Official Factorio Wiki - User contributions [en]

Solar panel

2026-04-03T12:02:46Z

Dalestan: Changing day cycle length does not change average power output

{{languages}}
{{:Infobox:Solar panel}}

'''Solar panels''' are an unlimited source of free [[Electric system|energy]] that produce no [[pollution]]. On a planet, the power output varies based on the [[Time#Days|time of day]]. During the day (half of a day/night cycle), all panels provide a constant, maximum power level. Generated power will increase/decrease linearly during dawn and dusk, and no power is produced at night.

The baseline power generated by a panel is 60 kW; this represents 100% power production.

On [[Nauvis]], one solar panel produces an average of 42 kW over a day/night cycle.

In [[Space Age]]{{SA}}, different planets provide a bonus or penalty to panel output. These modifiers are based on 60 kW as the baseline 100% power of a panel. Planets also have their own day/night cycle lengths, but the average power produced by panels over a full day/night cycle is always 70% of the peak power.

[[Space platform]]s{{SA}} do not have day/night cycles; panels produce a constant amount of power while at a location in space. If a platform is moving between locations, the power output will raise or lower based on how far it is between the source location and destination. If the source location offers 200% solar power, and the destination has 300%, then a platform halfway between will have its solar panels offer 250% power.

[[Quality]]{{SA}} panels also provide higher than 100% power output.

== Energy management ==
As already stated, solar panels produce energy only during the day, but you likely want your factory to run at night as well. [[Accumulator]]s can be charged up with solar panels during the day to power the base at night.

Accumulators are not the only way to work with solar energy. Sometimes it is more economical to just avoid consuming energy at night. For example, if you power a bunch of [[electric mining drill]]s and [[electric furnace]]s to produce [[Iron plate|iron]] and [[copper plate]]s, you could build more drills and furnaces than you actually need, and store the excess metal production during the day. At night you can shut down the drills and furnaces, and let your factory run with the stored plates. Instead of storing energy, you would be storing what the energy is used for. The easiest way to achieve this is by connecting all your extractors and furnaces to an electric network with exactly enough solar panels to make them work during the day, and keeping this network away from your factory's main electric network.

== Notes ==
* A single (normal quality) solar panel outputs an average of 42 kW over a day on [[Nauvis]] and requires 0.84672 ≈ 0.85 accumulators to sustain a constant power output through the night.
* It takes approximately 23.8 solar panels to operate 1 MW of factory '''and''' charge 20.2 accumulators to sustain that 1 MW through the night.
** The common rule-of-thumb is 25 solar panels to 21 accumulators to generate about 1 MW (really 1.04 MW + 5/3 kW). A simpler close ratio is 6 solar panels to 5 accumulators, ≈ 0.83 accumulators / solar panels.
* The optimal ratio for normal quality solar panels to charge enough normal quality accumulators on Nauvis is 2646 accumulators for 3125 solar panels (supplying 42 kW per solar panel).
[[File:Solar efficiency.png|thumb|none|400px|Solar efficiency graph over time. <small>(click to enlarge)</small>]]

== Space Age ==
{{About/Space age}}
In Space Age, the closer a planet is to the sun, the more power a solar panel on its surface produces. Additionally, as there is no nighttime in space, solar panels on space platforms will generate energy constantly, and at a higher rate than on a planet's surface.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Location !! In atmosphere !! In space
|-
| [[Vulcanus]] || 400% || 600%
|-
| [[Nauvis]] || 100% || 300%
|-
| [[Gleba]] || 50% || 200%
|-
| [[Fulgora]] || 20% || 120%
|-
| [[Aquilo]] || 1% || 60%
|-
| [[Solar system edge]] || N/A || 1%
|-
| [[Shattered planet]] || N/A || 1%
|}

