Converter Icon
Converter nodes combine processing and unit transformation into a single element. They are used when material both passes through a rate-limited operation and changes units as part of the same step, such as packaging, forming, or converting raw material into finished goods.
A converter behaves like a constraint and a conversion node together. It applies a processing rate to incoming material while also transforming it into a different unit for downstream flow. Converters can accept multiple input streams, allowing you to model operations that require more than one material or component while still producing a single converted output.
Converters can experience interruptions, just like constraint nodes, making them suitable for representing real equipment that both processes material and changes its form. When a converter is unavailable, upstream material may accumulate while downstream nodes may become starved, allowing ReliaSim to naturally capture blocking and starvation behavior.
When building a model, converters are useful for simplifying structure by combining capacity limits and unit changes into one node. They are best applied where a single operation both controls flow and produces output in a different unit. As with other node types, it’s often helpful to start with simple rates and conversion ratios, then refine them as you better understand system behavior.