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Belt transport system

2025-11-17T05:36:54Z

AmericanPatriot: /* Belt throughput */

{{Languages}}
[[File:transport_belt_preview.png|right]]
The belt transport system is the first system the [[player]] will use to transport items from place to place. It, along with [[Railway|trains]], and [[Logistic network|Logistic robots]], makes up the systems of item transportation in Factorio.

Belts specifically are used to transport items and run without using energy. Belts can also interact with other moving entities such as [[player]]s, [[vehicle]]s and [[enemies]], also allowing for faster or slower movement speed.

== Belt tier overview ==

There are 3 different tiers of belts available for use (4 with [[Space Age]]). The [[transport belt]] has a yellow color and is the slowest, as well as the cheapest to craft. The next tier up, the [[fast transport belt]] has a red color and is twice as fast as the standard transport belt. The [[express transport belt]] is the final tier in the base game. It is colored blue and is three times as fast as normal belts, or 1.5× as fast as red belts. The [[turbo transport belt]]{{SA}} can only be crafted on [[Vulcanus]]. It is colored green and is four times as fast as normal belts, or 2× as fast as red belts.

The "stacks" below refers to stacks created by a [[stack inserter]]{{SA}}, not inventory stacks. If no stack inserters are involved, this is equivalent to items.

[[File:Transport_belts_speed.gif|250px|thumb|top|Animation showing the four types of belt and their speed (from top to bottom: regular belts, fast belts, express belts and turbo belts).]]

{| class="wikitable"
! [[Transport belts]] !! [[Underground belts]] !! [[Splitters]] !! Max. throughput (stacks/[[Time#Seconds|second]]) !! Needed research
|-
| {{Imagelink|Transport belt}}
| {{Imagelink|Underground belt}}
| {{Imagelink|Splitter|Splitter}}
| 15
| [[Logistics (research)]]1
|-
| {{Imagelink|Fast transport belt}}
| {{Imagelink|Fast underground belt}}
| {{Imagelink|Fast splitter}}
| 30
| [[Logistics 2 (research)]]
|-
| {{Imagelink|Express transport belt}}
| {{Imagelink|Express underground belt}}
| {{Imagelink|Express splitter}}
| 45
| [[Logistics 3 (research)]]
|-
| {{Imagelink|Turbo transport belt|space-age=yes}}
| {{Imagelink|Turbo underground belt|space-age=yes}}
| {{Imagelink|Turbo splitter|space-age=yes}}
| 60
| [[Turbo transport belt (research)]]
|}
(1) Only for the underground belt and splitter. The basic transport belt is available at the start of the game.

Regardless of the belt tier, a fully filled straight transport belt holds 8 stacks in total. For more information on this, see [[Transport belts/Physics]] and [https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-276 Friday Facts #276 - Belt item spacing].
{{clear}}

== Belt mechanics ==

=== Merging and un-merging belts ===

Belts of all tiers have 2 lanes for items to ride on. This allows for either a double flow of one material, or to transport two different materials on the same belt. Mixed belts can be beneficial for
smelting ore, or producing items with many different ingredients such as [[Utility science pack]]. The belt can be unmerged using a splitter filter. It is also possible to unmerge a mixed belt by using underground belts since an underground belt will block half of the belt.

<gallery mode="nolines" class="center" widths=350px heights=350px>
File:Transport_belts_2_lanes.gif
File:Transport_belts_unmerge.gif
</gallery>

Belts going across a splitter will have items from the splitter moving to one side of the crossing belt.

[[File:splitters_to_one_side.gif|center|Splitters moving objects to just one side of a belt.]]

Commonly, merging and un-merging is done by using a [[splitter]]. The trick in the second gif is better described in the '''[[Belt_transport_system#Separating_belt_lanes|underground belt]]''' section.

=== Lane balance ===

Due to how items are placed onto belts by [[inserters]], their lanes can sometimes become unbalanced. In order to
maintain throughput, balancing the lanes may be necessary. The gifs below show two ways how to do this. The former only works if only one lane is in use initially. For further explanation of the mechanics, see [[Balancer mechanics#Lane_balancers|lane balancers]].

<gallery mode="nolines" class="center" widths=350px heights=250px>
File:Transport_belts_balance1.gif
File:Transport_belts_balance2.gif
</gallery>

=== Belt throughput ===
[[File:Stack inserters fill express belt.gif|frame|250px|right|4 [[bulk inserter]]s can compress an express belt at any stack size greater than or equal to 7 for the left inserters and stack size 7 for the right inserters.]]
Maximizing the throughput means ensuring that as many items as possible are transported. Therefore some definitions need to
be introduced:

; Speed
: How fast a belt moves in tiles per second. This is 1.875, 3.75, 5.625 and 7.5 for basic, fast, express and turbo belts respectively.
; Density
: How tight are the items put onto the belts; each straight belt piece can hold exactly 8 items.
; Throughput
: This is speed × density. It describes how many items pass by at a given time.

So, there are three opportunities to enhance the throughput:

; More density
:Sometimes items have small gaps in between each other that aren't big enough for other items to fit in. However, mining drills, inserters, and belt sideloading can still force an item into these gaps, temporarily squashing the items on the belt. The squashed gap is extended to normal size once the front of the belt starts to move again.
; More speed
:If the belts in the factory are already at maximum density, their speed can still be upgraded with better belts. Finding the bottleneck is the first thing that needs to be done, usually it can be discovered quite easily. There will be a part of the belt where the items don't move quickly (or at all) or stop at maximum density and suddenly they come to a point where this 'stop and go' effect releases itself, the bottleneck has been found. In most cases, this will be the place where belt optimization is needed.
; More belts
:Adding additional parallel belts can also increase the throughput. Simply place more belts carrying the item that needs throughput.

=== Belt tricks ===

Moving fast can be essential to defend alien attacks in time. Running on a belt will increase or decrease the movement speed of the [[player]] accordingly to the belts speed. That is why building a belt towards your defenses can be beneficial.

However, the player is not the only unit that can be moved by transport belts. Additionally, biters and spitters can be moved. This can be abused to improve your defense. Firstly, biters will have a harder time to reach your walls when placing express transport belt in front of them. Secondly, spitters can be moved closer to your walls. That way more turrets can attack a single spitter at once.

Another useful usage is [[car]]s on transport belts. Cars have an inventory and can be filled by [[inserters]]. So, they can be used as moving boxes on belts. This has several advantages: Firstly the throughput of the belt-car-boxes is amazingly high, secondly the inserter stack size bonus does apply here and makes inserters more effective.

== Splitters ==

[[Splitters]] are another form of item manipulation. Splitters are a 2×1 entity that splits incoming items on belts
from up to two input to up to two outputs, in a 1:1 ratio. They are used to divide resources between two belts, or balance
multiple belts.

=== Mechanics ===

The behavior of splitters looks simple at first glance. But they are not that simple. Splitters have an astonishing amount of uses.

* Splitters have two input belts and two output belts. If the splitter receives items on one belt, it will split the input evenly between its two outputs. If one of the outputs is fully backed-up and the splitter cannot split evenly, it will put all input on its other output.
* Splitters can also merge belts, taking two inputs and one output.
* Splitters preserve the lanes of the items, by moving through the splitter an item on the right lane will not be moved to the left lane, and vice versa.
* Splitters can prioritize one input and/or one output. Clicking on a splitter opens its GUI where the priorities can be set.
* One output of the splitter can be filtered to one item. Items of that type will only go to that output, and not to the other one.

The speed of the splitter is the same as its relevant type of belt, so in order to properly join/split belts, the splitter must be the same speed as the incoming belts. Otherwise the splitter will become a bottleneck.

==== Priority ====
For both the input and output side of the splitter it is possible to set the priority to either left or right.

A splitter where the input priority has been set will first try to consume the specified input side, and will only
consume the other input once there is a gap on the prioritized input belt.

Similarly a splitter where the output priority has been set will try to redirect all incoming items
to the specified output, and will only output on the other output once the specified output is full.

==== Filter ====
If a specific item is set in the splitter's filter slot, the slider for the output priority will
be used for the filter instead. All items of the set type will be redirected to that specific output
and all other items are directed to the other output. The input priority can be set independently of the filter.

=== Balancing ===

{{Main|Balancer mechanics}}

Balancers are used to evenly distribute items over multiple belts or multiple belt lanes.

=== Manipulating belt lanes ===
<gallery mode="nolines" class="center" widths=350px heights=250px>
File:Swap_belt_lanes.gif|Swapping lanes on a belt with a different item per belt lane.
File:Splitter_separate_belt_lanes.gif|Separating lanes with different items on them.
</gallery>

== [[Circuit network]] ==

[[File:transport_belt_circuits.png|thumb|250px|Two belts connected to a [[constant combinator]].]]
[[Red wire|Red]] or [[green wire]]s can be connected to segments of transport belts to use them as part of a circuit. Belts connected to the circuit network will appear with a yellow cage above them, with a moving red scanner within it. When a belt is connected to a circuit, a GUI can be accessed from the connected belt for settings on how the belt will be used for a circuit; there are two modes of operation that can be used:

'''Enable/disable''' - A circuit condition dictates whether or not the belt will allow items through. 
'''Read belt contents''' - If enabled, the contents on the belt will be read.

The belt's GUI will also have a "content read mode" setting, which can be set to either '''pulse''' or '''hold'''. '''Pulse''' will read the belt's contents for only one [[Time|tick]], while '''hold''' will read the belt's contents continuously on every tick.

[[File:transport_belt_circuit_gui.png|thumb|right|Transport belt GUI.]]

<gallery mode="nolines" class="center" widths=450px heights=200px>
File:transport_belt_circuit_example1.gif|A small example of a transport belt circuit reading belt contents to trigger two lamps.
File:transport_belt_circuit_example2.gif|[[Fast inserter]]s are activated by the [[arithmetic combinator]]s' setup; when a specific item enters a belt segment that's connected to the circuit network, the inserters place the same item on another belt.
</gallery>
{{clear}}

== Underground belts ==
[[File:4-6-8.png|thumb|right|Underground lengths|250px]]
Underground belts can be used to cross different flows of items without interfering. They move items like a [[Transport belts|normal belt]].
* Underground belts can cross any number of entities and most types of ground, like water and grass, as long as the input and output endpoints are on land, except for space void and [[lava]]{{SA}}.
* Underground belts can cross other underground entities (any number of underground belts or underground pipes). They won't be mixed.
* For the connection only the endpoints (entry-side and exit-side) are relevant.
* The underground distance is 4, 6 and 8 [[Map_structure#Tile|tiles]], respectivly, for the three belt types in base game.
* An underground belt pair that bridges a gap of 4 tiles stores up to 44 items. An express underground belt pair at max length stores up to 72 items.
* The half of the underground belt tile with a belt can accept input from the side. The other half (with a tunnel entrance) blocks incoming items.

=== Separating belt lanes ===
<gallery mode="nolines" class="center" widths=350px heights=350px>
File:Block belt lane.gif|This is built by placing one underground belt and then using R to reverse its direction. This converts the underground belt entrance to an exit (and vice versa).
File:Transport belts unmerge.gif|This can also be used to split the lanes of a belt onto seperate belts instead of using a splitter filter.
</gallery>

=== Braiding ===
<gallery mode="nolines" class="center" widths=450px heights=200px>
File:underground_belt_braiding.gif|Different types of underground belts can be braided together along the same line of tiles, with items staying in their respective belt types.
File:underground_belt_braiding2.gif|The same concept, but with a different belt design.
</gallery>

Braiding (sometimes called Weaving) can be particularly useful where more than two input lanes are required while also avoiding the use of a parallel belt/[[long-handed inserter]] combination. For example, this can be useful if there is limited space, such as when using a beacon. With a beacon range of 3 orthogonal tiles, two of which would be occupied by a belt and inserter, it would not be possible to place the parallel belt in the third space and still have a beacon on the same side, as the assembler would now be in the fourth tile and not in range. With the space saved by braiding, this is now possible.

== See also ==
* [[Splitters]]
* [[Transport belts]]
* [[Underground belts]]

{{C|Logistics{{!}}#Belt transport system}}
{{C|Belt transport system{{!}}#Belt transport system}}

Technologies

2024-10-31T07:00:39Z

AmericanPatriot: Added table of new space age infinite research available in factorio/date/space-age/prototypes/technology.lua

== Infinite technologies ==

While most technologies in Factorio are either one-off or have a finite, relatively small number of levels available, a few are "infinite", meaning the player can research as many levels as they can afford. All of them unlock bonuses to existing technologies, never new structures or abilities. The per-level bonuses are constant for a particular infinite technologies and, like finite research bonuses, are additive within a single technology. They are subject to diminishing returns; thus, the per-level and per-science pack contributions from very high levels of infinite technologies will eventually provide only marginal improvements.

All infinite technologies levels require [[space science pack]]s, and are also the only technologies that do. As such, they are late-game technologies intended primarily for players who wish to continue playing and expand their factory past the nominal victory condition of launching a rocket.

Infinite technologies are identified in-game by a small <code>∞</code> infinity symbol shown in the top right corner of the research technology's card in the research screen.

Most infinite technologies are continuations of ordinary multi-level technologies; the "infinite" mechanic becomes effective once the player reaches the card initially labeled with <code>N - ∞</code> in the research tree. Only the two [[artillery]]-related technologies (artillery shell [[artillery shell range (research)|range]] and [[artillery shell shooting speed (research)|shooting speed]]) are infinite-only; for these, <code>1 - ∞</code> is shown before any levels in them are researched. In either case, once the first infinite level is researched, the card label switches to the one discussed above.

=== Pricing formulas ===

The price of all infinite technologies is generated in a [[Wikipedia:Progression|mathematical progression]]; for the majority of technologies, the progression is [[Wikipedia:Geometric_progression|geometric]], mostly in powers of 2. Two technologies - [[mining productivity (research)|mining productivity]] and [[follower robot count (research)|follower robot count]] - use an [[Wikipedia:Arithmetic_progression|arithmetic progression]] instead.

The table below summarizes for all infinite researches their first infinite level, the cost of the first few infinite levels, the cost formula and the per-level bonus.

