INOSIM 12 Is Now Available

Now available: The new INOSIM 12. Based upon our long-standing experience with process simulation, the new INOSIM 12 provides enhanced and simplified usability, faster performance, and a multitude of thought out new features. Here’s an overview of the most important changes:

• File-based databases
• Viewer license
• New Gantt chart
• Custom bars
• Packaged goods simulation
• More new features

File-Based Databases

Until now, all simulation projects had to be saved in central databases on the hard drives of each user’s PC. This procedure made regular backups and careful savings of each project status necessary. With the new, file-based databases, beginning with version 12, simulation projects will be saved in standardized files (MDF format). At the program start, the user selects a file-based database for further modeling. Thus, database structure and data security are maintained. This simplifies the handling of simulation projects (saving, versioning, transfer), at the same time eliminating possible failure sources.

INOSIM 12 Viewer License

The Viewer License is a license type nearly exclusively for viewing simulation results without editing. It is applied to view models, display existing simulation results, and generate reports. Simulation, optimization, statistical analysis, and changing parameters is not possible. Only projects can be imported, renamed, and deleted.

New INOSIM 12 Gantt

Modern PCs regularly provide microprocessors with multiple processing units within a single CMP. This allows to increase performance and speed of the computer without the need for higher clock frequencies. In practice, though, this advantage can only be used when the programs applied are adapted to this new technology. Hence, while developing the new INOSIM 12 Gantt, special attention was given to the multi-core ability of the application. At the same time, the Gantt chart was integrated as a sub-window of the INOSIM software. Before, it has been a stand-alone application. By the new architecture, performance and speed of the Gantt chart could be furthermore improved. This advantage is crucial when simulation results are analyzed through graphical display.

Timely aspects of the simulation can be made visible comfortably with the new INOSIM Gantt timeline function: it provides a “magnifier” for viewing defined periods of the simulation by simple mouse click. Hence, fast and detailed viewing, even of very short periods, is enabled by “endless” zoom, providing the complete width of the chart frame. And a new mouse click will allow fast and comfortable selection of further periods for analysis.

Custom Bars

In INOSIM 12, custom bars for the Gantt chart can be defined without being assigned to a unit. Procedural and operational bars can be generated with freely selectable colors and labels via Visual Basic. Furthermore, custom attributes can be assigned to the bars. More information on custom bars will be available on this homepage soon.

Packaged Goods Simulation

During the INOSIM 12 development, the first recipe modules for packaged goods simulation have been implemented. These are not standard part of INOSIM 12 yet, but may be delivered to interested customers for application with the process simulation. In the projected follow-up version INOSIM 13, default recipe modules for integrated process and packaged good simulation will be contained.

More New Features:

• Opening Multiple Instances of INOSIM

  Grounded on the file-based databases, from version 12 on multiple instances of INOSIM 12 can run at the same time. This means that the software can be used to open different databases in separate windows in parallel. This improves the usability of INOSIM 12 furthermore. For example, a user run a simulation while editing another model in the second INOSIM windows. The number of parallel INOSIM instances is only limited by the number of licenses available and the computers technical specifications. The installation of INOSIM 12 on a second PC, which until now used to be necessary for such purposes, is now dispensable.

• Excel-Reports from Basic

  Up to now, result reports from the simulation in Excel format could be opened by a dialog in the menu toolbar. This feature remains available, but in the future will be complemented by the option to call up report data as virtual basic objects. The data can be freely formatted by the users. By the new feature, the INOSIM 12 report handling has been improved further. Hence, it becomes easier to create reports in series, or to customize reports due to specific information needs.

• Enhanced Usability

  INOSIM for years has been successful improving our user interfaces. In this regard, critics and suggestions from our users have always been welcome. This strategy is maintained in our new version, with features like these:

  • Print function
    For the printing of layouts, master recipes, recipe modules, and Gantt charts, new design options for users have been created. Each project by now can be furnished with its own logo (image file). By using data from the INOSIM 12 properties dialogs, each project description can be easily updated with additional information.
  • New, intuitive buttons
    Together with a layout update to Windows 10, many buttons and symbols have been redesigned aiming for better usability. This concerns the INOSIM 12 menu toolbar, the layout and recipe editors, and the INOSIM 12 database.
  • Extended error messages in case of deleted controls
    When to an object a control is assigned which has been deleted in between, by the new INOSIM 12 an error message is displayed showing the control’s name, the object concerned (e.g. unit operation, unit), and the type of control.

• Extended Access Options Via Basic

  Following multiple user requests, we have extended INOSIM 12 Statistical Analysis and INOSIM 12 Optimizer.

  • From version 12, accessing the results of the statistical analysis via Basic is possible. The users now can have the analysis report read out by a special Basic method which allows filtering out the desired information. The default parameters of the analysis can be edited, which enables users to replace or extend them by custom parameters.
  • Furthermore, version 12 provides the option to access optimization results from Basic. The related Basic object therefore has obtained a new method which provides report data. Instead of using custom attributes, as yet, now users can directly, by a new property of INOSIM 12 Optimizer, specify a target function value for a simulation run via Basic.
  • Together with the changes mentioned, the complete report generation has been redesigned. As a result, Excel reports now can be generated significantly faster.

Do you have any questions or would like to know more about this topic? Please contact us.