== Optimal ratios ==
The optimal ratio of solar panels to accumulators varies depending on the [[Quality|qualities]]{{SA}} of both the solar panels and accumulators, as well as the planets they're constructed on.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! Location
! Accumulators per solar panel
! Approximate Ratios
|-
| [[Nauvis]]
| {{Quality|0.8467200|1.1007360|1.3547520|1.6087680|2.1168000}}
| {{Quality|25:21|25:28|25:34|25:40|25:53}}
|-
| [[Vulcanus]]{{SA}}
| {{Quality|0.7257600|0.9434880|1.1612160|1.3789440|1.8144000}}
| {{Quality|25:18|25:24|25:29|25:34|25:45}}
|-
| [[Gleba]]{{SA}}
| {{Quality|0.6048000|0.7862400|0.9676800|1.1491200|1.5120000}}
| {{Quality|5:3|5:4|1:1|5:6|5:8}}
|-
| [[Fulgora]]{{SA}}
| {{Quality|0.0725760|0.0943488|0.1161216|0.1378944|0.1814400}}
| {{Quality|14:1|11:1|9:1|7:1|11:2}}
|-
| [[Aquilo]]{{SA}}
| {{Quality|0.0241920|0.0314496|0.0387072|0.0459648|0.0604800}}
| {{Quality|41:1|32:1|26:1|22:1|17:1}}
|}

Note that the quality shown in the table is the quality of the '''solar panels''' only, and assumes normal accumulator quality. When using accumulators of other qualities, divide the ratio shown by 2/3/4/6 for uncommon/rare/epic/legendary, respectively. All ratios are exact numbers with no rounding.

== Achievements ==
{{Achievement|solar-power}}
{{Achievement|solaris}}
{{Achievement|steam-all-the-way}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="300px" heights="200px">
Solar array01.png|A typical solar power array with accumulators.
Solar farm titlescreen.png|Construction robots are building a solar farm, seen on the expansion's title screen.
Solar outpost titlescreen.png|An outpost powered by solar arrays, seen on the expansion's title screen.
</gallery>

== History ==
{{history|0.13.2|
* Changed tech requirement from Adv. Electronics to Electronics.}}

{{history|0.12.11|
* Energy of the solar panel is now fractioned between all the networks it's connected to.}}

{{history|0.12.0|
* Massive optimisations to solar panel logic.}}

{{history|0.11.0|
* Significantly slowed crafting speed to 10 secs from 0.5 sec.}}

{{history|0.7.1|
* Made solar panels pre-science pack 3.}}

{{history|0.5.0|
* Unplugged icon shown when not connected to any power transfer device.}}

{{history|0.3.0|
* New solar panel graphics.}}

{{history|0.2.1|
* Priority of power consumption changed to consume from solar panel first.}}

{{history|0.1.0|
* Introduced}}

== See also ==
* [[Electric system]]
* [[Accumulator]]
* [[Power_production#Optimal_ratio|Calculating the optimal ratio of accumulators to solar panels]]
* A [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9314 Solar Power Excel sheet]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8949 (Forum topic) The way I solar]
* [[Game-day]]

{{ProductionNav}}
{{C|Energy}}

File talk:SR-01-Layout.png

2025-12-10T14:42:56Z

Dalestan: Image is correct as-is, though the latch could be powered from either side.

The way the combinator and accumulator receive power makes this circuit not work as intended. They need to be near the power pole receiving power from the steam engine so they continue to function when the power switch is turned off.
* No, this is correct, and has been correct since 2017. You could move the latch to the steam engine side of the switch, but this is for <i>backup steam</i>. The factory (on the left side) is normally fully-powered by solar. If the overnight loads are too large, the accumulator will drop below 20%, the latch and switch will close, and the steam engines will power the factory until the sun rises.<br/>Also, please sign your comments with <code>--~~~~</code>, like so: --[[User:Dalestan|Dalestan]] ([[User talk:Dalestan|talk]]) 14:42, 10 December 2025 (UTC)

Tutorial:Circuit network cookbook

2025-05-07T03:13:49Z

Dalestan: /* Latches */ Remove sections based on lack of objections on the talk page

{{cleanup|Combinator GUI and circuit network changed in 2.0}}
''This is a '''beginners''' tutorial. See also the [[Circuit network]] page for an overview over the circuit network and the [[Tutorial:Combinator tutorial]] for an advanced tutorial.''
{{Languages}}

== Foreword ==
This page provides examples of simple circuit network designs and some not so simple designs that others can use, combine and modify. They are designed to be as easy to understand as possible. To see the settings of combinators without opening them, the option "Show combinator settings in "Alt-mode"" in the Interface/Alt-mode settings has to be checked and "Alt-mode" has to be turned on.