We denote by <code>N</code> the current level of the research, by <code>F</code> the final non-infinite level of the research (hence F+1 is the first "infinite" level) and by <code>P[N]</code> the price of the research at level <code>N</code>.
{|class="wikitable"
! Technology !! Bonus !! Science Packs !! F+1 !! P[N] !! P[F+1] !! P[F+2] !! P[F+3] !! P[F+4] !! P[F+5] !! ...
|-
| {{Icontech|Worker robot speed (research)}} [[Worker robot speed (research)|Worker robot speed ]] || +65% Robot Speed || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} || style=text-align:center|6 || 1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1) || style=text-align:center|1,000 || style=text-align:center|2,000 || style=text-align:center|4,000 || style=text-align:center|8,000 || style=text-align:center|16,000 || style=text-align:center|×2
|-
| {{Icontech|Mining productivity (research)}} [[Mining productivity (research)|Mining productivity]] || +10% Mining Productivity || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} || style=text-align:center|4 || 2,500 × (N - F) || style=text-align:center|2,500 || style=text-align:center|5,000 || style=text-align:center|7,500 || style=text-align:center|10,000 || style=text-align:center|12,500 || style=text-align:center|+2500
|-
| {{Icontech|Physical projectile damage (research)}} [[Physical projectile damage (research)|Physical projectile damage]] || +40% Bullet Damage +70% Turret Damage +40% Shotgun Shell Damage +100% Cannon Shell Damage || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} || style=text-align:center|7 || 1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1) || style=text-align:center|1,000 || style=text-align:center|2,000 || style=text-align:center|4,000 || style=text-align:center|8,000 || style=text-align:center|16,000 || style=text-align:center|×2
|-
| {{Icontech|Stronger explosives (research)}} [[Stronger explosives (research)|Stronger explosives]] || +50% Rocket Damage +20% Grenade Damage +20% Landmine Damage || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} || style=text-align:center|7 || 1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1) || style=text-align:center|1,000 || style=text-align:center|2,000 || style=text-align:center|4,000 || style=text-align:center|8,000 || style=text-align:center|16,000 || style=text-align:center|×2
|-
| {{Icontech|Refined flammables (research)}} [[Refined flammables (research)|Refined flammables]] || +20% Flame Thrower Damage {{icon|Flamethrower ammo}} {{icon|Flamethrower turret}}|| {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} || style=text-align:center|7 || 1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1) || style=text-align:center|1,000 || style=text-align:center|2,000 || style=text-align:center|4,000 || style=text-align:center|8,000 || style=text-align:center|16,000 || style=text-align:center|×2
|-
| {{Icontech|Energy weapons damage (research)}} [[Energy weapons damage (research)|Energy weapons damage]] || +70% Laser Damage {{icon|Laser turret}} {{icon|Personal laser defense}} {{icon|Distractor capsule}} +70% Electric Damage {{icon|Discharge defense}} +30% Beam Damage {{icon|Destroyer capsule}} || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} || style=text-align:center|7 || 1,000 × 2^(N - F - 1) || style=text-align:center|1,000 || style=text-align:center|2,000 || style=text-align:center|4,000 || style=text-align:center|8,000 || style=text-align:center|16,000 || style=text-align:center|×2
|-
| {{Icontech|Artillery shell range (research)}} [[Artillery shell range (research)|Artillery shell range]] || +30% Artillery Shell Range || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} || style=text-align:center|1 || 1,000 × 2^N || style=text-align:center|2,000 || style=text-align:center|4,000 || style=text-align:center|8,000 || style=text-align:center|16,000 || style=text-align:center|32,000 || style=text-align:center|×2
|-
| {{Icontech|Artillery shell shooting speed (research)}} [[Artillery shell shooting speed (research)|Artillery shell speed]] || +100% Artillery Speed || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} || style=text-align:center|1 || 1,000 + 1,000 × 3^(N - F - 1) || style=text-align:center|2,000 || style=text-align:center|4,000 || style=text-align:center|10,000 || style=text-align:center|28,000 || style=text-align:center|82,000 || style=text-align:center|×3 then - 2000
|-
| {{Icontech|Follower robot count (research)}} [[Follower robot count (research)|Follower robot count]] || +10 Follower Robots || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} || style=text-align:center|7 || 100 × (N - F) + 900 || style=text-align:center|1,000 || style=text-align:center|1,100 || style=text-align:center|1,200 || style=text-align:center|1,300 || style=text-align:center|1,400 || style=text-align:center|+100
|}

==== Infinite Research Exclusive to Space Age ====

{|class="wikitable"
! Technology !! Bonus !! Science Packs !! F+1 !! P[N] !! P[F+1] !! ...
|-
| {{Icontech|Steel plate productivity (research)}} [[Steel plate productivity (research)|Steel plate productivity]] || +10% Steel plate recipe productivity bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Low density structure productivity (research)}} [[Low density structure productivity (research)|Low density structure productivity]] || +10% Low density structure recipe productivity bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Metallurgic science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Scrap recycling productivity (research)}} [[Scrap recycling productivity (research)|Scrap recycling productivity]] || +10% Scrap recycling recipe productivity bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Electromagnetic science pack}} || 1 || 500 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|750 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Processing unit productivity (research)}} [[Processing unit productivity (research)|Processing unit productivity]] || +10% Processing unit recipe productivity bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Electromagnetic science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Electric weapons damage (research)}} [[Electric weapons damage (research)|Electric weapons damage]] || +70% Tesla damage +70% Electric damage +30% Beam damage || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} {{icon|Electromagnetic science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Plastic bar productivity (research)}} [[Plastic bar productivity (research)|Plastic bar productivity]] || +10% Plastic bar recipe productivity bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Agricultural science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Rocket fuel productivity (research)}} [[Rocket fuel productivity (research)|Rocket fuel productivity]] || +10% Rocket fuel recipe productivity bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Health (research)}} [[Health (research)|Health]] || +50 Character health recipe productivity bonus || {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Agricultural science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Asteroid productivity (research)}} [[Asteroid productivity (research)|Asteroid productivity]] || +10% Asteroid processing recipe productivity bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} {{icon|Agricultural science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Railgun damage (research)}} [[Railgun damage (research)|Railgun damage]] || +40% Railgun damage bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} {{icon|Metallurgic science pack}} {{icon|Agricultural science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Rocket part productivity (research)}} [[Rocket part productivity (research)|Rocket part productivity]] || +10% Rocket part recipe productivity bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Cryogenic science pack}} || 1 || 2000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Railgun shooting speed (research)}} [[Railgun shooting speed (research)|Railgun shooting speed]] || +20% Railgun shooting speed bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} {{icon|Electromagnetic science pack}} {{icon|Cryogenic science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.5^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.5
|-
| {{Icontech|Research productivity (research)}} [[Research productivity (research)|Research productivity]] || +10% Lab research productivity bonus || {{icon|Automation science pack}} {{icon|Logistic science pack}} {{icon|Military science pack}} {{icon|Chemical science pack}} {{icon|Production science pack}} {{icon|Utility science pack}} {{icon|Space science pack}} {{icon|Metallurgic science pack}} {{icon|Electromagnetic science pack}} {{icon|Agricultural science pack}} {{icon|Cryogenic science pack}} {{icon|Promethium science pack}} || 1 || 1000 × 1.2^N || style=text-align:center|1,500 || style=text-align:center|×1.2
|}

=== Cumulative cost ===

As the price of most infinite technologies (specifically, those based on geometric progressions) increases very steeply, it may be a good idea for players to set realistic target levels for each of the infinite technologies they wish to pursue, and make their factory plans accordingly. To that end, the following properties of cumulative infinite research prices may be useful:

#For infinite technologies whose underlying equation is a powers-of-two geometric series, the cumulative price of the first <code>N - F</code> infinite levels (skipping the first <code>F</code> level, so counting "infinite" levels only) is <code>2 × P[N] - P[F+1]</code>; i.e., twice the price of the final researched level, less the price of the first "infinite" level.
#*As ''N'' increases, this is approximated well by <code>2 × P[N] = P[N+1]</code>, so the cumulative cost of researching to level <code>N</code> is about as much as researching level <code>N+1</code>.
#*If one decides a level <code>M</code> which one considers the "highest feasible" with their current science pack production capacity, expanding said capacity by a factor of <code>X</code> will allow about <code>log[2](X)</code> additional levels to be researched before the next level takes longer to research with the expanded capacity than level <code>M + 1</code> would have taken with the pre-expansion production capacity.
#*For example, if one expands production capacity by a factor of 10, they will be able to research at least <code>floor(log[2](10)) = 3</code> and at most <code>ceiling(log[2](10)) = 4</code> additional levels in a given technology before the exponential increase in price negates the speed benefits of their ×10 capacity expansion.
#The cumulative price of the first <code>N - F</code> levels of infinite technologies whose underlying equation is an arithmetic series is <code>(N - F) × (P[N] + P[F + 1]) ÷ 2</code>; i.e, <code>N - F</code> times the mean of the prices of the first and last "infinite" level. For the [[Follower robot count (research)]], an additional <code>900 × (N-F)</code> need to be added.
#*Expanding production capacity by a factor of <code>X</code>, as above, will in this case allow an additional <code>N × (X - 1)</code> levels to be researched before the benefit of the expansion is wiped out (i.e., research progress speed drops to or below what it was pre-expansion).
#The cumulative price of the first '''''N''''' levels of '''artillery shell shooting speed''', the sole infinite technology whose underlying equation is a powers-of-three geometric series (equation type (2)) is <code>1.5 × P[N] - 0.5 × P[1]</code>; i.e., 1.5 times the price of the final researched level, less half the price of the first level.

Note that these prices reflect '''research units''', which will not be equal to science packs if [[productivity module|productivity modules]] are used in labs. (In that case, the science pack requirement will be lower.)

Tutorial:Nuclear power/de

2022-01-29T15:22:10Z

AmericanPatriot: /* {{TransLink|Heat pipe}}e */

{{Languages}}[[Power production/de#Kernenergie|Kernenergie]] erfordert im Vergleich zu Solarenergie oder Heizkesseln eine höhere Technologie, bietet dafür aber eine sehr hohe Energieausbeute. Sie ist eine ausgezeichnete Lösung für die Energieerzeugung im mittleren bis Endspiel und funktioniert gut in Kombination mit anderen Energieerzeugungstechniken.

Dieser Leitfaden ist für Leute geschrieben, die genau wissen möchten, wie Kernenergie funktioniert, aber nicht gleich alle Lösungen beschrieben haben wollen. Er konzentriert sich darauf, was man tun sollte und was man wissen sollte, um die Kernenergie zum Laufen zu bringen, aber er erklärt nicht im einzelnen was genau man alles tun muss oder wie Probleme gelöst werden.

== Erste Schritte ==

:'''Erforderliche Technologie:''' [[Nuclear power (research)/de|Kernenergie]]
:''Man kann Uranerz auch schon vorher abbauen, aber man muss die Kernenergie-Technologie erforscht haben, um etwas sinnvolles damit anfangen zu können.''

=== {{TransLink|Uranium ore}} ===
Um beginnen zu können, benötigt man Uranerz. Es leuchtet grün, man kann es also nicht übersehen. Es neigt allerdings dazu, kleinere Vorkommen zu bilden, und deshalb muss man möglicherweise eine Weile suchen, um ein gutes Abbaugebiet zu finden.

Wie jedes andere Erz im Spiel kann man es mit einem [[Electric mining drill/de|elektrischen Erzförderer]] abbauen. Im Gegensatz zu allen anderen Erzen funktioniert es jedoch nur mit dem elektrischen Erzförderer. Außerdem muss man dem Bohrer {{TransLink|Sulfuric acid}} zuführen. Die Bohrer leiten überschüssige Säure durch, so dass eine ganze Reihe von Bohrern von einer Seite aus mit Säure versorgt werden kann.

:'''Gemischte Erze:''' Wenn ein Erzförderer auch nur auf ein einziges Stück Uranerz stößt, muss ihm Säure zugeführt werden, sonst wird er aufhören zu arbeiten sobald er auf das erste Stück Uranerz stößt. Der Erzförderer produziert wie üblich gemischtes Erz.

=== [[Uranium processing/de|Erzverarbeitung]] ===
Sobald man rohes Uranerz erhalten hat, muss dieses zu {{TransLink|Uranium-235}} und {{TransLink|Uranium-238}} verarbeitet werden. Dies geschieht in einer Zentrifuge.

In einer {{TransLink|Centrifuge}} ohne Module werden alle 12 Sekunden zehn Erze verarbeitet.

Zentrifugen produzieren eine Kombination aus U-235 (das hellgrüne Zeug) und U-238 (das dunkelgrüne Zeug). Diese zehn verarbeiteten Erze haben die Chance, genau eines dieser beiden Produkte zu werden. Wenn 10k Erz verarbeitet werden, erhält man im Durchschnitt:

{| class="wikitable" |-
! Anzahl !! Produkt
|-
| 7 || U-235
|-
| 993 || U-238
|}

Das bedeutet, dass man beim Verarbeiten von 1428 Erzen erwarten kann, ungefähr ein einziges U-235 zu erhalten. Bei einer Zentrifuge kann man also erwarten, dass sie alle 1716 Sekunden 1 U-235 produziert. Später spielt das keine so große Rolle mehr. Wenn man anfängt, ist dies jedoch ein wichtiger Engpass.

:'''Apropos Durchschnitt:''' Bedenke, Zufall ist Zufall. Diese Werte sind ''Durchschnittswerte''. Das bedeutet, dass man auf lange Sicht ungefähr diese Werte erhält. In der Realität wird man lange Phasen ohne U-235 und kurze Phasen mit viel davon sehen. Letztendlich wird es keine große Rolle spielen. Aber am Anfang sollte man sicherstellen, dass die Erzeugungsrate ausreichend hoch ist oder man eine ausreichende Reserve hat, damit man während einer Pechsträhne nicht ohne Strom dasteht.

=== Brennstoff ===
Bevor man sie in einem Kernreaktor verbrennen kann, muss man {{TransLink|Uranium fuel cell}}e herstellen. Man wird wahrscheinlich zunächst eine Montagemaschine 2 benutzen, also wird ein 10er Stapel Brennelemente in ebenfalls 13,3 Sekunden hergestellt. Das ist auch gut so, denn die Erstellung der Brennelemente wird nur sehr selten der Engpass sein.

Man wird nicht automatisch alles U-235 in Brennstoff umwandeln wollen. Man sollte nur das umwandeln, was man zum Befüllen des Reaktors benötigt. Man wird vielmehr einen großen dicken Vorrat davon haben wollen, wenn man später den {{TransLink|Kovarex enrichment process}} erforscht.

Brennelemente werden in 10er-Stapeln hergestellt, und um einen solchen Stapel herzustellen, benötigt man 1 U-235, 19 U-238 und 10 Eisenplatten.

:'''Tipp:''' Es wäre keine schlechte Idee, einfach eine eine Kiste zu benutzen einen Haufen Eisen hineinzustecken, anstatt das Eisen per Fließband herbeizuschaffen. Eine volle Kiste mit Eisen wird einem wahrscheinlich nicht ausgehen, bevor man [[Logistic network/de|Logistikroboter]] bekommt und sie durch eine Anforderungskiste ersetzen kann.

Jedes Brennelement hat einen nominalen Energiewert von 8 GJ, aber es ist möglich, sie mit dem Reaktor-Nachbarbonus noch weiter zu bringen (mehr dazu später).

=== {{TransLink|Nuclear reactor}} ===
Sobald man Brennstoff hat, muss man ihn in einem Kernreaktor verbrennen. Dies ist der erste Schritt, um ihn in nutzbare Energie umzuwandeln.

Ein Reaktor erzeugt genau 40 MW an Wärmeenergie. Da ein Watt ein Joule pro Sekunde ist, bedeutet dies, dass der Reaktor alle 200 Sekunden ein Brennelement verbraucht.

Wenn ein Brennelement verbraucht ist, produziert der Reaktor ein "{{TransLink|Used up uranium fuel cell}}", das entsorgt werden muss. Anfänglich sammeln sich diese einfach in einer Kiste an. Schließlich kann man sie zu U-238 wiederaufbereiten.

:'''Rückwärts gerechnet:''' Ein Reaktor verbraucht alle 200 Sekunden ein Brennelement, und jedes U-235 gibt 10 Brennelemente, also liefert jedes U-235 2000 Sekunden Reaktorleistung. Eine Zentrifuge benötigt etwa 1714 Sekunden, um ein U-235 zu produzieren, also braucht man in etwa eine Zentrifuge pro Reaktor im Rahmen der Erzverarbeitung.

Der Reaktor benötigt Brennstoffzufuhr und produziert Wärme, die über {{TransLink|Heat pipe}}e abgeführt werden muss, die zu einem {{TransLink|Heat exchanger}} führen (es sei denn, ein {{TransLink|Heat exchanger}} ist direkt den Reaktor angeschlossen).

=== {{TransLink|Heat exchanger}} ===
Der Wärmetauscher nimmt Wärme auf und nutzt sie, um {{TransLink|Water}} in {{TransLink|Steam}} umzuwandeln. Er funktioniert ähnlich wie der Heizkessel, aber statt Brennstoff zu verbrennen, muss man ihn an eine Wärmequelle anschließen. Der Eingang für die Wärme wird durch eine Flamme markiert, wenn man ihn platziert.

