Limit production with Logistics system?

[Psycho0124]

Hello.
I really want to try and use the Logistic robot delivery service but I keep running into a snag with using the logistics system. Overproduction. There's probably a simple solution I'm missing but I just can't find it.
I've always used a smart chest+smart inserter wired up and programmed with a "if item < (number I want to stock)" as the fabricator output to limit production on items like ammo and turrets. It's great to have a few automatically restocked and ready to go.
I tried switching over to a Provider chest with the same setup and the logistics robots would swoop in and empty the Provider chest long before the Smart Insters 'off' condition was met (items were moved to storage chests immediately). I ended up accidentally producing nearly 2k Speed 2 modules while I was off killing biters and building mines (I was wondering why my factory was so hungry for resources. )

So is there some way to shut off an inserter/fabricator when the logistics system has a certain number of an item in stock?
Much thanks for any advice you could give!

[FreeER]

I tried switching over to a Provider chest

You need to connect the logistics network up to the chest(s) that will have your supply (the requester chests and/or storage chests) so that it has an accurate measurement of your total supply.

[Psycho0124]

All of them? Wow, that's going to take a lot of wiring. I've probably got 200 storage chests to hook up if they each need a wire connected.

I'll get to it then, much appreciated.

[slpwnd]

All of them? Wow, that's going to take a lot of wiring

This will be simplified in the future. For now there is a shortcut - the "shift build". Holding shift while building will copy the settings from the last entity of the same kind. This works for filter inserters, assembling machines, etc. including the wiring in the storage chest.

So:

1. build a storage chest
2. wire it to the pole
3. shift build other chests around that pole
= these are wired automatically to the same pole

[Dysoch]

Yay, been waiting a long time (2 weeks ) for this. Its tedious to wire 200+ storage chests to poles.

[ssilk]

Another solution is not to use storage chests, only providers and requesters, because then the items are only moved from a provider into requester and in that case it is valid to only plug the requester and inserter, as described above.
(I never will understand, why I should produce more than 10000 items of one type, IMHO JIT is better in that case)...

To have a bigger storage you can then also use inserters to move stuff out of the requester chests on a belt and from there into other chests.

[Psycho0124]

(I never will understand, why I should produce more than 10000 items of one type, IMHO JIT is better in that case)...

I use my storage mainly for ore processing and handle the smelting and production in real time on the belts. The belt on the left is a universal input; any ores coming in there will be sorted and buffered, then sent into the factory at a nice steady rate regardless of what my mines are bringing in. It's nice to just grab up whatever resources are nearby instead of having to carefully regulate mining. Also, you never know when the biters will move in and leave you starved for a previously available resource so I like to get what I can asap.
What is JIT?

This will be simplified in the future.

Nice! Maybe just a simple wireless Logistics condition on the Smart Inserters would work?

The logistics bots already seem to know what's going on in the logistics system wirelessly. It seems reasonable that the Smart inserters would have access to the same information. Maybe a wireless receiver research for the Smart Inserters to enable it?

[ssilk]

JIT - just in time. Or as you said in real time. It means, that there is just so much storage as affordable, because the stuff is produced, when you need. Or in other words: the buffers between your production cycles are as small as possible.
(BTW: In Factorio, not only chests count as buffer, the belts and logistic bots must also be counted as buffers! Especially belts can store a reasonable amount of items, so from the principle your thought is right: better store it in chests, which can be accessed directly, than standing still on belts)

And to you storage for the resources: because you never need pure ores to craft something and also the character is not able to use it, it makes for me not much sense to store the raw resources. Of course many exceptions: E. g. if your furnaces are too slow. (Better in chests, than standing still on a belt)
And, Ok, for coal and stone it makes sense, but not tons of and it makes sense to store them directly at the mines or anywhere,where you mean, it makes sense.
But what's needed? I cannot think of needing more that a full chest of raw stones. You need walls, ok, but that makes sense to store. But they take much less space than the stones, which are needed for making one wall.