== Lights ==
[[File:LightWiredToChest.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Lamp showing chest content condition ===

This is one of the simplest possible use of circuit-network. A [[lamp]] is light depending on the number of goods (in this example empty barrels) in a chest.

==== Setting up circuit connection ====
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* The lamp is connected to the chest.
* The lamp is set to light if the chest contain less than 10 empty barrels.

==== To set the light condition ====
* Open the lamp (left click on it).
* Set the input to barrels.
* Set the operator to < (less than).
* Set the constant number:
** Left click on the constant number
** Move the slider until 10 is shown, or edit the value box directly.
** Press set.

Depending on the condition you set, the lamp may light if the chest is empty, or if it contains the required quantity of items.

The drawback with this scenario is that the lamp has a white light , and is therefore difficult to differentiate from an ordinary lamp at night.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:ConditionalLights.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Conditional Lights ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* In this circuit we connect a series of [[lamp]]s to a [[storage tank]].
* By setting different conditions on each lamp we can build an indicator strip.
* The Enabled condition of the first lamp is '''Petroleum gas > 100'''.
* The others light up when gas is greater than 200, 300, 400 and 500 respectively.

In this setup you can connect the storage tank to the lamps directly.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:ColoredLights.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Colored Lights ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
To light a [[lamp]] with a color rather than white, you need an intermediate device like an [[arithmetic combinator]] that can send a color signal.
Instead of directly connect the [[lamp]] and the [[Storage tank]] you need:
# Add the arithmetic combinator.
# Connect the [[storage tank]] with the input of the arithmetic combinator.
# Connect the output of the [[arithmetic combinator]] with the lamp.
# Set up the arithmetic combinator:
## Setting the input to petroleum Gas + 0 (the constant 0 not the signal 0)
## Set the output to the pink signal (on the bottom row of the last tab of signals.)
# Set up the [[lamp]]:
## Select the "Use colors" check box on the lamp.
## Set the condition to the pink signal, and what value you want (i.e. > 100)
</div>
{{clear}}

== Oil Setups ==
Balancing the production of petroleum gas, light oil and heavy oil is one of the most important use cases of the circuit network.

[[File:LgtOilCracking.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Light Oil Cracking ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This circuit provides balanced light oil and petroleum gas production by cracking excess light oil into gas.
* The [[pump]] is connected to the [[storage tank]] by a [[red wire]].
* The pump has an enabled condition set to '''Light Oil > 20000'''.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:HvyOilCracking.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Heavy Oil Cracking ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This circuit extends on the previous circuit by adding optional heavy oil cracking to provide lubricant etc.
* The pump has an enabled condition set to '''Heavy oil > 20000'''.
</div>
{{clear}}

=== Alternative Setup for Cracking and Lubricant Production ===
This setup compares different fluid levels to each other instead of checking fixed values. It offers some guarantees such as petroleum gas being produced when you have light oil to spare, and light oil not being cracked when you have plenty of petroleum gas, and similar rules for heavy oil cracking and lubricant production.

[[File:oil-single-cct.png|border|left|430px]]

<div style="margin-left:440px;">
It takes 4 steps:

# Have a fluid tank for heavy oil, light oil, petroleum gas, and lubricant. For each fluid, make sure to connect the tank via pipes to every location where the fluid is being produced or consumed.
# For each chemical plant (or each row of them, if you use rows) add a pump to the non-water fluid input pipe to make it possible to block the flow. Note: Alternatively, the blocking pumps could be added to the chemical plant output pipes, but there is no need to add pumps to both inputs and outputs.
# Connect every pump and every fluid tank to a single circuit network of red (or green) wire. The resulting circuit network will know about the fluid level in every storage tank and pass this information to every pump.
# For each connected pump set the circuit “enable condition” to "[input fluid] > [output fluid]" , for its respective chemical plant recipe. E.g. set "heavy oil > light oil" for the heavy oil cracking input pump, set "heavy oil > lubricant" for the lubricant production input pump, and set "light oil > petroleum gas" for the light oil cracking input pump.