Bei einfachen Reaktorkonstruktionen kann man ihn direkt an den Reaktor anschließen (der an den ebenfalls mit einer Flamme markierten Stellen Wärme erzeugt).

Wärmetauscher benötigen ebenfalls eine Wasserzufuhr, genau wie Heizkessel. Sie können bis zu 103,09 Einheiten/Sekunde Wasser zu 500°C heißem Dampf erhitzen.

Wärmetauscher produzieren nichts, wenn sie unter 500°C sind. Da sie nur als Folge der Erwärmung von Wasser abkühlen, werden sie niemals unter diese Temperatur abkühlen, wenn sie sie einmal erreicht haben.

Wärmetauscher übertragen 10 MW Leistung, also braucht man 4 Wärmetauscher, um die von einem einzelnen Reaktor produzierte Leistung vollständig zu verbrauchen. (Nachbarboni können dies deutlich erhöhen, dazu später mehr.)

Der Dampf kann dann mit normalen {{TransLink|Pipe}}en zur {{TransLink|Steam turbine}} transportiert werden.

==== {{TransLink|Heat pipe}}e ====
Für komplexere Konstruktionen werden Wärmerohre benötigt. Wärmerohre funktionieren ähnlich wie normale Rohre. Wie normale Rohre haben sie einen begrenzten Durchsatz, was bedeutet, dass kürzere Rohre besser sind.

Wärmerohre werden genau wie Wasserrohre Punkt zu Punkt, Flamme zu Flamme, verbunden. Wärmerohre können nicht unterirdisch verlegt werden. Wenn man also Wasserrohre kreuzen muss, muss das Wasserrohr unterirdisch verlegt werden. Sie blockieren jedoch nicht die Bewegung des Spielers, so dass man direkt über sie laufen kann.

Der Durchsatz bei Wärmerohren ist deutlich begrenzter als bei normalen Rohren, zum Teil weil es keine analoge "Wärmepumpe" gibt. Hier sind einige grobe Grenzen für die Übertragungsstrecke:

{| class="wikitable" |-
! Energie !! Entfernung
|-
| 40 MW || ~140
|-
| 80 MW || ~80
|-
| 120 MW || ~55
|-
| 160 MW || ~45
|}

Bei längeren Entfernungen wird weniger als 100 % der Leistung übertragen. Das liegt daran, dass sich die Wärme aus dem Reaktor bei dieser Entfernung nicht schnell genug ausbreitet, um das Rohr bei laufendem Betrieb auf über 500 ºC zu erhitzen. Wenn die Wärme jedoch nicht genutzt wird, breitet sie sich viel weiter aus, da es keinen Wärmeverlust über die Zeit oder die Entfernung gibt, so dass sie sich aufbaut, bis sie wieder genutzt wird.

:'''Wärmerohrspeicher:''' Wärmerohre können auch eine ganze Menge Wärme speichern. Ein einzelnes Wärmerohr kann so viel Energie speichern wie ein Tank mit 5,1k Dampf darin, was sie sogar noch platzsparender als Tanks zum Speichern von Energie macht (wenn auch wesentlich teurer). Man muss allerdings vorsichtig damit sein und beachten, wie langsam sich Wärme durch das System bewegt. Ein Reaktor verbrennt immer Brennstoff, wenn dieser zur Verfügung gestellt wird, wird aber nie über 1000 Grad gehen. Unzureichende Wärmerohre übertragen möglicherweise nicht genug Wärme zu den Wärmetauschern und erlauben es dem Reaktor, 1000 Grad zu erreichen, an welchem Punkt der Brennstoff verschwendet wird - die Wärme geht ins Nichts und nicht in die Wärmetauscher.

Der Durchsatz kann auch in Form von Wärmetauschern pro Rohr betrachtet werden:
{| class="wikitable" |-
! Rohrdicke !! Austauscher (eine Seite) !! Austauscher (beide Seite)
|-
| 1 || 21 || 31
|-
| 2 || 29 || 42
|-
|}
(Es ist zu beachten, dass der letzte Wärmetauscher in der Reihe nicht mit 100% Leistung arbeitet)

[[File:Heat_exchangers_per_pipe.png]]

=== {{TransLink|Steam turbine}} ===
Diese sind der große Bruder der Dampfmaschine. Der von den Wärmetauschern produzierte Dampf muss nun mit normalen Flüssigkeitsrohren in diese Turbinen geleitet werden.

:'''Perfekte Ergänzung:''' Die Dampfturbine passt perfekt zum Wärmetauscher. Die Dampfmaschine passt perfekt zum Heizkessel. Obwohl man auch aus nicht aufeinander abgestimmten Systemen Energie gewinnen kann, ist dies nicht angebracht, weil es Ressourcen verschwendet.

Dampfturbinen verbrauchen bis zu 60 Einheiten Dampf/Sekunde, also braucht man ungefähr zwei Dampfturbinen für jeden Wärmetauscher. Auf großen Skalen kommt man mit etwas weniger Turbinen aus, da die Wärmetauscher nur 103,09 Dampf/Sekunde produzieren. Man benötigt eine extra Pumpe für jeweils 20 Turbinen.

=== Die einfachste funktionierende Kombination ===
Nun haben wir alle Teile, um unseren allerersten Reaktor zu bauen:

* Ein paar Uran-Erzförderer, die mit Schwefelsäure versorgt werden
* 1 Zentrifuge, die Uranerz verarbeitet
* 1 Montagemaschine, die Uran-Brennelemente herstellt
* 1 Kernreaktor
* 4 Wärmetauscher, die von einer einzelnen Gewässerpumpe versorgt werden
* 8 Dampfturbinen

Und natürlich diverse Fließbänder, Greifarme, filternde Greifarme und andere Werkzeuge, um Gegenstände zu transportieren. Dies wird eine maximale Leistung von 40 MW erzeugen.

== Darüber hinaus ==
Jenseits des einfachsten Reaktors gibt es einige zusätzliche Nuklearenergie-Aspekte, die man kennen sollte.

=== Nachbarbonus ===
Dies ist ein entscheidender Teil der Skalierung nuklearer Designs, aber es ist nicht kompliziert. Einfach ausgedrückt:

'''Jeder Reaktor erhält +100% Heizleistung für jeden aktiven Nachbarreaktor.'''

Die Nachbarn müssen sich auf jeder Seite komplett berühren, so dass die Reaktoren in einem schönen quadratischen Raster aufgereiht werden. Wenn man das tut, wird der Nachbarbonus aktiviert. Den aktuellen Bonus kann man sehen, wenn man den Mauszeiger über einen aktiven Reaktor hält.

Der Bonus auf die Heizleistung erhöht nicht den Brennstoffverbrauch. Vielmehr erhöht er einfach die produzierte Wärme!

Das bedeutet natürlich, dass man mehr Wärmetauscher und Dampfturbinen benötigt, um die Wärme in Strom zu verwandeln.

{| class="wikitable" |-
! Konfiguration !! Reaktoren !! Wärmetauscher !! Turbinen !! Leistung !! Leistung pro Reaktor
|-
| Einzeln || 1 || 4 || 7 || 40MW || 40MW
|-
| 2×1 || 2 || 16 || 28 || 160MW || 80MW
|-
| 2×2 || 4 || 48 || 83 || 480MW || 120MW
|-
| 2×3 || 6 || 80 || 138 || 800MW || 133MW
|-
| 2×4 || 8 || 112 || 193 || 1120MW || 140MW
|-
| 2×5 || 10 || 144 || 248 || 1440MW || 144MW
|-
| 2×6 || 12 || 176 || 303 || 1760MW || 147MW
|-
| 2×7 || 14 || 208 || 358 || 2080MW || 149MW
|-
| 2×8 || 16 || 240 || 413 || 2400MW || 150MW
|}

'''Wie man die Anzahl an Wärmetauschern ermittelt:''' Anzahl der Kanten zählen, an denen sich die Reaktoren vollständig berühren. Diese Zahl verdoppeln. Dazu die Gesamtzahl der Reaktoren addieren. Dann das ganze multiplizieren mit 4. Das ist die Anzahl der Wärmetauscher. Man benötigt 1,718 Turbinen pro Wärmetauscher (aufgerundet). Jeder Wärmetauscher liefert bis zu 10 MW Leistung.

=== Immer an! ===
Im Gegensatz zu jeder anderen Stromerzeugungstechnik, '''skalieren''' Kernreaktoren den Stromverbrauch NICHT herunter. Kernreaktoren verbrauchen weiterhin alle 200 Sekunden ein Brennelement, unabhängig vom Bedarf.

Wenn der Reaktor seinen Brennstoff verbraucht, erhitzt er sich auf eine maximale Temperatur von 1000°C. An diesem Punkt wird zusätzlich verbrannter Brennstoff einfach verschwendet. Dies ist die einzige Möglichkeit, Energie im System zu verlieren, da alle Wärmeübertragungen perfekt effizient sind.

Turbinen passen ihre Produktion (und ihren Dampfverbrauch) an den Bedarf an. Ebenso verbrauchen Wärmetauscher keine Wärme, wenn es keinen Platz für den Dampf gibt.

:'''Turbinen und Dampfmaschinen:''' Man muss bedenken, dass Dampfturbinen und Dampfmaschinen beide die gleiche "Klasse" von Energieerzeugern sind, so dass sie alle zusammen skaliert werden müssen. Das bedeutet, dass in einem kompletten Energiesystem die Heizkessel mit Kohle befeuert werden können, selbst wenn das Kernkraftwerk die Last vollständig abdecken könnte. Und, was noch schlimmer ist, die Kernenergie wird einfach verschwendet!

Aus diesem Grund sollte man Akkumulatoren, Stromschalter und Schaltungsnetz-Logik zu verwenden, um Heizkessel abzuschalten, wenn die Kernkraftwerke den Bedarf decken können.

Die einfachste Lösung für dieses Problem ist, die Kernreaktoren nur einen Teil der Zeit laufen zu lassen. Man kann den Dampf in Tanks speichern (Dampf schwimmt übrigens, man schaue sich sich die "Füllstandsanzeige" an). Da Wärmetauscher 103 Dampf/Sekunde produzieren und ein Tank 25k Dampf fasst, speichert ein Tank soviel Dampf wie ein Wärmetauscher in 242,5 Sekunden produziert.

Man kann einen oder zwei Tanks an das Ende eines jeden Wärmetauschers stellen und Schaltungsnetz-Logik verwenden, um nur dann ein Brennelement in die Reaktoren einzuführen, wenn diese leer werden. Man muss darauf achten, dass alle Reaktoren zur gleichen Zeit betankt werden, sonst erhält man nicht den vollen Reaktor-Nachbarbonus. Wenn man es nicht vermeiden kann, zuviel Brennstoff in die Reaktoren einzufüllen, kann man noch mehr Tanks hinzufügen, um den Zyklus weiter zu verlängern.

=== Anreicherung ===
:'''Erforderliche Technologie:''' [[Kovarex enrichment process (research)/de|Kovarex-Anreicherungsprozess]]
:''Der Kovarex-Anreicherungsprozess ermöglicht es, etwas U-238 in U-235 umzuwandeln, aber es ist langsam und benötigt eine Menge U-235 als Katalysator.''

Die ersten paar Ressourcenfelder mit Uranerz reichen für eine ordentliche Zeitspanne, aber irgendwann wird einem das Erz und der Platz für das überflüssige U-238 ausgehen. Die Anreicherung hilft, beide Probleme zu lösen.

Der Anreicherungsprozess dauert 60 Sekunden in einer Zentrifuge ohne Module. Er erfordert 40 U-235 (!) und 5 U-238 und erzeugt 41 U-235 und 2 U-238. Genaugenommen werden 3 U-238 genommen in 1 U-235 umgewandelt. Die zusätzlichen 40 U-235 und 2 U-238 dienen als Katalysator.

:'''Einfach alles umwandeln!:''' Bevor man ''einfach alles umwandelt!'', sollte man bedenken, dass man 19 U-238 für jedes Brennelement benötigt, sowie für Uranmunition, die man in Beißer und deren Nester einlagern will. Mit Hilfe der Schaltungsnetz-Logik kann man zu groß angelegte Anreicherungsoperationen begrenzen.

Eine Zentrifuge ohne Module, die Uran anreichert, reicht aus, um 33,33 Reaktoren mit Brennstoff zu versorgen, vorausgesetzt, es gibt genügend U-238. Eine Zentrifuge mit zwei Produktivitätsmodulen reicht aus, um 25,2 Reaktoren zu versorgen. Eine Zentrifuge mit zwei Produktivitätsmodulen 3 reicht aus, um 28 Reaktoren zu versorgen.

=== Wiederaufbereitung von Brennstoff ===
:'''Erforderliche Technologie:''' [[Nuclear fuel reprocessing (research)/de|Wiederaufbereitung von Kernbrennstoff]]
:''Die Wiederaufbereitung verwandelt verbrauchte Brennelemente in U-238.''

Irgendwann hat man keinen Platz mehr, um die abgebrannten Brennelemente zu lagern. Mit der Wiederaufbereitung kann man sie wieder in U-238 umwandeln, um es erneut für die Anreicherung, für Brennelemente oder für Munition einzusetzen. Von den 19 U-238, die in jeden 10er-Stapel Brennelemente gehen, liefert dies 6 zurück. Dies reduziert den Gesamtbedarf an Erz für Kernbrennstoff erheblich.

=== Waffen ===
:'''Erforderliche Technologie:''' [[Uranium ammo (research)/de|Uranmunition]] / [[Atomic bomb (research)/de|Atombombe]]
:''Bessere Geschosse / Größere Bomben''

Mit dem Nuklearzeitalter kommen die Atomwaffen. Uranmunition ist Spitzenklasse, besonders wenn man einen Panzer damit belädt. Sie mäht Beißernester nieder und beseitigt Schwärme recht schnell. Sie verwendet U-238, also hat man wahrscheinlich eine Menge davon herumliegen.

Außerdem kann man sich {{TransLink|Atomic bomb}}n beschaffen. Das sind Raketen (abgeschossen mit einem {{TransLink|Rocket launcher}}, die unglaublichen Schaden anrichten. Man sollte sich bewusst sein, dass man sich leicht selbst umbringen kann, wenn man eine Atombombe in der Nähe abfeuert. Selbst bei maximaler Reichweite ist es ratsam, in die entgegengesetzte Richtung zu laufen. Anstatt einer einzelnen Explosion richten sie Schaden in einem sich ausdehnenden Ring an, was einem Zeit gibt, zu entkommen. Man benötigt eine Menge U-235 und blaue Chips, also sind sie eine teure Waffe.

== Version ==
Diese Anleitung ist kompatibel mit Factorio 0.17, 0.16 und 0.15.13+.

: Diese Anleitung wurde ursprünglich von ''alficles'' geschrieben und auf [https://gist.github.com/alficles/972796997d1bc40d57866b0a3725895a gist] veröffentlicht.
:'''Lizenz:''' [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ CC BY-SA 4.0]
:''Ausnahmen:''' Dieses Werk oder Bearbeitungen davon dürfen auf dem offiziellen [https://wiki.factorio.com Factorio Wiki] verwendet werden.

== Andere auf Energie bezogene {{TransLink|Tutorials}} ==
* [[Tutorial:Applied power math/de|Angewandte Leistungsmathematik]]
* [[Tutorial:Producing power from oil/de|Stromerzeugung aus Öl]]

Tutorial:Train signals

2021-12-11T05:13:16Z

AmericanPatriot: Mentioned that block colors are separate from signal colors.

{{Languages}}
[[Rail signal]]s are necessary to run a functioning rail system in Factorio. This tutorial explains why and when signals are used, what deadlocks are and where they can happen. The aim is to enable the reader to keep a rail system running smoothly and fix common issues. Examples of frequent use cases are shown.

