Factorio Forums

Hi all,
my problem is simple.
I stopped playing.
Everytime I start about playing some factorio again, I remember that I still didn't find an elegant solution for this : https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... f=8&t=1478

So here we go, help me get back to this game
(Also, going back means a tons more features for Industrio)

Change your definition of "pretty" layouts to be something at actually works well?
Alternatively, put in the effort to find that solution on your own?

Either way, you're asking for things that you're supposed to be finding yourself, (as that's half the point of the game,) not asking other people to do. Basically you're trying for a Let's Play, without anything that goes with a LP.

Basically you're trying for a Let's Play, without anything that goes with a LP.

What ?

You want people to tell you how to play, without planning to show anything about how it went. You're obviously looking for a single source of info, rather than a community consensus, else you'd have figured how to fix your problem through the dozens, if not hundreds, of factory layout posts and discussions that are already here.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but I'd almost always rather be blunt and get the point across, than overly polite and have the message not even reach the target.

I already said this some times: Good working layouts in factorio are always "dirty". A good transport in factorio is short and fast. A "symetric" layout means, that both ways are delivered equally, but is that really right? Lines and lines of belts mean, that they must be filled with with items... Good productin is just in time, but not...
...
...two pages of good sugestions later...
...

Or in other words: Just begin with it. I show you mine:
This shows my red&green potion production in a very early stage, between 1-2 hours after start.
The point of this construction is, that it has a good weighting and is able to handle unstopped research for up to 6-7 labs. More can be done by adding 1-2 green potion assemblies. But more is not possible without bigger rebuild, because red-potion production is then at it's limits. Many other solutions are thinkable here, I recommend to make it exactly like this, cause due to the lake I needed to make some compromises, which looks ugly. When coming to modules it is easy to increase the output with factory 3 and it keeps able t handle the stuff needed for up to 20 labs. So what you built here first works for me most times for the whole game.

You may also notice the two lines of copper and iron at the upper left?

The next pic is that area, some hours later: This I call "The Blue Circle", because I use it to produce the items needed for producing blue potions (smart inserters, rockets, advanced circuits and steel, but steel is needed in much higher rates and is an extra part of the factory). You see the blue potion manufactory a bit on top.
This kind of layout works for me now since 4 factories and I improve it every time a bit, so this is a tested concept. But - as always - I made a mistake: I tried to integrate other production stuff (solar, accu, robots...)

So this is the point: This works best, when it is about half the size and and doesn't produce only the items needed for making blue potion.

So let me explain the construction a bit: It is a circle, because the belts are used as "high-speed-buffer" to have a continuous production. Also important in this circle is, that the el. circuits are not produced here and the other stuff there, because that leads to a point, where you produce thousands of el. circuits and nothing happens, because you don't have enough iron plates left for producing rockets. The right mix of basic items and higher level items are important.
Also important: The constuctions of smart inserters is in reverse order! The reason is simply, that when you built it in the direction of the belts (wheel on the right side), this would produce extrem gaps in the flow of electric circuits. It's much better to have a constant stream. This is also the usage of the two chests at the insert of the el. circuits: The flow is leveled and the input of two inserters makes it a storage, too. There are much more small tricks here. For example: because inserters are always needed I made this "complicated" setup with chests in the center. Its of course possible to do that with inserters between the assemblies, but like so I produce up to 50 smart inserters, then blue and then normal inserters and then the production stops. Only green wire is needed to cable that.

All items are stored in smart chests (and later, like here in provider chests) and the production for each item is limited to 50 items (more for the rockets). This makes it a just-in-time production. In the beginning I put the items from here into the blue-potion-production by hand. Later, the logistic bots do this.

Here is the list of assemblies to have a more or less balanced output:

- 3-5 copper wires (depends on resources, better to less than too much)
- 3-5 electronic circuits
- 1 iron gear wheel
- 1 inserter
- 1 fast inserter
- 1 smart inserter
- 2 rockets
- 1 advanced circuits

Again: More is too much! The balancing doesn't work anymore. It's instead a better idea to make a second circle.
...

How did I came to this layout? Good question!

Answer: No idea. This layout just happened. It's a result of some experience, some ideas from others, some ideas I wanted to try out. If I thought about it, I would never came to this solution.

Make your own. Don't hesitate. Do it! It's really cool, when you built something, what you never have planned and it works suddenly. And if you are finished post it here! Others will make a completely different layout, and postulate, that theirs is the best, but thats part of the fun.

I am currently polishing this design:


It is quite compact (i don't have space to place lamps, need tunnels to place posts) and yields a multiple belt output on the opposite end.

- atm the south part can only work with 1-2 resources at once, haven't come up with decent 3 part design yet, not that i need it: i can do all necessary steps for blue potions above, since it expands down and right.
- main problems are bottlenecks at iron plates, and copper wires and output using one side only.
- next time i will make 2-3 lines for copper wires in order to reduce bottleneck.

EDIT: Oh and lines for copper wires need to be shifted - red inserters cant keep up.

Garm wrote: EDIT: Oh and lines for copper wires need to be shifted - red inserters cant keep up.

Hm.

Experience says, it is definitely a bad idea to transport wires over belts. They can't keep up, because 1 copper bar= 2 copper wires. The only useful way to transport them is by updated inserters and if the way is longer with chests in between.

Or with updated logistic bots.

I decided to simply make new module - got wires and circuits closer together so that red inserters would deposit wire right into circuit assembler, which will then output circuits onto the belt.


i've decided to use belts so that i can see exactly when and where bottlenecks happen, moreover as I slowly upgrade it i find it working much smoother. While it probably wont achieve same throughput as belt-less designs due to eventual bottleneck at inserter/belt, it would still achieve substantial speed.

This would allow me to fine-tune the ratios between factories, as well as provide nice representation of my production speed in a form of multiple line belt, Essentially If i get satisfied with results i will probably leave this design as my main processing line for intermediate products, then stick logistics at the end for advanced on demand assembly.