Done! Now all the pumps will move to equalize the fluid levels to each other. This will prevent fluid system deadlocks where you have plenty of one fluid but you are unable to make any of the other.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Misc ==
[[file:MulitipleChestsAndPoles.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Multiple Storages ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* If you connect multiple chests to a pole, the pole displays the sum of items in all the chests.
* This also works with [[storage tank]]s and [[roboport]]s.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:ConstantComb.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Constant Combinator ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* With a [[constant combinator]] you can generate any signals you may need.
* In this example we have generated a signal of 50 Laser turrets and 200 Piercing round magazine.
* Constant combinators are not of much use on their own but we shall use them later.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:ThisASign.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Constant Combinator Signs (Words) ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* You can use [[constant combinator]]s to make signs, just set the letter signals in the combinator, each combinator can display 2 characters side by side.
* Note that to see these letters, Alt-mode must be on and the Interface setting “Show combinator settings in “Alt-Mode”” must also be enabled.
* As of the 2.0 update, these signs have become obsolete due to the addition of [[Display_panel|Display panels]], as text on display panels is always visible.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:constant_combinator_signs2.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Constant Combinator Signs (Managing Belts) ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Somewhat similar to the previous example, constant combinator signals can be used with belts to help indicate what items should be on which belts. This is extremely useful when sharing blueprints, as it's possible for blueprints to be shared albeit with no indication on which items are meant for which belts.
* Note again that [[Display_panel|Display panels]] are more useful here as of the 2.0 update.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:MemoryCell.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Memory Cell / Counter ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Basic memory cell that counts all the items moved by the inserter
* The [[fast inserter]] is connected to '''BOTH''' ends of the arithmetic combinator.
* If the fast inserter hasn't picked anything up this tick the input to the Arithmetic combinator is the same as and output and hence the values are persisted.
* When the fast inserter does pick something up its value is added to the output from the previous tick thus incrementing that item.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Inserters ==
[[File:LimitItemsPlacedIntoAChest.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Limit items placed into a chest ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* The [[inserter]] is connected to the [[wooden chest]] using a [[red wire]].
* The inserter's enabled condition is '''Advanced Circuit < 10'''.
* In reality this means the inserter may place more than 10 Advanced circuits in the chest because it could pick up to 3 at once due to stack size bonuses.
* This effect can be even greater with Stack inserters because of their large carrying capacity.
* This technique still gives far greater control than limiting the inventory on the chest.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:BalancedChestInsert.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Balanced chest insert ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
Goal: Load n chests with approximately the same number of items. This can be used for train stations: [https://www.reddit.com/r/factorio/comments/4e03g2/madzuris_smart_loading_train_station_guide/ MadZuri's smart loading train station]
* Place n chests and n inserters.
* Place 1 [[arithmetic combinator]]
* Set the combinator to take Each (yellow star) and divide by the negative number of chests. ie −n.
* Connect all chests to each other and to the input of the combinator using red wire.
* Connect all inserters to each other and to the output of the combinator using red wire.
* Connect each inserter to the box it inserts into with green wire.
* Set the enable condition on each inserter to be Everything (red star) < 0.

The combinator calculates the average number of items in the chests, and makes it negative. Each inserter gets the amount in the chest it is inserting to and adds the negative average, i.e. it calculates how many more than the average it has in its chest. Thus if that number is negative, it has less than the average in the chest and it enables.