For beginners who are just learning the usage of signals it is recommended to place radars near all intersections to help identify issues quickly. It is also recommended to set up automation for fueling trains as soon as possible whenever a new train or station is added to the system. Trains can either be fueled at one stop on their usual schedule (this may or may not involve transporting fuel to a station) or by adding a separate fuel station to the schedule.

== Regular signals and blocks ==

[[File:Why_signals.gif]]

Whenever there is more than one train on a track, there is the possibility that trains can crash into one another. To prevent trains from doing this, we place signals at intervals along the track and at crossings. A regular [[Rail signal|rail signal]] protects the rail block after it, up to the next signal or the end of the track. Signals ensure that only one train can be in any block. Whenever a second train would enter a block that already has a train in it, the train will wait at the signal leading into the block instead.

Rail blocks are shown with colors when a player has a signal in hand. These colors are only for visualization: the color of the signal will be displayed on the lights of the signal entity. The picture shows the block visualization, there are a total of eleven blocks. Rail signals (and chain signals) break up blocks, train stops do not.

[[File:Rail_blocks_example.png|1000px]]

A regular signal is green when there is no train on the block behind it. When a train enters the block, all signals going into the block will turn red. When a train is in the process of entering the block, the signal turns yellow for a short time before turning red.

Signals are placed on the right side of the track. Trains are only allowed to go past signals that are on the right hand side from direction of travel. A train in automatic mode will not drive on a track if it would pass a signal on the left side unless there is also a signal on the right side at that signal. This can sometimes cause a "no path" error where the track appears to be connected, but part of the connection is a one way track.

[[File:Signal_directions.png|1000px]]

In the image, the tracks are from top to bottom:
# left to right,
# right to left,
# bidirectional,
# bidirectional,
# bidirectional on the left side, splitting into a right to left (upper) and a left to right track (lower).

== Chain signals ==

Using signals prevents trains from crashing into each other but brings with itself other potential issues. Every train will wait until the block in front of it is cleared, so trains are waiting for other trains. This becomes a problem when a train starts waiting on an intersection. In that case other trains will have to wait even if they are not going in the same direction. These trains may in turn cause other trains to wait, resulting in a slowdown of the entire system. Traffic systems should avoid having trains waiting on intersections. In Factorio, [[Rail chain signal]]s are used to ensure that this cannot happen.

[[File:Chain-signal-guards-crossroad.png|1000px]]

The most important rule is that a train cannot wait for an extended period of time in a block ''after'' a chain signal, whereas it can wait in a block after a regular signal. Since trains should not wait on crossings, this leads to the commonly stated rule: Use chain signals in and before crossings and use regular signals at the exits of crossings. In general, whenever a waiting train would block another train that is going on a different track, a chain signal should be used to prevent the train from waiting.

[[File:Double-crossing.gif|1000px]]

How do chain signals work? To determine if a train is allowed to drive past a chain signal, consider the path the train will take from that signal up to the next regular signal or until it reaches the station, whichever comes first. The train is only allowed to go through if all rail blocks on this path are free. If the train goes through, it will reserve all blocks on this path and not allow other trains to pass through a block until it leaves the block. A chain signal which leads to a block that has only one outgoing signal will always have the same color as that signal. If a rail line splits up, it can happen that one outgoing signal is red and the other is green. In that case the chain signal leading into the block will turn blue to indicate that some paths are free while others are not.

[[File:Chain_signal_colors.png|1000px]]

If the rail network contains many chain signals it is possible that a very large number of blocks is reserved when a train drives by a chain signal. This would restrict other trains, reducing throughput in general. Hence it is often suggested to use regular signals whenever possible and chain signals only where they are necessary.

== Deadlocks ==

Using signals can lead to trains waiting for other trains. As a consequence, there might be a chain of trains, each waiting for the next, with the last waiting for the first. This situation is called a deadlock, because the trains will wait forever or until the situation is resolved manually. It should be avoided and resolved as soon as possible because every train going through the area will get stuck. The most frequent causes of deadlocks are
# trains waiting on intersections and
# a rail network that does not allow enough space for trains.

[[File:Deadlock_anim.gif]]

The image above shows a deadlock caused by missing chain signals since only regular rail signals were used. As a result trains can wait on a crossing which leads to a deadlock. A corrected version of this intersection can be found above. The eight signals before and on the intersection should be replaced by chain signals, the ones leading out of the intersection can stay as they are. As stated above, in general chain signals should be used before and on intersections.

[[File:Deadlock_too_many_trains.png|1000px]]

The deadlock in the image happened because there is a circle in the network which was used by more trains than can fit into the circle. The signals are correct; to fix the deadlock the circle must be removed or less trains need to be routed through this area.

[[File:Signal_deadlock.png|1000px]]

This deadlock also happened because there were too many trains in a too small circle. It shows that a deadlock can happen with as few as two trains. In this case the deadlock could also have been avoided by replacing the marked signal with a chain signal, because it would ensure that only one train can enter the offending circle. However this could lead to trains waiting on the main line, so a waiting area for trains near the station should be added.

== Signal spacing ==

[[File:Deadlock_signal_space.png|1000px]]

The image shows a deadlock between two T-junctions. It happened because while a train was waiting at the intersection, its tail end was still in the last intersection. The junctions when taken individually are signaled correctly, however, given the length of trains using them, they are too close to each other. One might argue that they form a single big intersection. There are three ways to fix this: the regular signals between the two junctions could be turned into chain signals, or the junctions could be moved further away from each other, or all trains could be shortened.

After an exit signal of a junction, the next signal must be at least far enough away to fit the ''longest'' train in the rail system between the signals. In general, after every regular signal there should be at least that much space.

It is recommended that you choose a maximum train length before designing your rail system, and stick to it. Then rail signal blocks can be spaced according to the maximum length.

== Splitting rail blocks ==

The following aims to explain where signals should be placed. Long uninterrupted rail tracks should have signals at regular intervals because this allows more trains to move on the track simultaneously leading to higher throughput. Crossings should be separated from uninterrupted rails with signals. Inside crossings, signals should be used so that multiple trains can pass through the crossing without slowing down - for example trains going in opposite directions should not have to slow down for each other, so they need to pass through different blocks inside an intersection. The examples below all follow these rules.

== Examples ==

The most common way to build a rail system is using two parallel rails, one for each direction. The examples mostly follow this architecture. A single bidirectional rail line should not be used for 'main' rail lines in most situations.

=== T-Junction ===

The image shows a basic three way junction. Rail signals have been placed inside the junction to ensure that more than one train can enter the junction in some cases. For example for one train going left to right and one going right to left, the trains will pass through different blocks: the first will go through the left yellow, the blue and the lower right yellow block; the second will use the upper yellow and upper red blocks. Because they use different blocks, they can use the junction simultaneously. While this is not strictly necessary for a junction to work, it will allow better throughput at a low cost.

<gallery mode="nolines" widths=800px heights=800px>

File:T_junction_9.png|{{BlueprintString|bp-string=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}}
</gallery>

=== Waiting area ===

If multiple trains use the same station, the trains will wait on the main rail line which leads to a traffic jam in the network and can cause deadlocks. One way to avoid this is to add waiting areas for trains at each station.

[[File:Train_waiting_area.png|800px]]

The image shows a shared waiting area for two stations. The signals leading into the waiting areas are regular signals because this is where trains are expected to wait for an extended time. The signals leading out of the waiting areas are chain signals because the track from the waiting areas to the stations should not be blocked. The stations are also in different blocks to make sure that all stations can be used simultaneously.

There are two ways to design waiting areas, parallel (as above) and sequential. The parallel version is easily extendable, takes less space and multiple stations can share a parallel waiting area. The sequential version as shown below is easier to set up but cannot be shared by multiple stations (and has very minor UPS benefits). Waiting areas are often referred to as stackers.

[[File:Train_waiting_area_sequential.png|800px]]

== See also ==

* [[Tutorials]]
* [[Railway]]
* [[Rail signal]]
* [[Rail chain signal]]

Stack

2021-06-28T23:40:33Z

AmericanPatriot: /* Stack size */

{{Languages}}
[[File:inventory_stacks.png|thumb|408px|right|Many stacks in the player's inventory.]]A stack is the basic element in Factorio to store items. One space in an inventory can hold one stack.

== Examples of stacks ==

* The [[player|player's]] inventory
** Main inventory
** The toolbelt ([[Player#Quickbar|quickbar]])
** Tool, armor, weapon, and ammunition stacks
** Logistic trash slots
** The player's hand (is also a stack)
* [[Vehicle]]s
** [[Car]] (fuel, ammunition, inventory)
** [[Tank]] (fuel, ammunition, inventory)
** [[Railway|Train]] (wagons, engines for fuel)
* [[Chests]]: The archetypal example of stacks outside the player's inventory; a chest is basically just a group of stacks.
* Devices
** [[Furnace]]: Burner stack ([[Stone furnace|stone]] and [[Steel furnace|steel]] furnace only), input and output stack
** [[Assembling machine]]s and [[chemical plant]]s: 1 or more output and 1-6 input stacks, depending on item type being assembled
** [[Lab|Labs]]
** Burner-based: [[Boiler]], [[burner mining drill]], [[burner inserter]]
** [[Roboport]] (filtered for robots and repair packs only)
** [[Gun turret]]
* Special
** [[Inserters]] and [[Robots|worker robots]] (Small, variable-size stacks allow these entities to move items between other stacks. See also the [[Inserter capacity bonus (research)|inserter]] and [[Worker robot cargo size (research)|robot]] stack size bonus research topics.)

== How do stacks work? ==

A stack can store a number of identical items.

The first inserted item determines which item types can be stored. This also indirectly determines how many items can be stored in the stack, as this depends on the item type's maximum stack size.

Only items can be stored within stacks; stacks cannot hold [[Fluid system|liquids]] or other entity types.

=== Stack size ===

The number of items a stack can store. Stack size depends on the item; existing stack sizes and (non-exhaustive) examples include (click to expand):

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
!style="width: 100px;" |Stack size
!Examples 
|-
| 1 || [[Nuclear fuel]], [[artillery shell]], [[satellite]], [[modular armor]], [[blueprint]].
|-
| 5 || [[Locomotive]], all [[Wagon|wagons]].
|-
| 10 || [[Roboport]], [[rocket fuel]], [[artillery turret]], [[atomic bomb]].
|-
| 20 || Some [[equipment modules]], [[pumpjack]]s.
|-
| 50 || All ores, [[stone]], [[coal]], all [[Module|modules]], [[electric mining drill]], [[electric furnace]], all [[Assembling machine|assemblers]], all [[chests]], all [[inserters]], [[gun turret]], [[laser turret]], all [[Electric_system#Distribution|power poles]] including [[substation]], both types of [[Robots|worker robots]], [[solid fuel]].
|-
| 100 || [[Iron plate]], [[copper plate]], [[steel plate]], [[processing unit]], [[iron gear wheel]], [[stone brick]], all types of [[concrete]], both isotopes of [[Uranium processing|processed uranium]], [[pipe]] (regular), all [[Belt transport system|belts]], [[wall]], [[landfill]].
|-
| 200 || [[Electronic circuit]], [[advanced circuit]], all types of [[Ammunition#Magazines|magazine]], all types of [[tank]] [[Ammunition#Tank shells|cannon shell]], [[copper cable]], both colors of circuit [[Circuit network|wire]], all types of [[science pack]] except space science pack.
|-
| 2,000 || Unique to [[space science pack]], present to allow stacking up to 2 [[Rocket|rockets]]' worth of packs in the [[rocket silo]]'s single output slot.
|}

=== Filtered stacks ===

Stacks can be filtered either by default (in burner-type entities, [[furnace]]s, [[roboport]]s, [[turret]]s, [[lab]]s, and other entities that can only accept one or a few item types in a particular slot), or manually by the player (normally set via the middle mouse button / scroll-wheel click, see [[Keyboard bindings]]). Manual filtering is available for [[cargo wagon]]s, the [[Player#Quickbar|quickbar]], and the player inventory, but not for other types of containers (in particular, [[chests]] of any type).

This can be used to ensure only one item type goes into the inventory space. [[Inserters]] (or [[Robots|bots]], where applicable) will not attempt to insert anything except the allowed item type into filtered slots, and manual insertion of other item types by the player is also not allowed unless and until the filter is cleared.

=== Damaged items ===

Damaged items (i.e, damaged entities now stored as items) stack with other damaged items (of the same type), but not with undamaged items. When items with different amounts of damage are stacked together, the health of the items is averaged.

=== Items with durability ===

Items with durability, such as [[science pack]]s and [[repair pack]]s, always stack with items of the same type, regardless of how much durability remains. The durability displayed on the stack is the durability of the first item. After that item is removed from the stack, a stack of items with full durabilities remains. This means that when multiple items with durabilities are stacked together, their durabilities are merged, which can result in a lower overall item count while the overall remaining durability stays the same.

== Stack size bonuses ==

Inserters and logistic robots can be boosted with research to hold and transfer more items, see:

* [[Inserter capacity bonus (research)]]
* [[Worker robot cargo size (research)]]

== Stack limitation ==

[[File:Stack limiter.jpg|300px|thumb|frame|A [[wooden chest]] limited to three stacks. Once the third stack is full, inserters will no longer attempt to add items.]]

Optionally, the usable space in [[chests]] and [[Cargo wagon|wagons]] can be decreased below their default values. Typically, this is done to store a small amount of items in an automated process, without consuming the resources that would be required to fill the entire container.

To limit a container, click the red X at the end of the last stack. Then, click on one of the stacks to set the new limit. The unused stacks will be highlighted red (see right).

When full, inserters will no longer add to a limited container. However, the player is still free to manually place items in the unused (red) slots.

== Handling stacks ==

There are some [[keyboard bindings]] to quickly handle movement of stacks between inventories, like moving half of a stack to another stack.

== History ==

In game version 0.10, the number of items which can be stored in a stack changed for most items from powers of 2 to multiples of 10. This change was mainly made because most people find it more intuitive to calculate numbers in a base-10 system.

Example: Before the change, a stack could store 64 iron ore, while after the change it is 50. This created some controversy, as some players preferred the old stack sizes.

File:Blueprint-example-03.png

2021-03-22T05:45:12Z

AmericanPatriot: AmericanPatriot uploaded a new version of File:Blueprint-example-03.png

File:Blueprint-example-03.png

2021-03-22T05:44:09Z

AmericanPatriot: AmericanPatriot uploaded a new version of File:Blueprint-example-03.png

File:Blueprint-example-03.png

2021-03-22T05:41:59Z

AmericanPatriot: AmericanPatriot uploaded a new version of File:Blueprint-example-03.png

File:Factorio Blueprint MapView.jpg

2021-03-22T05:34:59Z

AmericanPatriot: AmericanPatriot uploaded a new version of File:Factorio Blueprint MapView.jpg

== Summary ==
Shows a blueprint that is about to be placed in map view.
{{Screenshot}}

Blueprint

2021-03-22T05:34:24Z

AmericanPatriot: /* Placing the blueprint */

{{Languages}}
{{:Infobox:Blueprint}}

'''Blueprints''' are items that contain building layouts. Blueprints are used to 'copy & paste' parts of a factory. Built areas can be selected for inclusion in a blueprint. When a blueprint is placed, a [[ghost]] of the layout appears on the ground. This can be used as a guide for manually placing factory pieces, or, more commonly, handed over to [[construction robot]]s for automated completion.

Blueprints can be stored in a [[blueprint book]] or [[blueprint library]] to prevent them occupying inventory space or for organization or sharing purposes.

== Achievements ==
{{Achievement|automated-construction}}
{{Achievement|you-are-doing-it-right}}

== Usage ==

Blank blueprints can be crafted by clicking the ( [[File:Blueprint_button.png|20px]] ) button in the [[shortcut bar]].

The blank blueprint can now be used to 'copy' a set of buildings.

