Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

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zOldBulldog
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by zOldBulldog »

Fishy wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 12:28 pm Got 'er fired up in god mode with the game speed cranked up. Noticed this alreadyImage
LOL, I noticed too. See the "EDIT" above. Simple matter of setting the output filter of the splitter right before the insert to the chest to U-235.

I am running on very little sleep... apologies.
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by Fishy »

Yeah, I just set the priority splitter, moved the U235 box over and added a filter inserter.Image
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by zOldBulldog »

Dang it. One more time! I need some sleep.
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by Fishy »

I've been running you latest for a while now and it seems this chest is still hoarding U235

I just switched that stuff to all belts and used the same circuit condition. and switched the next yellow inserter to a stack one.

Otherwise it seems to running pretty good now! Although, I would still like to see it use/reuse the U238 it the overflow chests automatically when the kovazex units start firing, rather than producing more and more U238.

BTW, did you test out my design? I may try to clean up the messy belts, but it does manage the production quite well.

Edit: Added blueprint

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Last edited by Fishy on Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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zOldBulldog
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by zOldBulldog »

Didn't have any time, I was trying to rush the fix out. I am now at work. Will check the hoarding and look at your design when I get out.
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by Koub »

Would you mind if I moved this to Show Your creations ? It could be of some help to people wanting to see these kinds of setups, and many posts are actually showcases of Kovarex enrichment builds.
Koub - Please consider English is not my native language.
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by zOldBulldog »

Koub wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:15 pm Would you mind if I moved this to Show Your creations ? It could be of some help to people wanting to see these kinds of setups, and many posts are actually showcases of Kovarex enrichment builds.
I am OK with that. Will it keep our notifications for it alive?
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by Koub »

zOldBulldog wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 5:18 pm I am OK with that. Will it keep our notifications for it alive?
Yes, it should : the topic number doesn't change, only the place it's "published". Well, we'll quickly know :)
[Koub] Moved to Show your Creations.
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by zOldBulldog »

Fishy wrote: Tue Apr 09, 2019 2:18 pm BTW, did you test out my design? I may try to clean up the messy belts, but it does manage the production quite well.
I am testing your design, and in a normal world it already got 2 centrifuges doing Kovarex, feeding the line only ore. U-238 reached the end of the belt.

Question: The pipes are part of a different build, right?

Edit: It clogged on me. But it was probably due to me not having blue belts (I have not yet built the factory for them, only the blue undergrounds so far) and manually placing others in their place.

----

I also think I resolved the issues with my build. But it now looks messy... so I am rebuilding it from scratch. :o
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by Fishy »

Question: The pipes are part of a different build, right?
They are, sort of. They actually provide acid for the uranium miners. That (uranium) production row was spliced out of my big end-game military block. I posted a screenshot of part it in this thread (everything is produced from raw material).
It clogged on me.
Oh no!
But it was probably due to me not having blue belts
Use as directed. Post a screen shot?

I'll be the first to admit that my build would be very difficult to self troubleshoot or modify. I will try to clean it up.
But it now looks messy... so I am rebuilding it from scratch. :o
"messy" is a feature, not a bug!
I ran your build with my little belt modification for quite a while and it performed quite nicely i thought! Looks like you added some inserters to reintroduce already made U238. :)
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by zOldBulldog »

Fishy wrote: Wed Apr 10, 2019 1:57 am"messy" is a feature, not a bug!
Oooops then, "feature" removed.

Here is my latest version. Based on the same principles, so it should be as resilient as the last, but the material flow is much cleaner and should retain the resiliency with far fewer chests. I think it should even continue ticking along happily when any line or chest fills up. It should even be much easier to understand. I tried to break it by feeding it too much of just about everything and it is still ticking.

Hmmm... the screenshot doesn't show the constant combinator contents (silly screenshot mod!). They are from left to right: Uranium ore input belt, Iron Plate "belt flavor" input (you can also feed via bots and it makes more sense), U-238 output belt, U-235 output belt.

Unless you find a flaw... I might just call it final, until I can fill it with modules.
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by disentius »

What can i say. i like symmetry , minimizing beacon use, and grid builds...
Ore in, Uranium 235/238 out.
Steady 40 U235 loading.
Autostart
Autorestart
I could not prevent the occasional inserter mis-timing, so there has to be a loop to deal with that.
If only i found a way to sanitize that ugly loopback contraption at the top... :mrgreen:
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by Fishy »

@disentius. Wow really nice! I fired 'er up for a test run, and your design performed great.
It was really easy to tile on some more primary uranium processing units on the right for quicker production/priming.

