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My idea is for a new inserter that allows for precise monitoring and control of items moved.

This would be an inserter with one circuit network input and one output. It will only pick something up if there is a nonzero signal for that item type on the input wire, and when it drops something, it puts a signal on the output wire corresponding to what it dropped (item type and quantity), for a single tick.

Actually, I think it would work better as a change to the smart inserter: Just add a new checkbox to the smart inserter GUI, called "filter by circuit network". If this option is not selected, the smart inserter behaves exactly as it currently does. If it is selected, then every other part of the GUI becomes disabled, and the inserter will pick up only and all items that are present on the circuit network input with a positive value.

I think this is the best way to do it because

1. It's intuitive; it seems like smart inserters should already be able to do this.
2. There is no need to add a new kind of inserter.
3. The change to smart inserters won't break existing factories (the new option is off by default).

YOu mean, like a smart inserter feeding into a smart chest, which is being emptied immediately?

Assuming the smart chest always gets emptied the very next tick, yes.

Edit: No, I don't think that covers it, see below.

.... unless the place it would empty to would be blocked.
In that case even a chest that empties automatically would block.

smart inserter -> chest -> smart inserter should be able to do the trick.

I think there are some workarounds to get the output that I'm looking for, but AFAIK there is no way to have a smart inserter whose filter consists of items on the wire with positive values. That would be extremely useful and I'm pretty sure there's no way to arrange it in vanilla.

Edit: I think this would actually work better as a modification to the existing smart inserters. I updated the OP.

Why do you want this? I mean, I can think of some uses, but what is your usage-case(s)?

ssilk wrote:Why do you want this? I mean, I can think of some uses, but what is your usage-case(s)?

A bunch of one-roboport-sized logistic networks that pass the produced/consumed items back and forth among them. I can't really limit production using smart inserters and logistic conditions, since they're all split up, so I want to do a similar thing with smart inserters and the circuit network.

Sorry, maybe it's a translation problem or something else, but I don't get it.

As I understand it the title of this should be:
"Programmable filters for smart inserters"

And I don't understand the answer from tinyboss: Why can't I limit the production via logistic conditions?

ssilk wrote:Sorry, maybe it's a translation problem or something else, but I don't get it.

As I understand it the title of this should be:
"Programmable filters for smart inserters"

And I don't understand the answer from tinyboss: Why can't I limit the production via logistic conditions?

I think that title is accurate.

The factory I have in mind would be made up of many one-roboport-sized logistic networks, all disconnected. So the one that makes advanced circuits, for example, doesn't know how many advanced circuits are needed in the other areas.

Now that kind of factory is probably not very practical. But, I'm trying to solve the problem of bad logistic bot performance in geographically large logistic networks, by splitting it up into many small networks which intelligently balance resources among themselves.

You may have a look at this: https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... =67&t=8905