For example, copying this small laser defense setup:

[[File:Blueprint-example-01.png]]

=== Create a blueprint ===

To create a blueprint select the blueprint item out of the toolbar or the inventory.
With the blueprint icon shown next to the mouse cursor, click and hold the left mouse button and drag a box as large as needed (which can be cancelled by pressing {{key|Q}}).
All buildings which will be included in the blueprint will be highlighted with a green square.
Once everything to 'copy' is inside the drag box, release the mouse button, and the 'Blueprint icon setup' menu will open.

[[File:Blueprint-example-02.png‎]]

=== Blueprint icon setup ===

On the top left of the "Setup new blueprint" menu there are four icon slots.
The game chooses automatically the number of icons and which are pre-selected depending on the number of buildings that are included.
This can be changed by simply clicking on the icons to choose the desired ones.
On the left the 'Total' number of components included in the blueprint is shown.

The green "Create blueprint" button creates the blueprint. Additionally, blueprint creation can be cancelled by clicking the X in the top right corner.
Canceling the blueprint does not consume the blueprint item. The created blueprint will replace the empty blueprint in the player's cursor.

[[File:Blueprint-example-03.png‎]]

=== Placing the blueprint ===

To use/place the created blueprint select it from the tool belt or inventory.
The whole building setup of the blueprint will be shown at your mouse cursor.
In this case the Blueprint was renamed to "Example blueprint".
It is possible to place it rotated, press the default key {{keybinding|r}} to rotate.
The blueprint can be placed anywhere inside the green (or orange) 110×110 tiles area of a [[roboport]], or within range of a [[personal roboport]] installed in [[modular armor]] or [[spidertron]].

[[File:Blueprint-example-04.png‎]]

After the blueprint gets placed somewhere, the buildings are placed as ghost buildings.
[[Construction robot]]s will now start to pick up the needed items from the construction network/the player inventory (if using a personal roboport) and place them at the ghost buildings.
The required items need to be in the network in an [[active provider chest]], a [[passive provider chest]], a [[buffer chest]] or a [[storage chest]].

[[File:Blueprint-example-05.png‎]]

Blueprints can be placed from map view as long as the area has been explored.

[[File:Factorio_Blueprint_MapView.jpg|450px]]

=== Viewing and clearing a blueprint ===

Right clicking on a blueprint allows you to view, edit and clear it.
By clearing it, it will become blank so it can be set again.

== Importing/Exporting blueprints ==

It is possible to export blueprints as a text string and import said text string to create a new blueprint. This makes sharing blueprints between players very easy. 
Clicking the '''Export to string''' button ( [[File:ExportToString.png|25px]] ) in the top right of the blueprint edit window will pop up a window containing the '''Blueprint string'''. This string can be copied to the operating system clipboard, from where it could be saved to a text file or uploaded to a website.

To import a blueprint, the player can click the '''Import string''' icon on the [[shortcut bar]] ( [[File:ImportString.png|25px]] ). A dialogue box will appear into which the string can be pasted. This will result in a blueprint appearing on the hand with the same setup as the one that was exported.

The text string itself is a base64 encoded, compressed JSON string which contains all the information of the blueprint. It is therefore possible to decode/decompress the text string, change attributes of the blueprint in the JSON text and finally re-encode/compress it back to the known text string format. This basically allows blueprint editing outside of the game itself.

A complete explanation of the blueprint JSON can be found on the [[blueprint string format]] page.

== Additional information ==

* Once a blueprint is created, it can be used an unlimited amount of times.
* To place a blueprint that is blocked by existing buildings, you can hold {{key|Shift}} to place the objects that aren't blocked.
* The above trick will also mark [[rock]]s and [[tree]]s for deconstruction.
* Buildings marked for [[Deconstruction planner|destruction]] will not block placing a blueprint. The blueprinted building cannot be placed if there are any buildings in the way. This can cause an item outside the construction zone to block construction of a 2×2 building on the edge of the zone.
* The maximum of size a blueprint is 10k by 10k [[Map_structure#Tile|tiles]].

== History ==
{{history|0.17.10|
* "Make blueprint" function is now accessible via keyboard shortcut.}}

{{history|0.17.0|
* Trains can be blueprinted.}}

{{history|0.15.24|
* In multiplayer, admins are allowed to modify other players' blueprints in the library, including deleting them.}}

{{history|0.15.3|
* Blueprints can be destroyed by clicking the trash can icon in the GUI.}}

{{history|0.15.0|
* [[Blueprint library]] introduced: Allows for keeping player's blueprints between individual game saves and allows sharing blueprints in multiplayer games. Also serves as unlimited inventory space for blueprints.
* The build rotation of each blueprint is remembered independently of the general item build rotation.
* Alternative select with blueprints (shift + select) skips the blueprint setup GUI.
* Added ability to export and import blueprints, blueprint books, and deconstruction planners as strings.
* Blueprints, blueprint books and deconstruction planners are obtainable from the library GUI with no crafting cost.}}

{{history|0.14.15|
* Changed the clear blueprint icon to the trashcan icon and moved it to the left of the cancel button, to make it less confusing for users.}}

{{history|0.13.13|
* Added [http://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/LuaEntityPrototype.html entity prototype flags] not-blueprintable and not-deconstructable, so these can be controlled by mod makers.}}

{{history|0.13.9|
* Added tips and tricks for pasting wagon slots and cycling in [[blueprint book]].}}

{{history|0.13.7|
* Rocks can be mined while holding blueprints.}}

{{history|0.13.5|
* Blueprints with labels will now show the label when holding them in the active hand.}}

{{history|0.13.0|
* Blueprints can now be edited.
* Added the [[blueprint book]] item, can hold multiple blueprints in one item.
* Modules are now supported by blueprints.
* Optimized drawing of connections between [[roboport]]s in blueprints.
* [[Circuit network#Virtual_signals|Virtual signals]] can be used in blueprint icons.
}}

{{history|0.12.2|
* Enabled swapping held blueprints with other blueprints directly.
* Force building blueprints will mark colliding trees for deconstruction.}}

{{history|0.12.0|
* Enabled mining trees/ghosts while holding blueprints to be built.
* Building blueprints over existing ghosts restores the ghost's life time.
* Proper blueprint centering.
}}

{{history|0.11.18|
* Blueprints can be built over things marked for deconstruction.
* Blueprints can be force built by shift clicking.
}}

{{history|0.11.10|
* Added [http://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/LuaItemStack.html Lua API] for reading/writing information from blueprints.}}

{{history|0.10.2|
* The rotation of turrets in blueprints no longer matters when testing for entity collision.}}

{{history|0.10.0|
* Blueprints can copy [[circuit network]] connections.
* Miners in blueprints are now ignored if they are non-functional.
* An [[inserter]]'s logistic conditions are copied when blueprinting.
}}

{{history|0.9.4|
* Limit the size of the blueprint preview, so it is usable for very large blueprints.}}

{{history|0.9.2|
* The [[train stop]] and [[lab]] built from blueprints are now given dedicated names.}}

{{history|0.9.0|
*Introduced}}

== See also ==
* [[Deconstruction planner]]
* [[Upgrade planner]]
* [[Blueprint book]]
* [[Logistic network]]
* [[Roboport]]
* [[Personal roboport]]
* [[Construction robot]]
* [[Blueprint string format]]

{{ProductionNav}}
{{C|Tools}}

Tutorial:Nuclear power

2021-02-20T18:14:19Z

AmericanPatriot: /* Heat pipes */

{{Languages}}[[Nuclear power]] is a major new feature introduced in version 0.15. It requires higher level technology compared to either solar power or steam boiler power, but it offers very high power output in exchange. It's a great solution for middle- to end-game power generation and it works well in combination with other power generation techniques.

This guide is written for people who want to know exactly how nuclear power works, but don't necessarily want all the solutions. It focuses on what you should do and what you should know to get Nuclear up and running, but doesn't tell you what to do or exactly how to solve the problems.

== First steps ==

:'''Technology required:''' [[Nuclear power (research)|Nuclear power]]
:''You can mine uranium ore sooner, but you'll need the nuclear power technology to do anything useful with it.''

=== [[Uranium ore]] ===
To start, you'll need uranium ore. It glows green, so you can't miss it. It tends to form smaller deposits, though, and you may have to search a while to find a good patch.

Like every other ore in the game, you can mine it with an [[electric mining drill|Electric mining drill]]. Unlike every other ore, however, only the [[electric mining drill| Electric mining drill]] will do. You also need to supply [[sulfuric acid]] to the drill. The drills conduct excess acid through themselves, so a row of drills can be supplied by acid from a single side.

:'''Mixed ores:''' If a mining drill covers even a single patch of uranium ore, acid must be supplied to the miner or the mining drill will stop running once it encounters the uranium ore. The miner will produce mixed ore, as usual.

=== [[Uranium processing|Ore processing]] ===
Once you've got raw uranium ore, you'll need to process it into [[uranium-235]] and [[uranium-238]]. You do this in a centrifuge.

In an un-moduled [[centrifuge]], you can process ten ore every 12 seconds.

Centrifuges produce a combination of U-235 (the light green stuff) and U-238 (the dark green stuff). Every ten ore processed have a chance to become precisely one of these two products. Out of every 10k ore you process, you can expect to get, on average:

{| class="wikitable" |-
! Count !! Product
|-
| 7 || U-235
|-
| 993 || U-238
|}

That means you can roughly expect to get a single U-235 in one out of every 1428 ore. A centrifuge can then be expected to produce U-235 every 1716 seconds. Later on, this won't matter so much. However, when you first start out, this will be an important bottleneck.

:'''Regarding averages:''' Be aware, random is random. These values are ''average'' values. Which means that over the long term, they work out to about these figures. In reality, you'll see long stretches with no U-235 and short stretches with lots of them. Eventually, it won't matter much. But early on, make sure your generation rate is sufficiently high, or you have a sufficient reserve, so you don't find yourself without power when you hit an unlucky stretch.

=== Fuel ===
Before you can burn it in a nuclear reactor, you need to create [[uranium fuel cell]]s. You'll probably be using an assembling machine 2, so these will take 13.3 seconds to create as well. Which is fine because fuel cell creation will very rarely be the bottleneck.

You won't want to automatically convert all U-235 into fuel. Only convert what you need to fill your reactor. You're going to want a big fat stockpile of it when you research [[Kovarex enrichment process|kovarex enrichment]] later on.

Fuel cells are produced in stacks of 10, and to produce one such stack you need 1 U-235, 19 U-238, and 10 iron plate.

:'''Tip:''' It isn't a bad idea to use a chest and just stick a pile of iron in it rather than belting the iron in. A full chest of iron probably won't run out before you get bots and replace it with a requester.

Each fuel cell has a nominal energy value of 8 GJ, but it's possible to make them go even farther with reactor neighbor bonuses (more on that later).

=== [[Nuclear reactor]] ===
Once you've got fuel, you'll need to burn it in a nuclear reactor. This is the first step toward turning it into usable energy.

A reactor will produce exactly 40 MW of heat energy. Since a Watt is a Joule per second, this means the reactor will consume one fuel cell every 200 seconds.

Once expended, reactors will produce a "[[used up uranium fuel cell]]", which will need to be cleared. Initially, these will simply accumulate in a chest. Eventually, you can reprocess them into U-238.

:'''Working backward:''' A reactor consumes a fuel cell every 200 seconds and each U-235 gives 10 fuel cells, so every U-235 provides 2000 seconds of reactor power. A centrifuge requires about 1714 seconds to produce a U-235, so you'll need about one processing centrifuges per reactor.

The reactor needs input of fuel and produces heat that needs to be exported using [[heat pipe]]s that go to a [[heat exchanger]] (unless a [[heat exchanger]] is attached to the reactor).

=== [[Heat exchanger]] ===
The heat exchanger takes heat and uses it to convert [[water]] into [[steam]]. It works much like the boiler, but instead of burning fuel, you need to connect it to a heat source. The heat input is marked by a flame when you're placing it.

For simple reactor designs, you can connect it directly to your reactor (which produces heat at points also marked with a flame).

Heat exchangers also require water input, in precisely the way boilers do. They can heat up to 103.09 units/second of water into 500°C steam.

Heat exchangers produce nothing when they are below 500°C. Since they only cool as a consequence of heating water, they will never cool to below that temperature once they've reached it.

Heat exchangers transfer 10 MW of power, so you'll need 4 exchangers to fully consume the power produced by a lone reactor. (Neighbor bonuses can increase this significantly. Again, discussed later.)

The [[steam]] can then be transported to the [[Steam turbine]] using normal [[Pipe]]s

==== [[Heat pipe]]s ====
More complex designs will require heat pipes. Heat pipes work much like regular pipes. Like regular pipes, they have limited throughput, which means that shorter pipes are better.

Connect heat pipes point to point, flame to flame, exactly as you would with water pipes. Heat pipes cannot go underground, so if water pipes need to cross them, the water pipe will need to go under. They don't block movement, though, so you can walk right over them.

Throughput on heat pipes is far more limited than regular pipes, in part because there is no analogous "Heat pump". Here are some rough limits on transfer distance:

{| class="wikitable" |-
! Power !! Distance
|-
| 40 MW || ~140
|-
| 80 MW || ~80
|-
| 120 MW || ~55
|-
| 160 MW || ~45
|}

Past these distances, less than 100% of the power will be transferred. This is because at this distance, the heat from the reactor does not travel fast enough to heat the pipe to beyond 500ºC in a running setup. However, if the heat is unused, the heat will spread much farther, because there is no heat loss over time or distance, so it builds up until it is used again.

:'''Heat pipe storage:''' Heat pipes can store quite a bit of heat as well. A single heat pipe can hold as much energy as a tank with 5.1k steam in it, which makes them even more space efficient than tanks for holding energy (though considerably more expensive). Be cautious, however, with how slowly heat moves through the system. A reactor always burns fuel if provided but will never go above 1000 degrees. Insufficient heat pipes may not send enough heat to exchangers and will allow the reactor to hit 1000 degrees at which point fuel is being wasted - heat is going into nothing rather than exchangers.

Throughput may also be though of in terms of exchangers per pipe:
{| class="wikitable" |-
! Exchangers (per side) !! Exchangers (one side) !! Distance before start
|-
| 15 || 20 || 0
|-
| 14 || 20 || 2
|-
| 13 || 19 || 4
|-
|}
(Note that the last exchanger in the row will not work at 100% capacity)

[[File:Heat_exchangers_per_pipe.png]]

=== [[Steam turbine]] ===
These are the steam engine's beefy big brother. Using regular fluid pipes, you'll pipe the steam produced by heat exchangers into these turbines.

:'''Perfect matches:''' The steam turbine is a perfect match for the heat exchanger. The steam engine is a perfect match for the boiler. Although it is possible to get energy out of mismatched systems, it's very wasteful and there's no real reason to do it.

Steam turbines consume up to 60 units of steam/second, so you need roughly two steam turbines for every heat exchanger. At large scales, however, you can use fewer turbines, since exchangers only produce 103.09 steam/second. You'll require a separate pump for every 20 turbines.

=== Simplest thing that works ===
At this point, you have all the parts to build your very first reactor:

* A few uranium miners, supplied with sulfuric acid
* 1 Centrifuge, processing uranium ore
* 1 Assembling machine, making uranium fuel cells
* 1 Nuclear reactor
* 4 Heat exchangers, supplied by a single off-shore pump
* 8 Steam turbines

And, of course, assorted belts, inserters, filter inserters, and other tools for moving things around. This will produce a maximum of 40 MW of power.

== Moving forward ==
Past your simplest reactor, there are some additional nuclear features of which you should be aware.

=== Neighbor bonus ===
This is a critical part of how nuclear designs scale, but it's not complicated. Simply put:

'''Every reactor gets +100% heating power for every active neighboring reactor.'''

