Description
Modular low-volume Universal Assembler.
High density1 (14 tiles per assembler) low cost (
) and easy to re-configure.
Perfect for custom, intermittent, or shifting production loads such as construction and resupply trains.
Usage Examples
Installation Instructions
The modular system is based around a power and signal bus. Each substation-aligned bus tile supports 24 assemblers and leaves symmetric 2 x 3 access ports for feedline belts of intermediate products.
The blueprints are used as follows:
- UA power & signal bus routes all necessary signals and connects to adjacent horizontal tiles.
- UA controller and status display (max one in network!) does several things.
- It connects the demand (green) and work-queue (red) wires.
- It displays progress bars for the requested items being built (left, cyan) and logistics bot load (right, green-yellow-red.)
- Logistic network coverage.
- Feedlines snake blue belts through the 2 x 3 access ports and deliver in-demand materials to the center of the logistic grid. By using higher priority chests than on the edges you can optimize bot pathing a little bit. Feedlines are very optional.
Once you've got a power and signal bus, you can add assemblers in groups of 4. Configure each one, set inputs in the requester chest, and set the constructed item as a condition on the output inserter. The last step ensures only items requested via the circuit network2 get built. Once an assembler, requester chest, and output inserter are configured they can be constructed from blueprint by robots on top of the "UA power & signal bus" with no player intervention.
The signal bus carries two signals:
is an internal indicator of unmet demand. Do not output anything on it.
is an external input requesting production. Feed item signals via constant combinators or circuit networks.
Feed high-volume intermediates (
) into passive provider chests from belted factories. Low-volume intermediates (
) may be produced by the UA at first, then fed in from belted beacon-factories once demand rises.
Changelog
- v0.3 Shrink controller, add smart feedline loader, add visually interesting concrete backing
- v0.2 Switch from complex tiling to a trivial grid, density increased by 7%
- v0.1 Bug fix
- v0.0 Initial release based on 8-assembler "capital I with serifs" tile
Notes
: Perfect density should be an asymptotic approach to around 12 tiles per assembler. (9 assembler, 2 inserters, 1 chest.) However you've got to account for power, roboports, and general-purpose access ports for fluid handling and whatnot. There are more efficient tilings (a T-tetromino tiling gets down to 14 tiles per assembler) but so far my other experiments require complex inserter nests or feel low on charging roboports. The simple grid appears to win out on density and modularity.
: A cache of items and the inputs required to build them will also remain in the assembler and requester chest, despite not being accounted for in the circuit network. This should still be less wasteful than a typical belt-fed, chest-limited setup.