The only issue i found was, after U235 belts are totally saturated, if you are using ONLY U238, the odd U235 from the primary uranium processing units will stop production. I just added a little "unclogging chest".

@zOldBulldog Looks to me like you got it dialed in now! I've been running it for quite some time now, while fixing my own design, and discovered no problems.

edit: when fully speed beaconized, the "first" kovazex unit (bottom left) takes longer to reload that to actually cook.

The only "issue" I have with with both designs it that there is no temporary holding area to store U238 production during the priming process. What if I'm not using any U238 at that time? (very minor, just a personal preference thing)
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Last edited by Fishy on Thu Apr 11, 2019 5:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by Fishy »

And my "final" kovazex.

Pros/Cons Features:
-On demand production
-30 U235/minute at full production
-308 U238/minute (minus 70 using kovarex processing)
-Just add ore
-Set it and forget it. No babysitting, completely automatic self priming and auto start-restart.
-Easy introduction of already processed uranium you may had lying around.
-Auto reintroduction of excess U238 made during the priming process if you haven't been using it for other purposes.
-no clogging (I hope!) no matter if you are using just U235, U238, both, or none.
-Easy to tile and share beacons side to side.
-8 beacons per centrifuge. (on the sides)
-U235 Reload boxes unsure no downtime between kovazex process.
-No bots
-Crazy sorting contraption

Ore goes in on the right. Products come out on the left. If you had any processed uranium already, it goes into the forked belt on the left as well. Marked with combinators.

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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by zOldBulldog »

@fishy, Thanks for the testing, this blueprint would never have become as solid as it is without you.

To answer your questions,

1) It is fine if the first centrifuge loses productivity once fully beaconized. The whole point of it is to help you get into Nuclear as early in the game as possible, long before getting modules. Later on it is the job of the other centrifuges to take over the load. And if you ever need more production it is easy to cut/paste to move the top of the blueprint and add more "late centrifuges" to meet any future capacity demand.

Note: This blueprint came to be as part of a year-long overhaul of my "Bulldog 1, A good start" project. I expect to release the update to that blueprint book today or tomorrow, I am only missing the description for posting it. It is a very different way of starting or even laying out a base, intended to free you from then typical grind of early/mid Factorio so that you can focus your time on projects you WANT to do, rather than need. In my latest map try I went from zero to all research done within just a few chunks of spawn and without trying, all while I focused on design research. Bots came very early, and I went nuclear before even using up my first steam power plant or placed the mini-bus and rail. That is why I needed a Kovarex design that could be used way early but could grow to be sufficient for much later needs.

2) The final restructure of the blueprint was done to make it immune to the "no U-238 consumption" problem. I removed the U-238 buffer/storage chests... because they are no longer needed!!! In my base I don't yet have any use for U-238 besides making power cells. So, if there is a desire to cache large amounts of U-238, it can easily be done after it exists the blueprint. If the U-238 belts totally fill up with U-238 from bad luck refining... No problem!!! It keeps on ticking. It is now a choice, not a need :) In theory, it should be possible to only produce U-238 from refining and fill everything up before the first 40 U-235, but it would probably take a curse from king Tut's mummy for it to happen, and if so it is easily solved by adding a chest after exit from the blueprint, so there is no need to worry about it. :)
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by leitk »

There are lots of Kovarex designs that seem to have multiple centrifuges running at once, but I don't understand why you would need that much U235. I have a 1PRM base that runs entirely on nuclear (and not efficiently either, lots of beacons, but don't turn most of them off when not in use). It doesn't even use the full output of one centrifuge.

What is the use of all that U235? The only thing I could think of is nuclear bombs, I use artillery instead. Or mods I suppose...
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Re: Self adjusting Kovarex based on demand

Post by Optera »

I revisited my self priming design from this thread and updated it a bit.
Pro:
  • Internal cycle has less u232 traveling around
  • Reliably starts up on the first 40 u235
  • Almost no downtime with 80 u235 cycling
  • Once started up brown and blackout save
Con:
  • Can't use Productivity modules.
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