Neighbors have to align completely on each side, so reactors will line up in a nice square grid. When they do, the neighbor bonus is activated. You can see the current bonus by hovering over an active reactor.

The bonus to heating power does not increase the fuel consumption. Rather, it simply increases the heat produced!

This, of course, means you'll need more heat exchangers and steam turbines to turn that heat into electricity.

{| class="wikitable" |-
! Configuration !! Reactors !! Exchangers !! Turbines !! Power !! Power per reactor
|-
| Single || 1 || 4 || 7 || 40MW || 40MW
|-
| 2x1 || 2 || 16 || 28 || 160MW || 80MW
|-
| 2x2 || 4 || 48 || 83 || 480MW || 120MW
|-
| 2x3 || 6 || 80 || 138 || 800MW || 133MW
|-
| 2x4 || 8 || 112 || 193 || 1120MW || 140MW
|-
| 2x5 || 10 || 144 || 248 || 1440MW || 144MW
|-
| 2x6 || 12 || 176 || 303 || 1760MW || 147MW
|-
| 2x7 || 14 || 208 || 358 || 2080MW || 149MW
|-
| 2x8 || 16 || 240 || 413 || 2400MW || 150MW
|}

'''How to count heat exchangers:''' Count the number of edges where reactors fully touch. Double that. Add the total number of reactors. Then multiply it all by 4. That's your count of Heat Exchangers. You'll need 1.718 turbines per exchanger (rounded up). Each exchanger will provide up to 10 MW of power.

=== Always on! ===
Unlike every other power generation technique, nuclear reactors '''DO NOT''' scale down power usage. Nuclear reactors will continue consuming one fuel cell every 200 seconds, regardless of the need.

As the reactor consumes its fuel, it heats up to a maximum temperature of 1000°C. At that point, additional fuel burned is simply wasted. This is the only way to lose energy in the system as all heat transfers are perfectly efficient.

Turbines do scale their production (and steam consumption) to match demand. Likewise, exchangers won't consume heat if there's nowhere to put the steam.

:'''Turbines and engines:''' Be aware that steam turbines and steam engines are both the same "class" of energy producer, so they'll need to be scaled all together. This means that in a complete energy system, your coal boilers may be running when the nuclear plant could fully cover the load. And, worse yet, the nuclear power is just being wasted!
:Consider using accumulators, switches, and circuit logic to disable the coal boilers when nuclear systems can cover the demand.

The simplest solution to this problem is to just run the nuclear reactors part of the time. You can store steam in tanks. (And check out the "fill gauge"; the steam floats!) Since exchanges produce 103 steam/second and a tank holds 25k steam, a tank will keep 242.5 seconds worth of heat exchanger.

You can put a tank or two at the end of each heat exchanger and use circuit logic to only insert a fuel into the reactors when they get low. Make sure all reactors are fueled at the same time, or you won't get full reactor neighbor bonuses. If you can't keep it from over-fueling, you can also add extra tanks to lengthen the cycle.

=== Enrichment ===
:'''Required technology:''' [[Kovarex enrichment process (research)|Kovarex enrichment process]]
:''Kovarex Enrichment allows you to turn some U-238 into U-235, but it's slow and takes a lot of U-235 as catalyst.''

Your first few patches of uranium ore will last you a reasonable length of time, but eventually you will start running out of ore and places to put extraneous U-238. Enrichment helps solve both problems.

The enrichment process takes 60 seconds in an un-moduled centrifuge. It requires 40 U-235 (!) and 5 U-238 and makes 41 U-235 and 2 U-238. In effect, it takes 3 U-238 and turns it into 1 U-235; it just requires an extra 40 U-235 and 2 U-238 along for the ride to act as a catalyst.

:'''All the things!:''' Before you ''enrich all the things!'', be aware that you do need 19 U-238 for each fuel cell, as well as requiring it for uranium ammo you will want for storing inside biters and their nests. Circuit logic can help you put a limiter on large-scale enrichment operations.

One un-moduled Centrifuge enriching uranium is sufficient to supply 33.33 reactors with fuel, assuming plenty of U-238. One Centrifuge with two Productivity modules is enough to supply 25.2 reactors, one Centrifuge with two Productivity modules 3 is enough to supply 28 reactors.

=== Reprocessing fuel ===
:'''Required technology:''' [[Nuclear fuel reprocessing (research)|Nuclear fuel reprocessing]]
:''Reprocessing turns your spent fuel into U-238.''

Eventually, you will run out of places to put spent fuel. You can use reprocessing to turn it back into U-238 to use for enrichment, fuel cells, or ammo. Of the 19 U-238 that go into each 10-pack of fuel cells, this returns 6. This significantly reduces the total ore requirement for nuclear fuel.

=== Weapons ===
:'''Required technology:''' [[Uranium ammo (research)|Uranium ammo]] / [[Atomic bomb (research)|Atomic bomb]]
:''Better bullets / Bigger bombs''

With the Nuclear Age comes nuclear weapons. Uranium ammunition is top-tier, especially when you load a tank with it. It mows down biter nests and clears swarms quite quickly. It uses U-238, so you've probably got plenty of it lying around.

On the other side, you can get [[atomic bomb]]s, which are rockets (shot by a [[rocket launcher]]) that do incredible damage. Be aware, they can easily kill you if you fire them anywhere near you, and even at max range, it's advised that you run in the opposite direction. Rather than a single explosion, they do damage in an expanding ring, giving you time to escape. They require a lot of U-235 and blue chips, so they're an expensive weapon.

== Version ==
This guide is compatible with Factorio 0.17, 0.16 and 0.15.13+.

: This guide was originally written by ''alficles'' and published on [https://gist.github.com/alficles/972796997d1bc40d57866b0a3725895a gist].
:'''License:''' [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ CC BY-SA 4.0]
:As an exception to the above, any or all of this work or adaptations thereof may be used on the official [https://wiki.factorio.com Factorio Wiki].

== Other power related [[tutorials]] ==
* [[Tutorial:Applied power math|Applied power math]]
* [[Tutorial:Producing power from oil|Producing power from oil]]

Tutorial:Nuclear power

2021-02-19T23:47:29Z

AmericanPatriot: /* Heat pipes */

{{Languages}}[[Nuclear power]] is a major new feature introduced in version 0.15. It requires higher level technology compared to either solar power or steam boiler power, but it offers very high power output in exchange. It's a great solution for middle- to end-game power generation and it works well in combination with other power generation techniques.

This guide is written for people who want to know exactly how nuclear power works, but don't necessarily want all the solutions. It focuses on what you should do and what you should know to get Nuclear up and running, but doesn't tell you what to do or exactly how to solve the problems.

== First steps ==

:'''Technology required:''' [[Nuclear power (research)|Nuclear power]]
:''You can mine uranium ore sooner, but you'll need the nuclear power technology to do anything useful with it.''

=== [[Uranium ore]] ===
To start, you'll need uranium ore. It glows green, so you can't miss it. It tends to form smaller deposits, though, and you may have to search a while to find a good patch.

Like every other ore in the game, you can mine it with an [[electric mining drill|Electric mining drill]]. Unlike every other ore, however, only the [[electric mining drill| Electric mining drill]] will do. You also need to supply [[sulfuric acid]] to the drill. The drills conduct excess acid through themselves, so a row of drills can be supplied by acid from a single side.

:'''Mixed ores:''' If a mining drill covers even a single patch of uranium ore, acid must be supplied to the miner or the mining drill will stop running once it encounters the uranium ore. The miner will produce mixed ore, as usual.

=== [[Uranium processing|Ore processing]] ===
Once you've got raw uranium ore, you'll need to process it into [[uranium-235]] and [[uranium-238]]. You do this in a centrifuge.

In an un-moduled [[centrifuge]], you can process ten ore every 12 seconds.

Centrifuges produce a combination of U-235 (the light green stuff) and U-238 (the dark green stuff). Every ten ore processed have a chance to become precisely one of these two products. Out of every 10k ore you process, you can expect to get, on average:

{| class="wikitable" |-
! Count !! Product
|-
| 7 || U-235
|-
| 993 || U-238
|}

That means you can roughly expect to get a single U-235 in one out of every 1428 ore. A centrifuge can then be expected to produce U-235 every 1716 seconds. Later on, this won't matter so much. However, when you first start out, this will be an important bottleneck.

:'''Regarding averages:''' Be aware, random is random. These values are ''average'' values. Which means that over the long term, they work out to about these figures. In reality, you'll see long stretches with no U-235 and short stretches with lots of them. Eventually, it won't matter much. But early on, make sure your generation rate is sufficiently high, or you have a sufficient reserve, so you don't find yourself without power when you hit an unlucky stretch.

=== Fuel ===
Before you can burn it in a nuclear reactor, you need to create [[uranium fuel cell]]s. You'll probably be using an assembling machine 2, so these will take 13.3 seconds to create as well. Which is fine because fuel cell creation will very rarely be the bottleneck.

You won't want to automatically convert all U-235 into fuel. Only convert what you need to fill your reactor. You're going to want a big fat stockpile of it when you research [[Kovarex enrichment process|kovarex enrichment]] later on.

Fuel cells are produced in stacks of 10, and to produce one such stack you need 1 U-235, 19 U-238, and 10 iron plate.

:'''Tip:''' It isn't a bad idea to use a chest and just stick a pile of iron in it rather than belting the iron in. A full chest of iron probably won't run out before you get bots and replace it with a requester.

Each fuel cell has a nominal energy value of 8 GJ, but it's possible to make them go even farther with reactor neighbor bonuses (more on that later).

=== [[Nuclear reactor]] ===
Once you've got fuel, you'll need to burn it in a nuclear reactor. This is the first step toward turning it into usable energy.

A reactor will produce exactly 40 MW of heat energy. Since a Watt is a Joule per second, this means the reactor will consume one fuel cell every 200 seconds.

Once expended, reactors will produce a "[[used up uranium fuel cell]]", which will need to be cleared. Initially, these will simply accumulate in a chest. Eventually, you can reprocess them into U-238.

:'''Working backward:''' A reactor consumes a fuel cell every 200 seconds and each U-235 gives 10 fuel cells, so every U-235 provides 2000 seconds of reactor power. A centrifuge requires about 1714 seconds to produce a U-235, so you'll need about one processing centrifuges per reactor.

The reactor needs input of fuel and produces heat that needs to be exported using [[heat pipe]]s that go to a [[heat exchanger]] (unless a [[heat exchanger]] is attached to the reactor).

=== [[Heat exchanger]] ===
The heat exchanger takes heat and uses it to convert [[water]] into [[steam]]. It works much like the boiler, but instead of burning fuel, you need to connect it to a heat source. The heat input is marked by a flame when you're placing it.

For simple reactor designs, you can connect it directly to your reactor (which produces heat at points also marked with a flame).

Heat exchangers also require water input, in precisely the way boilers do. They can heat up to 103.09 units/second of water into 500°C steam.

Heat exchangers produce nothing when they are below 500°C. Since they only cool as a consequence of heating water, they will never cool to below that temperature once they've reached it.

Heat exchangers transfer 10 MW of power, so you'll need 4 exchangers to fully consume the power produced by a lone reactor. (Neighbor bonuses can increase this significantly. Again, discussed later.)

The [[steam]] can then be transported to the [[Steam turbine]] using normal [[Pipe]]s

==== [[Heat pipe]]s ====
More complex designs will require heat pipes. Heat pipes work much like regular pipes. Like regular pipes, they have limited throughput, which means that shorter pipes are better.

Connect heat pipes point to point, flame to flame, exactly as you would with water pipes. Heat pipes cannot go underground, so if water pipes need to cross them, the water pipe will need to go under. They don't block movement, though, so you can walk right over them.

Throughput on heat pipes is far more limited than regular pipes, in part because there is no analogous "Heat pump". Here are some rough limits on transfer distance:

{| class="wikitable" |-
! Power !! Distance
|-
| 40 MW || ~140
|-
| 80 MW || ~80
|-
| 120 MW || ~55
|-
| 160 MW || ~45
|}

Past these distances, less than 100% of the power will be transferred. This is because at this distance, the heat from the reactor does not travel fast enough to heat the pipe to beyond 500ºC in a running setup. However, if the heat is unused, the heat will spread much farther, because there is no heat loss over time or distance, so it builds up until it is used again.

:'''Heat pipe storage:''' Heat pipes can store quite a bit of heat as well. A single heat pipe can hold as much energy as a tank with 5.1k steam in it, which makes them even more space efficient than tanks for holding energy (though considerably more expensive). Be cautious, however, with how slowly heat moves through the system. A reactor always burns fuel if provided but will never go above 1000 degrees. Insufficient heat pipes may not send enough heat to exchangers and will allow the reactor to hit 1000 degrees at which point fuel is being wasted - heat is going into nothing rather than exchangers.

Throughput may also be though of in terms of exchangers per pipe:
{| class="wikitable" |-
! Exchangers (per side) !! Exchangers (one side) !! Distance before start
|-
| 15 || 20 || 0
|-
| 14 || 20 || 2
|-
| 13 || 19 || 4
|-
|}

[[File:Heat_exchangers_per_pipe.png]]

=== [[Steam turbine]] ===
These are the steam engine's beefy big brother. Using regular fluid pipes, you'll pipe the steam produced by heat exchangers into these turbines.

:'''Perfect matches:''' The steam turbine is a perfect match for the heat exchanger. The steam engine is a perfect match for the boiler. Although it is possible to get energy out of mismatched systems, it's very wasteful and there's no real reason to do it.

Steam turbines consume up to 60 units of steam/second, so you need roughly two steam turbines for every heat exchanger. At large scales, however, you can use fewer turbines, since exchangers only produce 103.09 steam/second. You'll require a separate pump for every 20 turbines.

=== Simplest thing that works ===
At this point, you have all the parts to build your very first reactor:

* A few uranium miners, supplied with sulfuric acid
* 1 Centrifuge, processing uranium ore
* 1 Assembling machine, making uranium fuel cells
* 1 Nuclear reactor
* 4 Heat exchangers, supplied by a single off-shore pump
* 8 Steam turbines

And, of course, assorted belts, inserters, filter inserters, and other tools for moving things around. This will produce a maximum of 40 MW of power.

== Moving forward ==
Past your simplest reactor, there are some additional nuclear features of which you should be aware.

=== Neighbor bonus ===
This is a critical part of how nuclear designs scale, but it's not complicated. Simply put:

'''Every reactor gets +100% heating power for every active neighboring reactor.'''

Neighbors have to align completely on each side, so reactors will line up in a nice square grid. When they do, the neighbor bonus is activated. You can see the current bonus by hovering over an active reactor.

The bonus to heating power does not increase the fuel consumption. Rather, it simply increases the heat produced!

This, of course, means you'll need more heat exchangers and steam turbines to turn that heat into electricity.

{| class="wikitable" |-
! Configuration !! Reactors !! Exchangers !! Turbines !! Power !! Power per reactor
|-
| Single || 1 || 4 || 7 || 40MW || 40MW
|-
| 2x1 || 2 || 16 || 28 || 160MW || 80MW
|-
| 2x2 || 4 || 48 || 83 || 480MW || 120MW
|-
| 2x3 || 6 || 80 || 138 || 800MW || 133MW
|-
| 2x4 || 8 || 112 || 193 || 1120MW || 140MW
|-
| 2x5 || 10 || 144 || 248 || 1440MW || 144MW
|-
| 2x6 || 12 || 176 || 303 || 1760MW || 147MW
|-
| 2x7 || 14 || 208 || 358 || 2080MW || 149MW
|-
| 2x8 || 16 || 240 || 413 || 2400MW || 150MW
|}

'''How to count heat exchangers:''' Count the number of edges where reactors fully touch. Double that. Add the total number of reactors. Then multiply it all by 4. That's your count of Heat Exchangers. You'll need 1.718 turbines per exchanger (rounded up). Each exchanger will provide up to 10 MW of power.

