Factorio Forums

I want my assemblers to output an item into a logistics chest so I can have robots deliver it to me, but I also want robots to be able to put that item back when I'm done with it.

Storage chests with a filter for the item seem to be the way to do this. So I need to place the storage chest, set the filter, place a red wire, and set a condition on the inserter feeding the chest to limit how much the assembler produces. This is a lot of steps. Is there a better/quicker way to do this?

As far as i know, there's no way to set the filter automatically on the storage chests, unfortunately. I do hope they add that though.
If you could read the filter from those and use that to set the recipe in the assembler, you can make some nice easily configured setups.

I was looking into the exact same issue a few days ago. What i ended up doing was:
- Add an inserter feeding into storage chest. Hook up those 2 with a wire
- Set the filter on the storage chest
- Set the Enable condition on the inserter to the special red Everything *. This means if the chest is empty, it will grab something from the assembler.

It does mean it can mess up if bots were to put something incorrect into the chest, but at least there's one less thing to change when you copy paste the setup.
You just copy paste it, change the recipe, change the filter on the chest and the number you want on the inserter. No need to change the item on the inserter as well.
It also has the added benefit that even if the recipe changes at some point, or it's part of a blueprint you stamp down again, you don't accidentally end up with a chest full of train signals because you overwrite the setting. Don't ask me how i know..