Factorio Forums

I'm trying to build visual clues, with lights, to show me when an assembler isn't producing because it's missing ingredients versus when the output is full. I can't seem to figure out any combination of signals that would let me do this in a generic way.

The generic setup is always (or can be reduced to): [something] -> inserter -> assembler -> inserter -> chest. So detecting a full condition on any of those would work.

I've looked at the inserter, and it says "output full", but there doesn't appear to be a way to read that. The assembler can also show "output full" in the game, but there also doesn't appear to be a way to read that.

The chests report their contents, but not generically in stacks. So I could detect a specific count of a specific item, but then I'd have to manually adjust this for all the places I want to do this (tedious and error prone).

Is there a way to read the full status, or someway I can determine that something is full in a generic way (that is, without having to manually enter the resource and stack size somewhere)

Unfortunately, no, in the base game, there is no generic "is full" signal.

You can make it less "manual/tedious" by using parameters in a blueprint. Without trying to type out a full tutorial, it is possible in a blueprint to select a parameter (say iron plates), use a formula to get the stack size (p0_s for example), and then use params to also input the number of stacks in the given storage container.

There are a number of tutorials on parameter blueprints on youtube.

You might be able to use n+1 machines to pull this off with a circuit. Read the recipe from the "1" and compare to the contents the others. Subtract one from the other. Check for +/- then output anything low. You may be able to add a counter system to track efficiency too!

The main annoyance is that you cannot tell the difference between lack of inputs vs. the insertion speed of inputs. So for some recipes, like heat pipes, the copper inserter may not be able to insert fast enough to fill and give a false positive.

You could also use a magic selector to get the worst input.

Thanks. I can see how that works as well.

I think I found another way to achieve this, but it requires more pieces. Instead of inserting directly into the chest, I add to a conveyor belt, then use another inserter to insert to the chest. The number of pieces on the belt will remain static if the target chest is full, and it's a fixed amount regardless of the item type.

If it comes to an assembling machine, you're able to read the working state [W], and you're able to read the content.
Feed this into a decider and decide:

• W=1: machine is working fine
• W=0 AND [item to produce]>0: output is full
• W=0 AND [item to produce]=0: missing ingredients

However, you need to configure the item to produce. A wildcard will not work, because with reading the content, the current ingredients are always include.
Or you can just use the mod Bottleneck Lite: https://mods.factorio.com/mod/BottleneckLite
The three states I listed above exactly mirror the green, yellow and red states of Bottleneck Lite.