=== Always on! ===
Unlike every other power generation technique, nuclear reactors '''DO NOT''' scale down power usage. Nuclear reactors will continue consuming one fuel cell every 200 seconds, regardless of the need.

As the reactor consumes its fuel, it heats up to a maximum temperature of 1000°C. At that point, additional fuel burned is simply wasted. This is the only way to lose energy in the system as all heat transfers are perfectly efficient.

Turbines do scale their production (and steam consumption) to match demand. Likewise, exchangers won't consume heat if there's nowhere to put the steam.

:'''Turbines and engines:''' Be aware that steam turbines and steam engines are both the same "class" of energy producer, so they'll need to be scaled all together. This means that in a complete energy system, your coal boilers may be running when the nuclear plant could fully cover the load. And, worse yet, the nuclear power is just being wasted!
:Consider using accumulators, switches, and circuit logic to disable the coal boilers when nuclear systems can cover the demand.

The simplest solution to this problem is to just run the nuclear reactors part of the time. You can store steam in tanks. (And check out the "fill gauge"; the steam floats!) Since exchanges produce 103 steam/second and a tank holds 25k steam, a tank will keep 242.5 seconds worth of heat exchanger.

You can put a tank or two at the end of each heat exchanger and use circuit logic to only insert a fuel into the reactors when they get low. Make sure all reactors are fueled at the same time, or you won't get full reactor neighbor bonuses. If you can't keep it from over-fueling, you can also add extra tanks to lengthen the cycle.

=== Enrichment ===
:'''Required technology:''' [[Kovarex enrichment process (research)|Kovarex enrichment process]]
:''Kovarex Enrichment allows you to turn some U-238 into U-235, but it's slow and takes a lot of U-235 as catalyst.''

Your first few patches of uranium ore will last you a reasonable length of time, but eventually you will start running out of ore and places to put extraneous U-238. Enrichment helps solve both problems.

The enrichment process takes 60 seconds in an un-moduled centrifuge. It requires 40 U-235 (!) and 5 U-238 and makes 41 U-235 and 2 U-238. In effect, it takes 3 U-238 and turns it into 1 U-235; it just requires an extra 40 U-235 and 2 U-238 along for the ride to act as a catalyst.

:'''All the things!:''' Before you ''enrich all the things!'', be aware that you do need 19 U-238 for each fuel cell, as well as requiring it for uranium ammo you will want for storing inside biters and their nests. Circuit logic can help you put a limiter on large-scale enrichment operations.

One un-moduled Centrifuge enriching uranium is sufficient to supply 33.33 reactors with fuel, assuming plenty of U-238. One Centrifuge with two Productivity modules is enough to supply 25.2 reactors, one Centrifuge with two Productivity modules 3 is enough to supply 28 reactors.

=== Reprocessing fuel ===
:'''Required technology:''' [[Nuclear fuel reprocessing (research)|Nuclear fuel reprocessing]]
:''Reprocessing turns your spent fuel into U-238.''

Eventually, you will run out of places to put spent fuel. You can use reprocessing to turn it back into U-238 to use for enrichment, fuel cells, or ammo. Of the 19 U-238 that go into each 10-pack of fuel cells, this returns 6. This significantly reduces the total ore requirement for nuclear fuel.

=== Weapons ===
:'''Required technology:''' [[Uranium ammo (research)|Uranium ammo]] / [[Atomic bomb (research)|Atomic bomb]]
:''Better bullets / Bigger bombs''

With the Nuclear Age comes nuclear weapons. Uranium ammunition is top-tier, especially when you load a tank with it. It mows down biter nests and clears swarms quite quickly. It uses U-238, so you've probably got plenty of it lying around.

On the other side, you can get [[atomic bomb]]s, which are rockets (shot by a [[rocket launcher]]) that do incredible damage. Be aware, they can easily kill you if you fire them anywhere near you, and even at max range, it's advised that you run in the opposite direction. Rather than a single explosion, they do damage in an expanding ring, giving you time to escape. They require a lot of U-235 and blue chips, so they're an expensive weapon.

== Version ==
This guide is compatible with Factorio 0.17, 0.16 and 0.15.13+.

: This guide was originally written by ''alficles'' and published on [https://gist.github.com/alficles/972796997d1bc40d57866b0a3725895a gist].
:'''License:''' [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ CC BY-SA 4.0]
:As an exception to the above, any or all of this work or adaptations thereof may be used on the official [https://wiki.factorio.com Factorio Wiki].

== Other power related [[tutorials]] ==
* [[Tutorial:Applied power math|Applied power math]]
* [[Tutorial:Producing power from oil|Producing power from oil]]

File:Heat exchangers per pipe.png

2021-02-19T23:46:50Z

AmericanPatriot: Image showing maximum throughput of heat exchangers.

== Summary ==
Image showing maximum throughput of heat exchangers.

Railway/Train path finding

2020-04-29T19:15:32Z

AmericanPatriot:

{{Languages}}
Before a train moves to a target (in this case, a [[Train stop]]), it calculates the best route based on the railway network at that time.

== Path finding penalties ==

For calculation it uses a simple [[WIKIPEDIA:A*_search_algorithm|A*-algorithm]][https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-331]: The pathfinder first builds a list of non-disabled stops that match the name in the schedule, then searches outward from both ends of the train at once, if applicable, in segments. A segment is an uninterrupted plain sequence of rails, with no intersections, stops, or signals (all of which define segment borders). The cost (distance) is calculated using the following weighting rules:
* Base cost for a block/segment is the length of the segment (linear grid length along the center of the rail).
* When the rail block is occupied by a train -> Add a penalty of 2 * length of the block divided by block distance from the start, so the far away occupied paths don't matter much.
* When the rail block is guarded by a [[rail signal]] set to red by the [[circuit network]] -> Add a penalty of 1000.
* When the path includes a train stop that is not the destination -> Add a penalty of 2000.
* When the path includes a train stop with a train stopped in it -> Add a penalty of 500.
* When the path includes a train stop with a train stopped in it that doesn't have other valid stops in its schedule -> Add a penalty of 1000.
* When the path includes a manually controlled stopped train -> Add a penalty of 2000.
* When the path includes a manually controlled stopped train without a passenger -> Add a penalty of 7000.
* When the path includes a train currently arriving to a train stop -> Add a penalty of 100.
* When the path includes a train currently arriving to a rail signal -> Add a penalty of 100.
* When the path includes a train currently waiting at a rail signal -> Add a penalty of 100 + 0.1 for every tick the train has already waited.
* When the path includes a train that doesn't have a path -> Add a penalty of 1000.

== Repath events ==

The route of a train is revalidated (and recalculated if it was invalid) in the following scenarios:
* A locomotive that is part of the train is rotated. The train is forced to make a new path.
* [https://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/LuaTrain.html#LuaTrain.recalculate_path LuaTrain::recalculate_path()] is called on the train by script. The train can be forced to recalculate its path regardless of validity.
* The train does not have a path and a train stop that is part of train's schedule gets renamed or created. The train is forced to recalculate its path.
* The train is pathing to a train stop that gets destroyed. The train is forced to make a new path.
* A rail which is part of the train's path gets destroyed.
** If the rail is the destination of the path, the train is forced to recalculate its path.
* The train doesn't have a path and a rail gets created.
* A rail gets created and invalidates a signal (chain or regular) along the train's path. The train is forced to recalculate its path.
* A rail block changes and invalidates a signal (chain or regular) along the train's path. The train is forced to recalculate its path.
* A signal (chain or regular) gets destroyed or created.
* The train is set to go to a station using the "Go to stop" button in the train's GUI.
* The train's schedule is changed.
* The train is switched to automatic control when it was previously manually controlled.
* The train's braking force gets changed and the train is currently driving normally, arriving at a signal (chain or regular) or arriving at a station.
* The train is preparing to stop at a signal (chain or regular) that changes so that the train can now continue. The train is forced to recalculate its path.
* The train is braking for a signal (chain or regular) it cant reserve and the train is not inside a chain signal block. The train is forced to recalculate its path.
* The train wants to depart from a train stop.
* The train has waited at a chain signal for a multiple of 5 seconds.
** If the trains has waited for a multiple of 30 seconds or if multiple train stops with the name of the destination exist, the train is forced to recalculate its path.
* The train wants to depart from a signal (chain or regular) that it stopped at. The train is forced to recalculate its path.
* If the train doesn't have a path, the path is recalculated every 128 ticks.
* The train enters a new rail block and can't reserve the next needed signal (chain or regular). The train is forced to recalculate its path.
* The train collides with something that is not a train (like a player). The train is forced to recalculate its path.
* The train is pathing to a train stop that gets disabled. The train is forced to recalculate its path.
* The train doesn't have a path and a train stop that is in its schedule gets enabled.

== History ==

{{History|0.17.38|
* When a train performs path finding while in a chain signal sequence, the pathfinding will have a constraint to not go through reserved block before exiting the chain sequence. This solves a problem of train intersections being possible to be deadlocked even with proper chain signals usage in cases of using temporary stops or when path is changed because of station is being enabled/disabled by a circuit network. This also allowed us to to let train recalculate path spontaneously even in chain signal sequence, as it shouldn't break anything now.}}

{{History|0.16.42|
* Added train path finding penalty for train with no path equal to 1000 tiles}}

{{History|0.16.0|
* The specific penalties can now be found in the utility constants, which allows mods to change them. (Undocumented)}}

{{History|0.15.0|
* Train station adds 2000 tiles penalty when path finding, so trains try to avoid stations not related to their path.}}

{{History|0.11.17|
* Increased the pathing penalty for non-moving train in manual mode from 200 to 1000.}}

{{History|0.11.13|
* Stopped, manually controlled train adds additional penalty (related to train path finding) of 200 tiles to the block it occupies.}}

{{History|0.11.11|
* The pathfinding is based on penalties for blocked segments now. For trains waiting in station, the more remaining time in the station, the bigger penalty.}}

== See also ==

* [https://gist.github.com/Rseding91/c0d4d08d6feaed618ed4a03f6c6a8fe6 Train pathfinding as of version 0.16 (Code)]
* [https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-68 FFF #68]
* [[Railway]]

Balancer mechanics

2020-04-05T18:19:55Z

AmericanPatriot: /* Belt balancers */

{{Languages}}
Balancers are used to evenly distribute items over multiple belts or multiple belt lanes.

Balancers that are input balanced take evenly from all input belts/belt lanes. Balancers that are output balanced distribute evenly to all output belts/belt lanes. Ideally, a balancer should be input and output balanced.

== Belt balancers ==

[[File:Balancer_Mechanics1.png|thumb|200px|right|1 full input belt gets split into two 50% full belts which get split into 4 belts that are each 25% full.]]
Belt balancers utilize the mechanic that splitters output items in a 1:1 ratio onto both their output belts. That means that a splitter can be used to put an equal amount of items on two belts. Since the process can be repeated infinitely, balancers with 2n output belts are easy to create.
{{clear}}
[[File:Balancer_Mechanics2b.png|thumb|450px|right|First the belts A and B go through a splitter so that the output belts contain an equal amount of items from each input belt (AB). The same is done with belts C and D. Then the mixed belts AB and CD go through splitters so that their output belts contain items from each input belt (ABCD)!]]
Balancers also use the mechanic that splitters take an equal amount of items from both input belts. That means that a splitter connected to two input belts will evenly distribute those items onto the the two output belts. To balance belts it has to be made sure that the output belts contain an equal number of items from each input belt.
{{clear}}

=== Throughput ===
[[File:4to4_balancer_throughput_limit_demo.gif|right|384px]]
Balancers that are '''throughput limited''' may not be able to provide maximum output if one or more outputs are blocked. To be '''throughput ''un''limited''', a balancer must fulfil the following conditions:
#100% throughput under full load.
#Any arbitrary amount of input belts should be able to go to any arbitrary amount of output belts.

Balancers often do not fulfill the second condition because of internal bottlenecks. The gif on the right shows a 4 → 4 balancer being fed by two belts, but only outputting one belt which means that its throughput in that arrangement is 50%. The bottleneck in this balancer is that the two middle belts only get input from one splitter. So, if only one side of that splitter gets input, as can be seen in the gif, it can only output one belt even though the side of the splitter is fed by a splitters which gets two full belts of input. In this particular case, the bottleneck can be fixed by feeding the two middle output belts with more splitters. This is done by adding two more splitters at the end of the balancer, as it can be seen here: [[File:4to4_balancer.png|center|125px]]

However most balancers' bottlenecks can't be solved as easily. A guaranteed method to achieve throughput unlimited balancers is to place two balancers back to back that fulfil the first condition for throughput unlimited balancers (100% throughput under full load). The resulting balancer is usually larger than a balancer that was initially designed to be throughput unlimited. This is the case because they use more splitters than the minimum required amount of splitters for a throughput unlimited balancer. For n → n balancers where n is a power of two number, {{Key|n×log2(n)−n÷2}} can be used to calculate how many splitters are needed. This formula is based on the number of nodes in a [[WIKIPEDIA:Clos_network#Bene%C5%A1_network_(m_=_n_=_2)|Beneš network]], which is essentially the same as a throughput unlimited balancer — it allows any input to reach any output.

=== Universal balancers ===
Many balancers fail to balance properly once an output backs up or if an output is not used. In essence this means that an n-n balancer is not a functional n-(n-1) balancer. Sometimes this can be fixed by looping the unused output back around the balancer and distributing it among the inputs. Other times, this is not an option. Universal balancers solve this issue by having the back-looping built in. These balancers can balance evenly between any inputs and any outputs. Universal balancers can be throughput limited. If a universal balancer is throughput limited, the bottleneck may be in the loops or the balancer itself. A throughput limited universal balancer may only have the capacity for a few unused outputs. When more than the number of allowed outputs backs up, the universal balancer behaves like a normal balancer, and may not balance properly. {{clear}}

== Lane balancers ==
[[File:Lane_balancer_mechanics.png|thumb|right|This output balanced lane balancer distributes the items evenly among the output lanes, achieving output balance.]]
Lane balancers may be output balanced or input balanced. Input balanced lane balancers draw evenly from each side of the input belt, while output balanced lane balancers output evenly onto each lane of the output belt. Output balanced lane balancers are useful when a production line draws unevenly from each side of the belt, and work by distributing the input among the outputs to prevent bottlenecks from occurring. Input balanced lane balancers are useful when loading or unloading trains, and keep train buffers from filling unevenly. {{clear}}

== See also ==
* [[Belt transport system]]
** [[Splitters]]
** [[Transport belts]]
** [[Underground belts]]
== Further reading ==
* [https://gist.github.com/Bilka2/aeec4ff7123ff5544cb9a80cf1046a06 Balancer blueprint archive]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/34182 Command line belt balancer analyzer]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=344279#p344279 Fractal (2n) balancer generation tool]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/61424 Belt Balancers - how they work and how to make them]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/63462 Finding balance: A guide to belt balancers]

Balancer mechanics

2020-04-05T17:52:20Z

AmericanPatriot: /* Lane balancers */

{{Languages}}
Balancers are used to evenly distribute items over multiple belts or multiple belt lanes.

Balancers that are input balanced take evenly from all input belts/belt lanes. Balancers that are output balanced distribute evenly to all output belts/belt lanes. Ideally, a balancer should be input and output balanced.

