Inserter max Stack size output

[MicFac]

just a very small suggestion: It would be cool to have inserters be able to output their max stack size (and/or their current set stack size with the new 0.15 feature)

[Ranakastrasz]

Not sure why you would need this. If you are setting it manually, outputting the value would be unnecessary. If it were being set via circuit network, then your circuits should be able to get that number easily anyway.

[Tekky]

For what reason would anyone want to read the maximum stack size into the circuit network? To automatically adapt to the stack size changing due to research progress? I doubt that such a feature would be worth implementing.

If a circuit network cares about the maximum stack size, it will normally set it, but I see no reason for reading it.

Or have I maybe overlooked a situation where it could be meaningful?

[cybersteel8]

just a very small suggestion: It would be cool to have inserters be able to output their max stack size (and/or their current set stack size with the new 0.15 feature)

What is the use case for a feature like this? Why would it be cool?

[mrvn]

TL;DR

Add option for inserter to output the inserters stack size.

What ?

When a circuit wire is connected to an inserter there are options what to do with the circuit connection. For normal inserters it's None, enable/disable, set stack size and read hand content. Filter inserter also have a set filter option. Add another option to output the inserters stack size with a choice of signal (default S). The size should be the stack size overide if set manually. If unset or the stack size is circuit controlled then the current maximum stack size should be used.

Why ?

Doing any kind of precision loading of trains, furnaces, chemical plants, centrifuges or assemblers requires knowing how many items the inserter can pick up. For optimal results the largest stack size possible is usually wanted. But one can only use a stack size that has been researched already. Any reusable blueprint must therefore restrict everything to stack size 1 by setting the stack size with a circuit wire and it will always remain 1 even as (stack) inserter bonuses are researched.

Being able to read the inserters stack size would allow building circuits that automatically adjust as bonuses are researched and improve the loading time for trains or change the pattern when precision loading furnaces, chemical plants, centrifuges or assembler. For precision train loading this probably would have the biggest effect as it has the biggest count of items and the combinators for it just have to be switched to use "each%S", "each/S" and so on instead of a fixed stack size.

As an example for use outside of train loading take the covarex process in centrifuges. The covarex process requires 40 U235 as catalyst. If one doesn't want 80+ U235 stuck in every centrifuge then using circuit wires to load exactly 40 is an option. But do you load 10x 4 U235? Or 5x 8 U235? Or 4x 10 U235? Knowing the maximum stack size for the inserter would allow picking the best.

Or the programmable furnaces creations where the smelter can switch between iron plates, copper places, steal or stone brick. Each furnace must be loaded count perfect so that for example the furnace isn't left with 1 stone in the input slot at the end. That would prevent switching to a different recipe. The inserters have to use a stack size that is even so the stone brick recipe always uses all stone input. So one would read the stack size of one inserter and set all of them to S/2*2.

[ssilk]

merged with existing topic

And there are (as far as I remember) already quite clever constructions, that don’t need to know the stack-site.

[mrvn]

Not sure why you would need this. If you are setting it manually, outputting the value would be unnecessary. If it were being set via circuit network, then your circuits should be able to get that number easily anyway.

See the updated suggestion.

True on setting it manually. But it would make adjusting the size simpler in combinator constructs. Set the stack size in one inserter and the combinators and all other inserters autoamtically adapt to the new setting. Think of a row with 48 electric furnaces. The first inserters sets the stack size for the 47 others for example.

And when set via circuit the suggestion was to output the maximum stack size, not the one set by the circuit. So the combinators can still read the maximum size and then set something else. Outputing the stack size set by the circuit would be useless, you already know that as you say, and you wouldn't notice when a new (stack) inserter bonus is researched.

[mrvn]

merged with existing topic

And there are (as far as I remember) already quite clever constructions, that don’t need to know the stack-site.

Afaik they all set or assume a fixed stack size. They don't adjust to research.

[ssilk]

Because they don’t need to. For example there is an LTN loading station, which fills a wagon as fast as possible and the remove items that are loaded too much with a very clever algorithm. Sorry no link, it’s somewhere in the LTN sub board.

[mrvn]

Because they don’t need to. For example there is an LTN loading station, which fills a wagon as fast as possible and the remove items that are loaded too much with a very clever algorithm. Sorry no link, it’s somewhere in the LTN sub board.

I'm aware of that design or one like it. It requires space for at least one inserter to unload excess items. That's not always practical. I frequently have stations handling both items and fluids and then space is a premium. It might also have to do up to 11 swings per item type loaded into the train. Worst case behavior is quite inefficient.

There are other designs that use division and modulo or just subtractions to load the train count perfect with the minimum number of swings. Those do need to know the inserter stack size to work.

[ssilk]

We have an item count-signal in the inserter. Or we can measure it by moving items with an inserter from one chest to another. And much more possibilities.

[mrvn]

You can measure it but you can't blueprint items to make a standalone "measure inserter stack size" blueprint. You would have to always fill it by hand or put it somewhere it can grab some items to count.

So call it a QoL improvement.