make assembly machines wireable

[ichVII]

Hello,

I would like to be able to set recipes via wire Signals like in the mod "crafting combinator", but it would work way better, if you could actually have the Option to directly wire an assembly machine. I understand, if the devs do not include the "recipe Setting via Signals", but adding mod Support to wire assembly machines and of course chem plants and refineries would be a good Addition.

[Rseding91]

We've talked about making the assembling machine recipe stable through the circuit network but it just doesn't play well with the rest of Factorio.

It would end up deleting items/fluids as recipes changed and then there's also the problem of you couldn't read the recipe demands and set the recipe at the same time because it would read the demands of the current recipe and then set the new recipe to the thing it needed thus changing the recipe again and again.

It sounds neat at first but it just doesn't work out when you try to actually figure out how you'd use it in a game.

[ichVII]

The problem with changing the signal over and over could be avoided by having two different wire attachment points. Fluids get deletet whenever you change a recipe by hand as well and yes, the remaining ressources in the machine are annoying to handle. An additional output inventory for the machine would not work in all cases. But thats why there was the second part of my question:

Can you add optional wire attachment point, which do not show up in vanilla, but can be used in mods, to assembly machines?

[bobingabout]

I would be happy if you could connect a wire to an assembling machine, if only to be able to turn it on and off.

[Sedar]

We've talked about making the assembling machine recipe stable through the circuit network but it just doesn't play well with the rest of Factorio.

It would end up deleting items/fluids as recipes changed and then there's also the problem of you couldn't read the recipe demands and set the recipe at the same time because it would read the demands of the current recipe and then set the new recipe to the thing it needed thus changing the recipe again and again.

It sounds neat at first but it just doesn't work out when you try to actually figure out how you'd use it in a game.

Now I'm playing with the mod Crafting Combinator and I can say that this mod changes the style of the game very much.
Before that mod i had to spam thousands and thousands of similiar machines, for every production line. Which even when working in the idle consume a lot of UPS.
With Crafting Combinator mod, it is much more interesting to make universal and "smart" production line that can make almost everything.

The solution:
You can add in to assemblers an invisible input buffer for objects and for liquids. In this buffer, objects and liquids will be added when the recipe is changed instead destroying it. And when a new recipe is set, the necessary items/liquids are first added from the buffer. The buffer is destroyed only when the assembler is removed. You can also have access to the buffer by sending a specific signal to the assembler. And just pick up the remaining items from the output buffer.

I understand that these changes are not very easy to implement. But they add incredible flexibility to the game and encourage the creation of smart productions lines vith circuit network.

[darkfrei]

And how you can change liquid in the input or output? Chem plant is also assembler.

[Sedar]

And how you can change liquid in the input or output? Chem plant is also assembler.

With the help of the circuit network, of course.

Image

this universal setup is made for processing 3 different recepie of purification water:
- sulfuric wasted water purification
- fluoric wasted water purification
- nitric wasted water purification
Depending on the current need.

This is much more effective (3 times in this case) than to build the necessary number of non-universal modules to cover short-term jumps of production wasted water.

And most importantly ... It's interesting!

[Factoruser]

At least assembling machines should be able to be switched on and off by the circuit network.

Switching the produced product could only be done by letting the machine store "wrong" ingredients. Fluids may be pumped back to the adjacent pipe or are destroyed - no great loss. Solid items might be stored in output slots, inserters may add what they are currently holding. Beside this, the fluid input should be the player's problem. He may plan well or create a crazy fluid exchange construction... For example, if one recipe requires just acid and the other petroleum gas, you can put the one on the one input connector, and the other on the other one. The machine should not be turned automatically.

[Mooncat]

+1 for making assembly machines connectable with wires, even if it is just for turning them on/off.
By connecting them with wires, mods can do more interesting things based on the signals in the connected circuit network.

[Rseding91]

You can already turn assembling machines on and off with the circuit network by turning the inserters inserting and removing items on and off with the circuit network.

[SixV]

Hello,

Allow me to exhume this topic.

I'd also love to be able to switch assembling machines ON/OFF via the circuit network.

I'd like to achieve "speed regulation" (through PWM-like signals), and this isn't really achievable via inserters manipulation.

[PFQNiet]

If inserter manipulation isn't good enough, you could always use power switches to just disconnect power to the machine you want to turn off

[SixV]

If inserter manipulation isn't good enough, you could always use power switches to just disconnect power to the machine you want to turn off :)

That's the workaround I'm relying on for now, but it prevents me from having very condensed manufacturing units. In my original design, some poles (all are wooden poles) powers two assembly machines and some of their arms.

It would be way cleaner to be able to control the assembling machine through the circuit network :)

[Tertius]

If I want an assembling machine stop, I wire the output inserter and deactivate it on the relevant condition. Output is immediately stopped. Or if it is a very expensive product it creates, one of the input inserters. In this case, current buffers are emptied, then production stops. Or I wire both.

Often overlooked is the ability to connect inserters to the logistics network. A connected device gets its info literally out of thin air, so it's very easy to stop producing belts if a certain amount accumulated in logistic chests. Just enable the logistics network for the inserter and enter the condition.

[SixV]

If I want an assembling machine stop, I wire the output inserter and deactivate it on the relevant condition. Output is immediately stopped. Or if it is a very expensive product it creates, one of the input inserters. In this case, current buffers are emptied, then production stops. Or I wire both.

I'd like to do PWM on long-running recipes (locomotive, wagon, etc.) for early-game bases. At this moment, the whole process is resources hungry, yet the expected output is low. The best node to operate to properly regulate manufacturing "speed" would be the assembling machines. The same thing could be said for furnaces (so you can prevent them to stack-up resources unnecessarily when the whole manufacturing unit starts), albeit it is already easily doable from inserters manipulation only (if the output is full, disable the input arm)).

[Asynchron]

If I want an assembling machine stop, I wire the output inserter and deactivate it on the relevant condition. Output is immediately stopped. Or if it is a very expensive product it creates, one of the input inserters. In this case, current buffers are emptied, then production stops. Or I wire both.

That is the thing, it will stop the output, not manufacturing itself. You won't be able to control precisely when manufacturing should stop, to avoid over consumption of raw materials.
In general it would be pleasant to have the ability to enable/disable crafting machines based on condition, as well as reading the contents they have (both in and out buffers).
This will allow precise controls over what gets manufactured, and could allow modders more options on enhancing manufacturing experience for the players. For example crafting combinator mod could offload a bunch of lua computations into combinators increasing UPS.

[Hares]

Should probably be moved to "Implemented in 2.0"

[Koub]

Indeed
[Koub] Moved to Implemented in 2.0