Factorio Forums

You'd place things like repair packs into this and logistics robots will distribute the items evenly across all of the distribution chests in the network.

For example you setup 3 distribution chests, each near one of your robotics facilities. Then you add 150 repair packs to one of the chests. Then the logistics robots will move the items evenly to the other chests, leaving each chest with 50 repair packs.

Great for spreading around items for repairs like walls, laser turrets, repair packs.

These chests would be passive providers with some additional logic that tells the robots to ferry things around between them?

You probably wouldn't want the item counts to be exactly equal because there's a large overhead in ferrying items back and forth, especially if your base is very large.

Here's another thread that's a little related:
"Concept: Rework of the Logistic Chests (Unified Logistic Chests)"
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=21413

Very interesting idea...

But like mattj256 said it couldn't be exactly equal because of how Logistic Robots always carry 4 items and never less than that (except when there's not enough items around in the chest when the pickup happens, then they carry whatever is left in the chest).

So basically for 150 inserted items that have to be distributed over 3 chests it would move 52 items to chest 1, 52 items to chest 2 and leave 46 in chest 3. That or it delivers 48 to chest 1, 48 to chest 2 and leaves 54 in chest 3.
So a gap of 6 items would have to be very much possible or otherwise the bots will never stop moving the last 1-2 items.



That said my Concept for Unified Logistic Chests that mattj256 linked in the post above basically would provide such a feature as well.

There the Storage chests could set an item filter(s) (either manually or with a Circuit Signal much like Requester Chests in 0.13). The bots will then try to stock up this storage chest only with that item type(s), rendering it into something similar like the Distribution Chest you are suggesting.
And once a requester chest somewhere demands the item then the nearest Storage Chest providing that item would be picked.

Example: You set up a Storage Chest every now and then along your defense, and set the filter(s) into these chests to Repair Packs, Ammo, Turrets, Walls, and then the logistic robots bring these items to the storage chests. And once a wall gets damaged a Construction Robot will pick up a Repair Pack from the nearest Storage chest at the location where the damage happened instead of picking up stuff from the other side of the map where you produce the repair packs.

My approach would have the benefit that there are no new item types required, and that apart from being able to distribute items into storage chests strategically located all over your map, it would also allow exactly the opposite:

If you are building a huge mass storage for example for Copper plates then you can place some storage chests and specify a filter saying "4800 Copper plates" and the Storage chests only allow copper plates. No other item type will be moved there. And if you decide to have some other Storage Chests for Iron Plates then have filter saying "4800 Iron Plates". That would prevent that both item types would end up mixed all over the place. (Because that very much happens right now if a Storage chest becomes full: Mixed up items all over the storage chests)

Added to viewtopic.php?f=80&t=18093 Roboport/Logistic Network/Robot enhancements