Factorio Forums

Is it really necessary to let inserters drop items on the earth?
Wouldn't it be better if the inserter will hold the item until something appears at the destination? Like a chest, assembler or a belt.

It's kind of annoying when I disassemble some spaghetti-project, take out an assembler or belt and have those coals, ores or sulfur littered all around.
Maybe the inserter shouldn't even take anything if there is nowhere to place it.

Or should it?

Two sides to that issue. It's awkward and annoying, yes. But there are legitimate designs that deposit stuff on the ground, so that another inserter can pick it up. Useful for spanning larger gaps, or inserting at diagonal angles,and around corners.

Mehve wrote:But there are legitimate designs that deposit stuff on the ground, so that another inserter can pick it up.

I suppose that's what circuits are for. Put a chest, make inserter sure that chest is empty before inserting, and that's it. With a chest you can even have stack bonus.

Does it happen so often to count on THAT?

Oh, and more than that: let the inserter drop the item IF there is another inserter taking out of that tile.