Originally shared on the public FactorioPrints / Factorio School archive (factorioprints.com · factorio.school). Authorship preserved from the public catalog.
Somehow I ran into the problem of an excessive amount of resources of the same type on convoys in my sorting on the planet Fulgura. If you are faced with the same problem, then I have a good solution for you.
It's worth starting with the fact that I use drone-free recycling, as it clogs up the storage chests (yellow) a lot and I'll still need to come up with a way to destroy unnecessary items.
Chapter 1: Theory and Problem
There are 12 main items on the planet Fulgura that are recycled from scrap metal, and 6 derivatives (recycled from the main ones).
Now I will briefly try to take a tour of the main and derivative resources. This -> symbol will mean as if you put the resource into the processor and received the resource at the output.
Main:
Iron Gears -> Iron plate
Solid Fuel -> Solid Fuel
Concrete -> Stone Block and Iron Ore
Ice -> Ice
Batteries -> Iron plate and Copper plate
Stone Ore -> Stone Ore
Steel -> Iron Ore
Red Circuits -> Green circuits, Plastic and Copper Cable
Copper Cable -> Copper plate
Blue schemes -> Red schemes and Green schemes
Low density construction -> Plastic, Copper plate and Steel
Holmium ore -> Holmium ore
Derivatives:
Iron Plate -> Iron plate
Copper Plate -> Copper plate
Green Circuits -> Iron plate and Copper Cable
Plastic -> Plastic
Iron Ore -> Iron Ore
Stone Block -> Stone Block
Thus, sooner or later you will have a lot of copper plate, iron plate, iron hexagons and copper cables on convoys, and you will have plenty of everything that can be recycled from them.
This is exactly the problem I'm facing, since it's impossible to consume all items at the same rate.
Chapter 2: Solution and Explanation.
I'm not very good at logic circuits, and in general this is my first publication of a drawing. Therefore, I ask you not to judge strictly. Nevertheless, my work solves the problem that has arisen.
I use a couple of mandatory and simplifying mods, without which it would be impossible to solve it, so I recommend putting them before using my work.
Ultimate Belts Space Age https://mods.factorio.com/mod/UltimateBeltsSpaceAge
Ultimate Belts Space Age adds more high-speed convoys. If you install it, then Loaders Modernized must be attached to it, since they are compatible, and the 2nd mod adds loaders to new convoys.
From below, we recycle scrap metal into resources, then it goes through convoys and is distributed according to the same items and quality.
I have boxes of 200 slots (the capacity of specific boxes in the mod may vary, it can be configured in the mod settings), I decided to put storage chests so that, if anything, the drones could put the item back.
That's where the basic logic of the system comes in. Let's take gears as an example, so that it is clear on the fingers.
They arrive by conveyor to 5 boxes, each of them stores a certain quality, there are also 2 manipulators that can put a resource if not enough, or if too much, then take it out, it's all set in the manipulators themselves.
I store 185 filled slots out of 200, that is, 185 * for the number of sixes in a pack (100) and get = 18500 should be stored, if less, then the manipulator takes it out of the conveyor, if more, then the manipulator takes it out to the conveyor. So for all qualities except legendary, he only collects.
To the left of the chests there are 3 combinators that read the contents of 5 chests, which are there, and the conditions are written there.
It is worth remembering that I wrote at the beginning that six-tiers can be recycled into iron plates.
An ordinary gear wheel is processed mainly into an ordinary plate, that is, there is a chance that it will be processed into an unusual one.
There are conditions here:
Conditions — if the usual six-pins in the chest are greater than or equal to 18,000 (18,000 were specially made, not 18,500, as on manipulators, otherwise the system will not work, since manipulators will constantly put and take out objects, and the system does not have time to count. Depending on the size of the bundle, there are different numbers in the combinators).
The condition is if the unusual iron plates are greater than or equal to 18,000.
Conditions — if a signal comes from a constant combinator that the usual six-ring = 1 (I'll tell you about the constant combinator a little later).
If all these conditions are met, then the signal comes out with a red wire: the usual gear whee = 1.
This wire goes to a mini-loader, which sets the filter priority of a conventional six-column, and now it will be sent to individual processors for destruction (it will not be recycled and iron plates will not fall out).
There are also 2 mini loaders that lead to recycling in order to obtain derivative resources. There is a blacklist for it.
All this business will happen until there are enough ordinary six-pins in chests (that is, if less than 18,000) or unusual iron plates (less than 18,000).
The other 2 combinators do the same, but with a different level of rarity. If everything is enough, then for destruction.
All this is configured for all items of the usual, unusual and rare level. Epic and legendary will never be destroyed. (If you wish, you can make another combinator for the epic level, but I don't see the point in that.)
Well, that was the simplest condition.
Now let's say it's more complicated: let's take a battery, from which 2 derivative resources come out during processing — an iron and a copper plate.
1.Everything will be destroyed here if the batteries of the usual level are more than or exactly 36,000,
2.There are more or exactly 18,000 copper and iron plates,
and if the signal "ordinary battery = 1" comes from the constant combinator.
That is, as a result, we conclude: until there are derived resources at a level higher than the main resource, they are processed in order to obtain an improved derivative resource. And as soon as there is enough in the chests, then for destruction.
In addition, there are basic resources that give 3 derivatives of the resource, there are only 2 of them (low density design and red schemes), the system is the same there, but now it will be destroyed if all 3 derivatives of the main resource are enough.
A permanent combinator — we can say that this is the main control panel for the destruction of resources. It is located next to the chests of the blue schemes.
If you disable it, the resources will never be sent for destruction, since there will be no conditions that are prescribed in the combinators.
You can also remove a certain resource that you do not want to be destroyed (if you want only, say, red schemes of a rare level not to be destroyed, then you need to remove it in a constant combinator, and the last condition for the comparing combinator can never be fulfilled until you return the value of red schemes of a rare level 1).
That's all in all, it's pretty simple if you figure it out.
There is one drawback — manipulators do not always have time to pick up items from the conveyor, and resources pass forward, but this occurs at a speed of 180 convoys per second, which is logical that they will not cope.
I will attach some bluprints:
For those who have downloaded all the mods, which I highly recommend.
For those who downloaded the main mod for mini-loaders and chests, but not for improved convoys, there will only need to carry out underground convoys, since I have a length of 30 in., you will most likely have less.
There will also be my whole recycling database so that you can clearly see what and how. Except that I did not calculate the number of necessary refiners per tire. I just put the more, the better, so that everything could be recycled or destroyed in time.
If you have any questions, please contact us, I will try to help.