Due to inserter stack bonus the count is not exact. If a precise count is needed, set the inserter stack size to 1.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:SmartOutpostUnloader.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Keeping outpost stocked with specified items ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This circuit keeps a [[storage chest]] at an outpost stocked with customized levels of different items.
* For example you could keep an outpost stocked with 50 laser turrets and 200 piercing magazine rounds but not have to worry about it being over filled.
* The [[storage chest]] is attached to the input of the [[arithmetic combinator]] (left side in the picture) with a [[red wire]].
* Another couple of [[red wire]]s join the output of the [[arithmetic combinator]] (right side) to the [[constant combinator]] and to the [[stack filter inserter]].
* The [[arithmetic combinator]] '''multiplies''' each input value (from the storage chest) by '''-1'''.
* Finally the filter stack inserter's mode of operation is set to '''Set filters'''.
* So the input to the [[stack filter inserter]] is '''<constant combinator> - <storage chest contents>''' and the filter is set to filter for the first item by inventory order.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:SolarAccumalatorBalancer.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Balanced Solar panel / Accumulator Production ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This circuit balances production of [[solar panel]]s and [[accumulator]]s to a desired ratio in my case 24:20.
* The first [[arithmetic combinator]] takes the number of accumulators in the chest and '''multiplies''' it by '''24'''.
* The second [[arithmetic combinator]] takes the output of the first combinator and '''divides''' it by '''20'''.
* This gives us the number of accumulators that we can directly compare to the number of Solar panels in both inserters.
* If the number of accumulators is greater we enable the Solar panels inserter, if the number of Solar panels is greater we enable the accumulators inserter.
* However, if they are equal, neither machine does anything. So we add a single accumulator to one of the inserters using a constant combinator and a wire of the other color, therefore breaking the deadlock.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Sushi Belts ==
[[File:SushiScience1.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Reading Belt Design ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Six belts in a row are connected with Red wire and set to '''Read belts contents''' and '''Hold'''
* This [[red wire]] is then connected to the inserters that insert onto the belt.
* Read hand contents is unselected for all inserters.
* Mode of operation is set to '''Enable/Disable''' on all inserters.
* The first inserter is enabled when '''Automation science pack = 0'''
* The other inserters are set similarly for the other science packs.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:SushiScience2.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Memory Cell Design ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This recipe produces a rolling sum of the number of items of each type, as they added or removed from a looping conveyor belt. Inserters placing items onto the belt can use this sum to turn on or off as needed.
* It achieves this through two networks, one red (subtraction) and one green (addition), connected to their own inserters, and two arithmetic combinators: one basic [[arithmetic combinator]] to do the subtraction, and one memory cell, to update and persist the values.
 
* Each inserter that takes items '''from''' the belt is connected with Red wire. Each of these inserters is set to '''Mode of operation: None''', '''Read hand contents is checked''', and Hand read mode is set to '''Pulse''' (sends 1 each time an item is picked up).
* These red wire inserters are connected to the input of the subtraction arithmetic combinator, in this example, it is the one on the left.
* The left [[arithmetic combinator]] multiples '''each''' input by '''-1''' and outputs it to '''each'''. This subtracts 1 each time an inserter removes an item from the belt, for the specific type of item taken.
* The right [[arithmetic combinator]] is the '''memory cell'''.
* The memory cell's input is connected to: 1. A green wire network of inserters placing items onto the belt (the addition), 2. The output of the left [[arithmetic combinator]] (the subtraction).
* The memory cell's output should be connected to its input, so that each time an update is sent from either the addition network (green wire) or subtraction network (red wire), the updated value is persisted.
* When a Green wire inserter adds an item to the belt, that item's count in the memory cell is increased by 1.
* The inserters that place items onto the belt (green wire) should be set to: '''Enable/disable''', '''Read hand contents is checked''' and '''Hand read mode is set to Pulse'''.
* The '''Enable/disable''' condition is set based on the number of items you'd like picked up by the red wire inserters, e.g. Automation science pack <= 16 (one pack for each lab in the example shown here).
</div>
{{clear}}

== Power ==
[[File:SteamBackup.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Backup steam power ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* The [[steam engine]]s are not directly connected to the power network. They are connected to the power network through a [[power switch]].
* The [[power switch]] is connected to one of the [[accumulator]]s in the main network.
* The [[power switch]] turns on when A < 10. That is when the [[accumulator]]s are less than 10% full.
</div>
{{clear}}

=== Optimal usage of fuel for nuclear power ===
Unlike the normal steam power that adjusts fuel usage based on power usage, the [[Power_production#Nuclear_power|nuclear reactors]] spend fuel in fixed units of time. To be exact, the consumption of 1 fuel cell takes exactly 200 seconds.

Combined with the fact that creating the nuclear fuel cells are time consuming and expensive to create, it is therefore beneficial to optimize their use to match the actual consumed power.

[[File:NuclearCircuits.png|border|left|430px]]
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
This picture shows a setup with 4 reactors, that spend only 1 fuel cell each whenever steam runs low.<br>
''Note: The GUI in the image above has been altered to make sure all important info fits within the image size.''

