- A late-game, one-recipe assembler that attaches to and outputs to other connectable assemblers, such that its output is automatically transferred to directly adjacent connectable assemblers.
- Late game, especially with the new belt-code rewrite, belt throughput really isn't an issue. The issue is getting the materials into the assembler. Considering that an electric engine unit takes 6 separate assembler recipes, not counting furnaces and chemical plants, increasing belt speed and capacity really doesn't do anything without a faster insertion method.
This way, inserters are still required for transfer between belts, chests, and trains, and for insertion of other recipe materials.
- This makes geometry a consideration when building layouts, whereas the optimal now is alternating lines of assemblers and beacons or beacon boxes.
To produce any item, materials must be added. Since all high-level recipes have different requirements, the layout of any set of such connectable assemblers is going to be different. Add in the requirement of production speed, and many such layouts are going to change. In fact, since optimal layouts are no longer linear, optimal beacon layout is no longer a straight line (Except for green circuits). Since you can no longer affect each assembler with the same number of beacons, module choice is going to change. Of course, you still have to insert liquids the hard way, and each connectable assembler still needs its own iron and copper plates (since furnaces don't connect).
As an example, the current accepted layout for red circuits is 1 copper wire assembler per 4 red circuit assemblers, given that each assembler is affected by 8 beacons. However, with a connectable assembler, only two beacons can affect the copper wire assembler in the middle, giving a ratio of 1:6 (?) with full prod and 1 or 2 speed beacons, or 1:2 (?) with full prod and no beacons. This changes even further if one decides to connect green circuits assemblers to red circuit assemblers, and one still has to weave input materials through somehow.
- Let me be honest, it's a solid late-game buff to assembly machines. However, by making these assemblers only connect to such adjacent assemblers, current inserter, belt, beacon, bot functionality, and layouts can be preserved.