Splitters not working?

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CytaStorm
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Splitters not working?

Post by CytaStorm »

I'm new to Factorio, and working on automating Science Pack 2, but I need to get a splitter up that can balance items in belts. It isn't working, however.
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They're not balancing right. Anyone got any ideas?

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DaveMcW
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Re: Splitters not working?

Post by DaveMcW »

Splitters ignore item types. You do have exactly 100 items in each chest.

Solution:
1. Use side merge to put each item in its own lane.
2. Now it doesn't matter if individual items are unbalanced, one belt will back up until the items overflow into the other belt.

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quyxkh
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Re: Splitters not working?

Post by quyxkh »

Yup. Splitters _used to_ alternate output belt per item type without considering lanes, they now alternate output belt per lane without considering item types. So if you formed your expectations by reading old forum articles or watching old videos, the new ones will seem to not work right.

Because input and output take noticeable time, the speeds are comparable and the internal buffers are small, it's possible to constrain a splitter's choices so it can't sustain strict alternation. Exactly how splitters behave after being forced into abandoning alternation, I don't think anybody's published any !!science!! on this new kind. It's easy enough to predict.

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