There are a few elements in this setup:
* Storage tank that provides the [[steam]] signal. You should only read from one storage tank, and it should have pipe connections to all your other steam storage tanks.
* Chests containing [[uranium fuel cell]]s for the reactor.
* Output inserter that takes [[Used_up_uranium_fuel_cell|empty fuel cells]] from the reactor. This is connected to the storage tank to listen for the steam signal, and to the chests to listen for the uranium fuel cell signal. If the steam level is low and there are uranium fuel cells available, it removes the empty fuel cells from the reactor and sends an empty fuel cell signal (since "Read hand contents" is checked).
* Input inserter that put uranium fuel cells into the reactor. This is connected to the output inserter and listens for the empty fuel cell signal. The "Override stack size" is set to 1, so that it only inserts 1 fuel cell at a time.
* If you are using multiple reactors you should only wire one output inserter to one steam tank, and then connect all input inserters to the single output inserter. This will synchronize fuel insertion to maximize the reactor neighbour heat bonus. The other reactors can have "dumb" output inserters that remove [[Used_up_uranium_fuel_cell|empty fuel cells]] immediately.

Since this design uses empty fuel cells as a signal to fill the reactor, you need to manually insert 1 uranium fuel cell into the reactor to get it started.
</div>
{{clear}}

=== Prioritize usage of uranium towards nuclear fuel production ===
Because a continuous supply of [[uranium fuel cell]]s is critical to maintaining a [[nuclear reactor]], the circuit network can be used to set up a system where [[uranium-235]] and [[uranium-238]] are conserved for the production of nuclear fuel before other uses.

[[File:Nuclear Fuel Circuit Network.png|border|left|430px]]
<div style="margin-left:440px;">

Using a [[splitter]], divert the two types of uranium onto two parallel conveyors, with an [[inserter]] positioned to gather uranium from each conveyor (a [[long-handed inserter]] will be needed for the far belt). Each of these inserters deposits their load into a container, from which two more inserters deliver the contents to an [[assembling machine]] making nuclear fuel. An inserter delivers the produced fuel to a third container, from which inserter(s) delivers the fuel to your nuclear reactor. Wire the two inserters gathering from the conveyors to the container each of them is delivering to, and to the tile of conveyor immediately after the tile the inserter is gathering from. Set each inserter's enable condition to "less than or equal to X amount of uranium", using the appropriate type of uranium the inserter is gathering and X being the number of reserve uranium desired (optimally, one uranium-235 and nineteen uranium-238, the amount needed to produce nuclear fuel; the amount may be increased if a greater stockpile is desired). Set each conveyor's enable condition to "greater than or equal to X amount of uranium" in the same manner. Finally, connect the inserters delivering uranium to the assembly machine up to the container the assembly machine is delivering nuclear fuel to, and set each of their enable conditions to "nuclear fuel = 0 (the enable condition can be set to "less than or equal to X amount of nuclear fuel" if a larger stockpile is desired).

This set-up accomplishes the following:

* When there is sufficient nuclear fuel and uranium stockpiled, the inserters will deactivate and the conveyors activate, allowing the uranium to continue down the conveyors to other facilities.
* When the nuclear fuel stockpile hits zero (or decreases below the desired amount), the inserters delivering to the assembly machine will activate and deliver uranium to resume production of nuclear fuel until quota is reached again.
* When there is not enough uranium stockpiled to produce a batch of nuclear fuel, the inserters gathering uranium will activate and and resume gathering uranium until they reach their quota. The conveyors carrying uranium will stop past the inserters, cutting off other facilities from that type of uranium until its respective inserter reaches quota.
* The assembly machine will only be provided with uranium when the stockpile of nuclear fuel hits zero (or decreases below the desired amount), preventing over-production of nuclear fuel and thus over-consumption of uranium.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Railway network ==
=== Set train routing ===
The circuit network can be used to allow deeper micromanagement of [[train]]s. Circuits can be used to adjust train limits for [[Train stop|stops]], effectively disabling a stop when a resource is not available for loading, or if an unloading station already has more than enough of a resource. Note that adjusting train limits runs into fewer problems than fully enabling/disabling stops; see [https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-361 Friday Facts #361 - Train stop limit, Tips and tricks] and the [[Train stop]] page for additional information about using train limits.

=== Player safety ===
The circuit network can be used to ensure the player's safety when crossing train tracks so they do not get hit. Place [[gate]]s at designated crossing areas and connect an adjacent [[wall]] to [[rail signal]]s near the gate. Set the gate to "read sensor" and the signal to "close signal" with the condition being the signal the gate sends out being "1". This means that when the gate is closed, the signal will be green and trains can pass freely, but when the player approaches the gate and it opens for them, the train signal will be turned red and trains will be stopped until the player clears the area.

