Inserters only working with certain furnaces?

[Slashout]

So I am a new, just bought the game a couple of days ago, but I have my crazy base (crazy for me) and I am starting to feel the weight of micromanaging processing materials as it prevents me from doing other stuff.
So far I managed to go that far in automatizing stuff :
Mining raw ressources -> Conveyor belt -> Inserter -> chest -> inserter -> furnace to make from raw to processed - > insertee -> chest.
That's it.

if I try to Add another layer (+ inserter -> another furnace), to get processed ressources to the higher lvl (iron plate to iron beam for exemple) the Inserters will not put the metal plate into the furnace, not matter what kind of furnace I use, the coal ones or electrique ones.
It is the same with factories, it will not put any ressources in those no matter what, raw, processed or anything else.
So I have to micro manage each furnace past the second ressource lvl, and every factories with every sub ressources required. Which is basically keeping me fully occupied if I want a decent output. I have seen screens of people using inserters for factories, and the principle of the game is to be creative and automatise things as much as possible... So what I am missing? Why aren't my inserters working properly here? Is my save bugged? Is there a pre requisite or something?
Thanks for any help guys.

[FreeER]

The only thing I can think of that gets put into a furnace (assuming no mods) is iron-ore, copper-ore and iron-plates after you've researched steel. Well, and coal but that's a fuel source (as is wood and wooden chests). Inserters will not pick up anything not used in a recipe. The plates (iron/copper/steel) would be taken out of the furnaces and (usually) placed onto a belt which would travel past assembly machines, the assembly machines will pick up the items needed to craft it's recipe. Those items are then taken out with an inserter and placed either into another assembly machine for direct use in crafting something else, or into a chest (if it's the final product) or on a belt to more assemblers... the only exceptions I can think of are science packs (lab) and trains or if you only used logistic robots (then you'd place everything into chests lol)

edit: Thought maybe I should mention this, on the assembly machines you set the recipe by right clicking after you have placed it, or you can change the recipe by right clicking and using the spinning arrow button (next to the ingredients).

[ssilk]

I mean I know what it is. And FreeER already pointed it out: furnaces process only from raw materials (and iron plates). To produce lamps you need assemblies.

Take a view to https://forums.factorio.com/wiki/inde ... itle=Items
and understand the difference between resources and intermediate products. Exception: Steel must be researched first.

Some differences between furnace and assembly: furnaces take raw resource and don't need to be told what to produce, they use what they get. Assemblies must be told what to produce, they take only the materials, they need.

[Slashout]

Thanks guys but I don't think I managed to explain what my problem was.
I am aware of the difference between furnace and assembly machine as well as between processed items and raw materials.
I have managed to make all the things I need (items of ressources) "manually" by bringing the right materials to the furnace or assembly machines. I have assembly machines making research points while I have others busy making the parts needed to feed those assembly machines for exemple.
I have researched steel and I have made steel beams. Again all of that manually.
But an inserted won't automatically put steel plates into a furnace to make a steel beam for exemple, but If I manually pick up the steel plate from the same chest and put it into the same furnace, it will make that steel beam. If I have an assembly machine making conveyor belt that assembly machine won't accept from an inserted the right components for those.
That's where my issue is.

[BurnHard]

Do you have rotated your inserters into the correct position? Maybe a screenshot from your factory would help.

[Dysoch]

Thanks guys but I don't think I managed to explain what my problem was.
I am aware of the difference between furnace and assembly machine as well as between processed items and raw materials.
I have managed to make all the things I need (items of ressources) "manually" by bringing the right materials to the furnace or assembly machines. I have assembly machines making research points while I have others busy making the parts needed to feed those assembly machines for exemple.
I have researched steel and I have made steel beams. Again all of that manually.
But an inserted won't automatically put steel plates into a furnace to make a steel beam for exemple, but If I manually pick up the steel plate from the same chest and put it into the same furnace, it will make that steel beam. If I have an assembly machine making conveyor belt that assembly machine won't accept from an inserted the right components for those.
That's where my issue is.

Did you place the furnace in the map editor? If so, simply pick it up and place again. When placed in the neutral tab from the map editor, they wont reconize when you researched steel and thus you cannot place iron plates in there.

[FreeER]

Did you place the furnace in the map editor? If so, simply pick it up and place again. When placed in the neutral tab from the map editor, they wont reconize when you researched steel and thus you cannot place iron plates in there.

If that was the case I do not believe he would have been able to manually add the iron-plates and have them smelted into steel, simply because the neutral force should not have the steel tech researched. Though it does seem like the most sense lol

Do you have rotated your inserters into the correct position? Maybe a screenshot from your factory would help.

Since he's managed to get inserters working with raw resources->chests->furnaces->chests I would imagine that he knows how to rotate the inserters, but yes a screen shot may well help us see what is going on, or even the save lol.

[Slashout]

Sorry for the delay I couldn't screen from work.
Apparently the issue fixed itself... I hate to do full reboots of my pc, so I just put it to sleep every night but after a week or two things start to get wonky.
So I decided to reboot my PC after coming back from work. Maybe because it completly froze on me, I'm not sure :p.
And after loading my base, the inserters worked instantly without me doing anything... All factories and furnaces now get their deliveries... I have no idea how this would be related to my reboot...

I'm glad and a bit ashamed <_<. Thanks for your interest on my problem guys.

[FreeER]

I'm glad and a bit ashamed <_<. Thanks for your interest on my problem guys.

I've had similar issues (rarely) where rebooting helped. Glad it got sorted out

[ssilk]

If force doesn't work, use brute force. And if that doesn't work either, try a reboot.

[syneris]

Just to make sure there isn't some rare bug. What type of inserters and was this a save started on a previous version?

[FreeER]

What type of inserters and was this a save started on a previous version?

You know, I didn't even think to ask if he'd started using smart inserters lol

[Slashout]

No this was a new save on the latest version available when I bought it, I purchased the game on november 10th and haven't updated it since then (if there was a new version released since then).
For the inserters I was using the electric yellow ones. I did built a couple of red and blue ones to try them out but I haven't made any green ones yet (the smart ones).

Ps : When I noticed my forum status as "Manual Inserter" it cracked me up. I thought it was given to me since I kept talking about having to insert stuff manually :p. I guess it's a funny coincidence :p.

[slpwnd]

Just had a quick read through. Rebooting the computer should not affect what is happening with the inserters (rebooting the game maybe).

Were the furnaces empty or loaded manually already? The thing is that inserters won't insert more than 5 items of one kind into the furnace (this is optimization for longer lines with inserters).