Smart network - how?

[GROOV3ST3R]

I'm having a very specific problem.

Basically, not really knowing how exactly the system works, I've attempted setting up a network which will gather science packs to smart chests, only stocking up a few at a time in each one so that I can serve all my labs with one belt.

It looks like this:


The problem is, that some chests are missing green packs, some are missing red packs and I end up with only 3 or 4 working labs at any time instead of 10.


Idea is that each chest is connected to it's own inserter, keeping track of resources in that chest so it only picks up the resources as needed. Overflow from the split belt goes back into the chest which will then start dispensing science packs when there are too many of them stored (in that chest, it's a separate circuit for now).

I can't seem to get the inserters to pick up the correct amount of resources connecting both cables to them. All I want is to have 10 packs of each color in each chest to perform quick research without starving labs further away. What am I doing wrong?

[immibis]

The smart inserter conditions are AND conditions - the smart inserter won't work unless both of them are true. If the chest has 10 red packs and no green packs, the smart inserter won't work. You could use two of those buffers per lab - one for each science pack type - or do something completely different, like this:

[ssilk]

I make also two big circles, one for red/green one for blue/violet. The circle-belt is the buffer. In most cases enough buffer.

Another good idea is to make that whole into one logistic network, you can put 4 labs on one requester chest.

[GROOV3ST3R]

I guess the requester chest is an idea ^^ I just thought this would be a way to speed up my research and make it more automatic. I thought about making buffers with splitters to just flood each lab separately but in order to keep them evenly supplied, I'd have to have 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32 labs. Which is an idea, I guess ^^


So if they are AND conditions, how could I go about making them do what I want them to do - if that's at all possible?


(Or plop a requester chest in the middle of 4 labs and supply them that way)

[ssilk]

I fear this is not possible like so. You need two inserters, one for red, one for green potion. And later two more (blue, violet).

And it makes no sense, because the more stuff you store at different chests, the more is the chance, that this special chest doesn't have enough from the other ingredient.

It's the same reason, why we don't have the small shops in the inner cities anymore, but more and more bigger shops outside the city: the chance, that a small shop has no milk is much bigger, than for a big shop. That's why it is a good idea to use just a belt as storage, because that brings all potions to all possible points. If you are more advanced, the logistic network is also efficient, but needs more storage.

Or in other words: every potion, you store, takes away the items, for the potion you don't store (true for red, green and blue).

Or in other words: produce just in time and don't use so much labs, because they don't work faster, if you don't have enough resources.

[syneris]

Labs will only stock two times the packs needed for the current research. You should only have unbalanced labs if your production is lower than the demand or your throughput is too slow. A double belt layout using both sides of each belt should be sufficient to supply a moderate amount of labs with all 4 pack types.

[immibis]

I guess the requester chest is an idea ^^ I just thought this would be a way to speed up my research and make it more automatic. I thought about making buffers with splitters to just flood each lab separately but in order to keep them evenly supplied, I'd have to have 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32 labs. Which is an idea, I guess ^^

If you have, say, 19 labs, all you need to do is take the other 13/32 of the science packs and send them back to the input.

Or you could stop worrying about supplying them evenly, and just put them all on a single belt like most people... There's not really a downside to doing that.

[MaxStrategy]

Honestly I find it simpler to just use low tech solutions like having 3-4 belts each with their own research pack. It's an interesting idea I suppose but it doesn't look like it really saves space or makes the process more efficient anyways (ignoring the much higher cost too).