== Belt balancers ==

[[File:Balancer_Mechanics1.png|thumb|200px|right|1 full input belt gets split into two 50% full belts which get split into 4 belts that are each 25% full.]]
Belt balancers utilize the mechanic that splitters output items in a 1:1 ratio onto both their output belts. That means that a splitter can be used to put an equal amount of items on two belts. Since the process can be repeated infinitely, balancers with 2n output belts are easy to create.
{{clear}}
[[File:Balancer_Mechanics2b.png|thumb|450px|right|First the belts A and B go through a splitter so that the output belts contain an equal amount of items from each input belt (AB). The same is done with belts C and D. Then the mixed belts AB and CD go through splitters so that their output belts contain items from each input belt (ABCD)!]]
Balancers also use the mechanic that splitters take an equal amount of items from both input belts. That means that a splitter connected to two input belts will evenly distribute those items onto the the two output belts. To balance belts it has to be made sure that the output belts contain an equal number of items from each input belt.
{{clear}}

=== Throughput ===
[[File:4to4_balancer_throughput_limit_demo.gif|right|384px]]
Balancers that are '''throughput limited''' may not be able to provide maximum output if one or more outputs are blocked. To be '''throughput ''un''limited''', a balancer must fulfil the following conditions:
#100% throughput under full load.
#Any arbitrary amount of input belts should be able to go to any arbitrary amount of output belts.

Balancers often do not fulfill the second condition because of internal bottlenecks. The gif on the right shows a 4 → 4 balancer being fed by two belts, but only outputting one belt which means that its throughput in that arrangement is 50%. The bottleneck in this balancer is that the two middle belts only get input from one splitter. So, if only one side of that splitter gets input, as can be seen in the gif, it can only output one belt even though the side of the splitter is fed by a splitters which gets two full belts of input. In this particular case, the bottleneck can be fixed by feeding the two middle output belts with more splitters. This is done by adding two more splitters at the end of the balancer, as it can be seen here: [[File:4to4_balancer.png|center|125px]]

However most balancers' bottlenecks can't be solved as easily. A guaranteed method to achieve throughput unlimited balancers is to place two balancers back to back that fulfil the first condition for throughput unlimited balancers (100% throughput under full load). The resulting balancer is usually larger than a balancer that was initially designed to be throughput unlimited. This is the case because they use more splitters than the minimum required amount of splitters for a throughput unlimited balancer. For n → n balancers where n is a power of two number, {{Key|n×log2(n)−n÷2}} can be used to calculate how many splitters are needed. This formula is based on the number of nodes in a [[WIKIPEDIA:Clos_network#Bene%C5%A1_network_(m_=_n_=_2)|Beneš network]], which is essentially the same as a throughput unlimited balancer — it allows any input to reach any output. {{clear}}

== Lane balancers ==
[[File:Lane_balancer_mechanics.png|thumb|right|This output balanced lane balancer distributes the items evenly among the output lanes, achieving output balance.]]
Lane balancers may be output balanced or input balanced. Input balanced lane balancers draw evenly from each side of the input belt, while output balanced lane balancers output evenly onto each lane of the output belt. Output balanced lane balancers are useful when a production line draws unevenly from each side of the belt, and work by distributing the input among the outputs to prevent bottlenecks from occurring. Input balanced lane balancers are useful when loading or unloading trains, and keep train buffers from filling unevenly. {{clear}}

== See also ==
* [[Belt transport system]]
** [[Splitters]]
** [[Transport belts]]
** [[Underground belts]]
== Further reading ==
* [https://gist.github.com/Bilka2/aeec4ff7123ff5544cb9a80cf1046a06 Balancer blueprint archive]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/34182 Command line belt balancer analyzer]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=344279#p344279 Fractal (2n) balancer generation tool]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/61424 Belt Balancers - how they work and how to make them]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/63462 Finding balance: A guide to belt balancers]

Balancer mechanics

2020-04-05T17:50:34Z

AmericanPatriot: /* Belt balancers */

{{Languages}}
Balancers are used to evenly distribute items over multiple belts or multiple belt lanes.

Balancers that are input balanced take evenly from all input belts/belt lanes. Balancers that are output balanced distribute evenly to all output belts/belt lanes. Ideally, a balancer should be input and output balanced.

== Belt balancers ==

[[File:Balancer_Mechanics1.png|thumb|200px|right|1 full input belt gets split into two 50% full belts which get split into 4 belts that are each 25% full.]]
Belt balancers utilize the mechanic that splitters output items in a 1:1 ratio onto both their output belts. That means that a splitter can be used to put an equal amount of items on two belts. Since the process can be repeated infinitely, balancers with 2n output belts are easy to create.
{{clear}}
[[File:Balancer_Mechanics2b.png|thumb|450px|right|First the belts A and B go through a splitter so that the output belts contain an equal amount of items from each input belt (AB). The same is done with belts C and D. Then the mixed belts AB and CD go through splitters so that their output belts contain items from each input belt (ABCD)!]]
Balancers also use the mechanic that splitters take an equal amount of items from both input belts. That means that a splitter connected to two input belts will evenly distribute those items onto the the two output belts. To balance belts it has to be made sure that the output belts contain an equal number of items from each input belt.
{{clear}}

=== Throughput ===
[[File:4to4_balancer_throughput_limit_demo.gif|right|384px]]
Balancers that are '''throughput limited''' may not be able to provide maximum output if one or more outputs are blocked. To be '''throughput ''un''limited''', a balancer must fulfil the following conditions:
#100% throughput under full load.
#Any arbitrary amount of input belts should be able to go to any arbitrary amount of output belts.

Balancers often do not fulfill the second condition because of internal bottlenecks. The gif on the right shows a 4 → 4 balancer being fed by two belts, but only outputting one belt which means that its throughput in that arrangement is 50%. The bottleneck in this balancer is that the two middle belts only get input from one splitter. So, if only one side of that splitter gets input, as can be seen in the gif, it can only output one belt even though the side of the splitter is fed by a splitters which gets two full belts of input. In this particular case, the bottleneck can be fixed by feeding the two middle output belts with more splitters. This is done by adding two more splitters at the end of the balancer, as it can be seen here: [[File:4to4_balancer.png|center|125px]]

However most balancers' bottlenecks can't be solved as easily. A guaranteed method to achieve throughput unlimited balancers is to place two balancers back to back that fulfil the first condition for throughput unlimited balancers (100% throughput under full load). The resulting balancer is usually larger than a balancer that was initially designed to be throughput unlimited. This is the case because they use more splitters than the minimum required amount of splitters for a throughput unlimited balancer. For n → n balancers where n is a power of two number, {{Key|n×log2(n)−n÷2}} can be used to calculate how many splitters are needed. This formula is based on the number of nodes in a [[WIKIPEDIA:Clos_network#Bene%C5%A1_network_(m_=_n_=_2)|Beneš network]], which is essentially the same as a throughput unlimited balancer — it allows any input to reach any output. {{clear}}

== Lane balancers ==
[[File:Lane_balancer_mechanics.png|thumb|right|The items are evenly sideloaded onto the output belt, achieving output balance.]]
Lane balancers may be output balanced or input balanced. Input balanced lane balancers draw evenly from each side of the input belt, while output balanced lane balancers output evenly onto each lane of the output belt. Output balanced lane balancers are useful when a production line draws unevenly from each side of the belt, and work by distributing the input among the outputs to prevent bottlenecks from occurring. Input balanced lane balancers are useful when loading or unloading trains, and keep train buffers from filling unevenly. {{clear}}

== See also ==
* [[Belt transport system]]
** [[Splitters]]
** [[Transport belts]]
** [[Underground belts]]
== Further reading ==
* [https://gist.github.com/Bilka2/aeec4ff7123ff5544cb9a80cf1046a06 Balancer blueprint archive]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/34182 Command line belt balancer analyzer]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=344279#p344279 Fractal (2n) balancer generation tool]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/61424 Belt Balancers - how they work and how to make them]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/63462 Finding balance: A guide to belt balancers]

Balancer mechanics

2020-04-05T17:49:34Z

AmericanPatriot: /* Lane balancers */

{{Languages}}
Balancers are used to evenly distribute items over multiple belts or multiple belt lanes.

Balancers that are input balanced take evenly from all input belts/belt lanes. Balancers that are output balanced distribute evenly to all output belts/belt lanes. Ideally, a balancer should be input and output balanced.

== Belt balancers ==

[[File:Balancer_Mechanics1.png|thumb|200px|right|1 full input belt gets split into two 50% full belts which get split into 4 belts that are each 25% full.]]
Belt balancers use the mechanic that splitters output items in a 1:1 ratio onto both their output belts. That means that a splitter can be used to put an equal amount of items on two belts. Since the process can be repeated infinitely, balancers with 2n output belts are easy to create.
{{clear}}
[[File:Balancer_Mechanics2b.png|thumb|450px|right|First the belts A and B go through a splitter so that the output belts contain an equal amount of items from each input belt (AB). The same is done with belts C and D. Then the mixed belts AB and CD go through splitters so that their output belts contain items from each input belt (ABCD)!]]
Balancers also use the mechanic that splitters take an equal amount of items from both input belts. That means that a splitter connected to two input belts will evenly distribute those items onto the the two output belts. To balance belts it has to be made sure that the output belts contain an equal number of items from each input belt.
{{clear}}

=== Throughput ===
[[File:4to4_balancer_throughput_limit_demo.gif|right|384px]]
Balancers that are '''throughput limited''' may not be able to provide maximum output if one or more outputs are blocked. To be '''throughput ''un''limited''', a balancer must fulfil the following conditions:
#100% throughput under full load.
#Any arbitrary amount of input belts should be able to go to any arbitrary amount of output belts.

Balancers often do not fulfill the second condition because of internal bottlenecks. The gif on the right shows a 4 → 4 balancer being fed by two belts, but only outputting one belt which means that its throughput in that arrangement is 50%. The bottleneck in this balancer is that the two middle belts only get input from one splitter. So, if only one side of that splitter gets input, as can be seen in the gif, it can only output one belt even though the side of the splitter is fed by a splitters which gets two full belts of input. In this particular case, the bottleneck can be fixed by feeding the two middle output belts with more splitters. This is done by adding two more splitters at the end of the balancer, as it can be seen here: [[File:4to4_balancer.png|center|125px]]

However most balancers' bottlenecks can't be solved as easily. A guaranteed method to achieve throughput unlimited balancers is to place two balancers back to back that fulfil the first condition for throughput unlimited balancers (100% throughput under full load). The resulting balancer is usually larger than a balancer that was initially designed to be throughput unlimited. This is the case because they use more splitters than the minimum required amount of splitters for a throughput unlimited balancer. For n → n balancers where n is a power of two number, {{Key|n×log2(n)−n÷2}} can be used to calculate how many splitters are needed. This formula is based on the number of nodes in a [[WIKIPEDIA:Clos_network#Bene%C5%A1_network_(m_=_n_=_2)|Beneš network]], which is essentially the same as a throughput unlimited balancer — it allows any input to reach any output. {{clear}}

== Lane balancers ==
[[File:Lane_balancer_mechanics.png|thumb|right|The items are evenly sideloaded onto the output belt, achieving output balance.]]
Lane balancers may be output balanced or input balanced. Input balanced lane balancers draw evenly from each side of the input belt, while output balanced lane balancers output evenly onto each lane of the output belt. Output balanced lane balancers are useful when a production line draws unevenly from each side of the belt, and work by distributing the input among the outputs to prevent bottlenecks from occurring. Input balanced lane balancers are useful when loading or unloading trains, and keep train buffers from filling unevenly. {{clear}}

== See also ==
* [[Belt transport system]]
** [[Splitters]]
** [[Transport belts]]
** [[Underground belts]]
== Further reading ==
* [https://gist.github.com/Bilka2/aeec4ff7123ff5544cb9a80cf1046a06 Balancer blueprint archive]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/34182 Command line belt balancer analyzer]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=344279#p344279 Fractal (2n) balancer generation tool]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/61424 Belt Balancers - how they work and how to make them]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/63462 Finding balance: A guide to belt balancers]

Balancer mechanics

2020-04-05T17:49:10Z

AmericanPatriot: /* Lane balancers */

{{Languages}}
Balancers are used to evenly distribute items over multiple belts or multiple belt lanes.

Balancers that are input balanced take evenly from all input belts/belt lanes. Balancers that are output balanced distribute evenly to all output belts/belt lanes. Ideally, a balancer should be input and output balanced.

== Belt balancers ==

[[File:Balancer_Mechanics1.png|thumb|200px|right|1 full input belt gets split into two 50% full belts which get split into 4 belts that are each 25% full.]]
Belt balancers use the mechanic that splitters output items in a 1:1 ratio onto both their output belts. That means that a splitter can be used to put an equal amount of items on two belts. Since the process can be repeated infinitely, balancers with 2n output belts are easy to create.
{{clear}}
[[File:Balancer_Mechanics2b.png|thumb|450px|right|First the belts A and B go through a splitter so that the output belts contain an equal amount of items from each input belt (AB). The same is done with belts C and D. Then the mixed belts AB and CD go through splitters so that their output belts contain items from each input belt (ABCD)!]]
Balancers also use the mechanic that splitters take an equal amount of items from both input belts. That means that a splitter connected to two input belts will evenly distribute those items onto the the two output belts. To balance belts it has to be made sure that the output belts contain an equal number of items from each input belt.
{{clear}}

=== Throughput ===
[[File:4to4_balancer_throughput_limit_demo.gif|right|384px]]
Balancers that are '''throughput limited''' may not be able to provide maximum output if one or more outputs are blocked. To be '''throughput ''un''limited''', a balancer must fulfil the following conditions:
#100% throughput under full load.
#Any arbitrary amount of input belts should be able to go to any arbitrary amount of output belts.

Balancers often do not fulfill the second condition because of internal bottlenecks. The gif on the right shows a 4 → 4 balancer being fed by two belts, but only outputting one belt which means that its throughput in that arrangement is 50%. The bottleneck in this balancer is that the two middle belts only get input from one splitter. So, if only one side of that splitter gets input, as can be seen in the gif, it can only output one belt even though the side of the splitter is fed by a splitters which gets two full belts of input. In this particular case, the bottleneck can be fixed by feeding the two middle output belts with more splitters. This is done by adding two more splitters at the end of the balancer, as it can be seen here: [[File:4to4_balancer.png|center|125px]]

However most balancers' bottlenecks can't be solved as easily. A guaranteed method to achieve throughput unlimited balancers is to place two balancers back to back that fulfil the first condition for throughput unlimited balancers (100% throughput under full load). The resulting balancer is usually larger than a balancer that was initially designed to be throughput unlimited. This is the case because they use more splitters than the minimum required amount of splitters for a throughput unlimited balancer. For n → n balancers where n is a power of two number, {{Key|n×log2(n)−n÷2}} can be used to calculate how many splitters are needed. This formula is based on the number of nodes in a [[WIKIPEDIA:Clos_network#Bene%C5%A1_network_(m_=_n_=_2)|Beneš network]], which is essentially the same as a throughput unlimited balancer — it allows any input to reach any output. {{clear}}

== Lane balancers ==
[[File:Lane_balancer_mechanics.png|thumb|right|The items are evenly sideloaded onto the output belt, achieving output balance.]]
Lane balancers may be input output balanced or input balanced. Input balanced lane balancers draw evenly from each side of the input belt, while output balanced lane balancers output evenly onto each lane of the output belt. Output balanced lane balancers are useful when a production line draws unevenly from each side of the belt, and work by distributing the input among the outputs to prevent bottlenecks from occurring. Input balanced lane balancers are useful when loading or unloading trains, and keep train buffers from filling unevenly. {{clear}}

== See also ==
* [[Belt transport system]]
** [[Splitters]]
** [[Transport belts]]
** [[Underground belts]]
== Further reading ==
* [https://gist.github.com/Bilka2/aeec4ff7123ff5544cb9a80cf1046a06 Balancer blueprint archive]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/34182 Command line belt balancer analyzer]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=344279#p344279 Fractal (2n) balancer generation tool]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/61424 Belt Balancers - how they work and how to make them]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/63462 Finding balance: A guide to belt balancers]