Factorio Forums

Hey guys, first post here!

I've been struggling a bit with assembling copper cables lategame, especially with stack bonus.

The way the inserters currently work is that they start picking up items from the transport belt when the assembling machine has below that of the crafting recipe multiplied by two. So in the Copper Cables' case, the inserter will start picking up Copper Plates when the Assembling Machine only has below 2 Copper Plates in its inventory (because the recipe for 2 copper cables is 1 copper plate). This becomes very troublesome lategame, because at that point the machines is able to craft the remaining Copper Plates into Copper Cables waaaay before the inserter has even had the chance to start picking up new Copper Plates. The result is that the machine sits idle for over a second depending on what inserter you use (Stack Inserter or Fast Inserter), but the problem is essentially the same for both.

Now I know that I can use more machines to get around this issue, but my OCD is about making my factor(ies) as compact and efficient as possible, so that's not an option!

The ideal solution would be to change the multiplier for when the inserter starts picking up items for Copper Cables specifically (maybe from 2 to 6, so the inserters starts picking up Copper Plates when the machine has less than 6 Copper Plates in it).
Another solution would be to have inserters behave differently for single-item recipies with low crafting time (like Copper Cables and Iron Gear Wheel). For those recipies, it would be ideal for the inserters to pick up the items and turn towards the machine, only dropping the items when the multiplier is triggered. So, pick up items, turn towards the machine, drop when the machine has less than 2 Copper Plates.

Thanks in advance for any input!

Svenskunganka wrote:The result is that the machine sits idle for over a second depending on what inserter you use (Stack Inserter or Fast Inserter), but the problem is essentially the same for both.

Fast inserter is MUCH better for fast response. I use one of each, for short periods of fail and long periods of overstock.

The devs don't seem to care about fixing the 2 item limit.

Oh nice hadn't thought of that, tested that and now my machines are working continiously. Thank you very much!

DaveMcW wrote:

Svenskunganka wrote:The result is that the machine sits idle for over a second depending on what inserter you use (Stack Inserter or Fast Inserter), but the problem is essentially the same for both.

Fast inserter is MUCH better for fast response. I use one of each, for short periods of fail and long periods of overstock.

The devs don't seem to care about fixing the 2 item limit.

Its not something that requires fixing - Its not broken

guys, nothing stops you from using more than one input robot.
3 fast inserters will fill a factory in about 1 second.
late game 2 fast inserters will keep them in infinite production, even if you have to use long grabbers.

Problem isn't filling the factory fast enough, it's that the machine registers it has 2 copper cables so doesn't ask for any more, but it consumes them very quickly (in 0.8s for t3 assemblers). For normal inserters, this is not enough time to reach out and grab some copper plates, then move them into the assembler, resulting in the assembler just sitting there for a moment.

Fast inserters of course don't have this problem, at least unless you try using speed modules lol.

sounds like we need a feature request for ~10 seconds of production storage in factories.

There was a recent suggestion that put forth the idea that the assembler target stock levels would multiply with the machine's speed. I could totally get behind that.