With the standard atoms and using the predefined logics you can already build quite a lot of interesting models. To analyze these models you often have to gather a lot of data. A Table atom can be used to store such data, but it requires some skills in 4DScript to correctly access the table from the various locations in the model where interesting events occur. Many people are not aware of the existence of the Data Recorder atom, which is designed specifically to record data from the model and write it to a Table or to Excel.

The Data Recorder is inserted in the flow of the model and for every passing product it records some information, such as the time, the age of the product, labels on the product, etc. A typical application is to keep track of the lead times of the products. It is also possible to record data only from products that satisfy certain conditions.

For more information on the Data Recorder, open ED, click Help | Help Overview and search for Data Recorder.