Alternatively, this system can be reversed - by setting the gate to "open gate" and the train signal set to "read signal", the gate will remain open normally and will close when a train is approaching, preventing the player from crossing until it is safe.

In lieu of gates, the player can connect a [[programmable speaker]] to the train signals to broadcast a warning siren when a train is approaching the area.

== Latches ==
=== RS latch - single decider version ===
[https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?f=193&t=14556 This discussion] on the Factorio forums starts with the common 2 decider RS latch version, but later a [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=111192#p111192 single decider version was proposed]. The thread [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=160896#p160896 goes on to explain] why this is better. In the thread, the latch is described as an SR latch. However, when both inputs are true, the latch will reset, so it is an RS latch.

=== SR latch ===
In 2.0, an SR latch can be accomplished in a single decider combinator with many combinations of set and reset conditions. This latch, for example will set if the steam levels or the accumulator levels fall too low, and will reset when both levels recover. This is an SR latch; if both inputs are true, the latch will set.
[[File:SR-Multi-condition.png|border|left|430px]]
{{clear}}

=== Backup steam example ===
This example will turn on the steam generator when the Accumulator charge drops to 20%, but will "latch" (remember) the On state until the accumulator is charged to 90%.

Latching is used to introduce [[Wikipedia:hysteresis|hysteresis]] and avoid the power switch rapidly cycling on and off (as the accumulator falls to 19%, charges to 20%, falls to 19% and so on).
[[File:SR-01-Layout.png|border|left|430px]]
{{clear}}
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{{clear}}
[[File:SR-02-Accumulator.png|border|left|430px]]
Accumulator outputs the current charge level as % on signal [[File:Signal-A.png|21px]]
{{clear}}
[[File:SR-04-SRLatch.png|border|left|430px]]
The decider sets and latches the Set signal [[File:Signal-S.png|21px]] when the accumulator falls below 20%, and unlatches when the accumulator reaches 90%.<br />
{{clear}}
[[File:SR-05-PowerSwitch.png|border|left|430px]]
The Power switch isolates the generator from the rest of the factory until [[File:Signal-S.png|21px]] = 1
{{clear}}
----

[[File:BeltLatch.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Belt only latch ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* To make it work, '''3''' pieces of raw wood must be placed on the inside lane of the belt.
* It will have higher latency than the combinator version, but in most situations you will not notice the difference.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Displays ==
[[File:5digitDisplay.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Numerical Display ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Each digit is driven by its own [[green wire]], that wire holds 15 signals, one for each lamp used in the digit.
* [[constant combinator]]s are used to define which lamp should light up for each value.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:BWDisplay.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Black and White Grid Display ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Each row has its own [[red wire]] connection and within that row each light has a numbered signal 0-9.
* We turn each light on by just setting or clearing the relevant signal.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:MultiColoredDisplay.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Multicolor Display by DaveMcW ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* To understand how this works, you first need to understand how color lights choose which color to light up when there are multiple colored signals.
* The [[lamp]] will light up with the colored signal that is greater than zero and earliest in this list: red, green, blue, yellow, pink, cyan, white.
* We have a [[red wire]] per column, that wire has each of the colored signals on it at different values and a numbered signal for each row.
* There is a [[arithmetic combinator]] for each cell that subtracts the "row" value from each of the colored signals.
* And this enables us to choose the color for each cell.
* Simple!
</div>
{{clear}}

== Setting Recipes ==
[[File:MultipleItemAssembler.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Multiple Item Assembling Machine ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This Version 2 circuit design allows a user to have a single [[assembling machine]] produce several different items that all use mostly the same ingredients. This is a convenient way to avoid routing the same set of inputs to multiple assembly machines for items that need automated, but not constant production. For example, [[medium electric pole]]s and [[big electric pole]]s share the same ingredients, or the [[pumpjack]], [[oil refinery]], and [[chemical plant]] take mostly the same inputs.
* To use this, the player opens the [[constant combinator]] and selects which items and what quantities to make.
* This signal goes into the green wire input of the [[decider combinator]], where it is compared to the quantity of items in the logistics chest connected to the combinator input on the red wire.
* The decider combinator uses the "each" signal, so each signal on the green wire is compared to each signal on the red wire, and if there are fewer of any item in the chest than are set by the constant combinator, the decider combinator will output a signal on that item's channel.
* The assembling machine then is configured to set the recipe based on incoming signals and so will produce whatever items are needed to fulfill the settings on the constant combinator.
* The assembly machine outputs items to the steel chest, which then loads them into the requester chest, which feeds back into the assembly machine. This is because when a new recipe is loaded, any extra input items of the previous recipe must be unloaded from the machine, and this loop will supply those unloaded items back into the assembly machine, otherwise input materials will fill up the output storage, preventing new items from being produced.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Signal Switch ==