Instead I try to produce the raw materials (plates, steel), which can be crafted, or the first level (gears, electric circuits, belts...). And I try to make that part as fast as possible, because the material, which is stored cannot be used. (And remember, that the items on the belts etc. also cannot be used.)
I found, that if you are at a point, where you begin to store reasonable amounts of electric circuits or wheels, something is really going wrong, because you need so much of them, that you never will have the chance to store much of them.

And thinking in that way means for example, that it makes more sense to make a production of electric circuits, where you have much copper and transport the circuits, instead of the raw material, because it needs much less space and less space means more items are in use.

Thinking also in this direction is that you use only solar power for driving your electric furnaces, but make many of them, because it is cheaper to have no production in the night than making so much accumulators. (But I haven't calculated, if this is really correct)

And to your suggestion, I'm with you, that makes sense in many cases and I'm sure (due to the posts I read the last months) that the devs are working one something like that. Eventually next version.

[Psycho0124]

JIT - just in time. Or as you said in real time.

Oh, I see. Yeah, ores are the only thing I ever overproduce and store (aside from consumables). I set everything up on a main resource bus and just expand the assembly lines out to the side of the bus when I need more production.

But what's needed? I cannot think of needing more that a full chest of raw stones. You need walls, ok, but that makes sense to store. But they take much less space than the stones, which are needed for making one wall.

I set a goal of exterminating the Biters for myself this game, rather than just rushing to the missile defense. I built a LOT of walls and rail network at different times.

Rail lines require stone as well. Storing the raw stone allows me to choose which I can produce, and bump up production of either when the situation calls.

Instead I try to produce the raw materials (plates, steel), which can be crafted, or the first level (gears, electric circuits, belts...). And I try to make that part as fast as possible, because the material, which is stored cannot be used. (And remember, that the items on the belts etc. also cannot be used.)

Sounds exactly like the system I use, except that I smelt on demand rather than smelt immediately when the ores arrive. I'd have to create a huge smelting section to handle spikes in ore collection without having jam-ups. Too costly for resources and space. Cheaper to smelt as needed and store excess ores.

Thinking also in this direction is that you use only solar power for driving your electric furnaces, but make many of them, because it is cheaper to have no production in the night than making so much accumulators. (But I haven't calculated, if this is really correct)

You'd have to switch over to unpowered defenses (gun turrets) which would be prohibitively expensive to supply ammo for. I usually just brute-force power production at first and dump tons of coal into boilers, sticking to coal-burning smelters to allow for more laser turrets. I'm adding a big solar plant/accumulator farm and will use the orphaned accu trick to cycle them on only when needed in my current game. Great little trick that one.

And to your suggestion, I'm with you, that makes sense in many cases and I'm sure (due to the posts I read the last months) that the devs are working one something like that. Eventually next version.

Yeap. Can't wait!

[slpwnd]

Nice! Maybe just a simple wireless Logistics condition on the Smart Inserters would work?

Yes, this is exactly what I had in mind.

[syneris]

I read through this, but couldn't really see or understand the answer. Say I want to use logistic robots to deliver all my electronic circuits. There are a lot of things that use electronic circuits, some need a lot more and produce a lot faster than needed. How would I go about limiting the production output of some assembling machines so that they don't eat all the circuits that others need? For instance, smart inserters and advanced circuits can easily use up everything while bottlenecking rocket and green pack output.

[FreeER]

so that they don't eat all the circuits that others need?

I'd say limit a smart inserter inserting items into the advanced circuit assemblers and smart inserters using network wires attached to the requester chests (if circuits > what is needed for rockets/science-packs then work), or limit the output inserters to only what you need made (if advanced circuits < needed). Of course if they are close to each other you could have the requester chests place the circuits on a belt and have your rocket and science-packs first, though that kind of defeats the purpose of logistic robots. Obviously i think it would be best to increase circuit production lol.

[ssilk]

The target of the logistic bot is to fulfill every need equally. With v0.7 this is really so. This is the advantage and disadvantage.

[Math3vv]

you could use this :


every time an item passes it "counts" it and when a serten number is produced it will stop the production
the 2 smart insterters on the left both have : if "ammo" > 1 then "insert"
the smart insterter on the right has : "if defender capsule" < 30 then "insert"
if more then 30 ammo magazines are produced it will shut down