Envision – virtual prototyping, including assembly
simulation and ergonomic simulation
• UltraPaint-simulation and off-line programming for
painting robots
• Assembly-dynamically prove out assembly and
maintenance task feasibility

Each of these simulation products operate at what

might be termed a ‘workcell’ level. Workcell simulation
is highly detailed, involving such features as collision
detection and inverse kinematics.
QUEST can integrate these detailed simulation models
into a single process simulation. This permits engineers
from different disciplines to see the impact of their
workcell on the overall process. The integration permits
the user to instantly access the detailed workcell
simulation. This provides the capability to utilize
lessons learned at the process level in the design and
operation of workcells and vice-versa. This
collaborative engineering capability, combined with
VCE (previously mentioned), facilitates a multi-
disciplinary team of engineers, who may be
geographically remote, to function effectively towards a
common goal.

9 ADDITIONAL FEATURES

QUEST has a wide range of features, including:

• Access to data to/from spreadsheets

• AVI, JPEG, MPEG and TIFF output
• Kinematics