=== Simple Signal Switch ===
[[File:Factorio signal switch edit.png|430px|border|left|alt=combinator settings for a simple signal switch]]
* With the advent of complex conditionals, it is possible to have a single [[constant combinator]] + [[decider combinator]] output any arbitrary signal from any conditional block
* This relies the behavior of the '''each''' signal. If the '''each''' signal is used in an input condition, then it can be used as the output signal as well.
* To start, we'll define all of the signals we may want to output in the constant combinator, and give them each a unique value. If circumstances dictate that you cannot dedicate one of the decider's input wires to just the constant combinator, you may want to make the values negative and/or very large to ensure they stay unique.
* We can exploit the behavior of '''each''' to propagate any of our constant combinator signals when any arbitrary condition is true.
* The format is simple: Define the condition in which you want your signal sent, and then add `AND` '''each''' = `the signal in the constant combinator you want to send when that condition is true`.
* The condition can be simple, using only a single condition, or can have as many AND statements as you need.
* Because the '''each''' statement is only true - due to our constant combinator signals all having unique values - when '''each''' compares a signal to itself, and because we are using '''each''' as our output value, whenever the other conditions in each block are all true, the signal that is compared to '''each''' is sent as the output signal, as it is the only signal that passes that particular condition.
* In the example shown, the decider will output the "pipe" signal when there are fewer than 100 pipes in the chest. It will output the "underground pipe" signal when there are 100 or more pipes AND less than 100 underground pipes in the chest.
* It is important to set the '''each''' comparisons to use only the wire connected to the constant combinator, otherwise any other signals that share the same values might get passed through.

=== Latching Signal Switch ===
[[File:Factorio latching signal switch edit.png|430px|border|left|alt=Combinator settings for a latching signal switch that manages metallic asteroid processing]]
* This type of circuit expands on the simple signal switch by making the decider act as an SR (set/reset) latch as well as a signal switch.
* Adding latching helps prevent machines from flickering on and off, and recipes from switching wildly due to changing conditions.
* For this, the decider's output is connected to its input via the wire NOT connected to the constant combinator. This allows us to use the decider's current output as part of our logic.
* Each separate recipe needs two blocks: the "set" conditions, or "when do we turn the latch on," and the "reset" conditions, or "when do we turn the latch off."
* For the example shown here, the latch for advanced metallic asteroid processing is ''set'' when there is less than 80 copper ore on the output belts ({{Icon|Copper ore}} < 80).
* The second group of conditionals keeps the latch on until the reset condition - {{Icon|copper ore}} ≥ 300 - is reached. Because the ''set'' condition makes the decider start outputting the {{Icon|Advanced metallic asteroid crushing}} signal, then that makes the second block of conditionals true until {{Icon|copper ore}} reaches 300. Once there are 300 copper ore on the belt, neither of the {{Icon|Advanced metallic asteroid crushing}} conditions will be true, and the latch will ''reset''.
* The next two blocks are a latch for basic metallic asteroid processing. In this case, the ''set'' condition is {{Icon|Iron ore}} < 120 AND {{Icon|Advanced metallic asteroid crushing}} = 0. The check for {{Icon|Advanced metallic asteroid crushing}} ensures that we do not have both latches on at once. It's up to you to define the priority of possible output signals by adding similar checks. So for basic processing, the latch can be ''reset'' by two things: either {{Icon|Iron ore}} reaching 500+, or by the {{Icon|Advanced metallic asteroid crushing}} latch turning on.
* Pay close attention to which wires you're using for each condition. Always be as restrictive as possible.

== See Also ==
* [[Arithmetic combinator]]
* [[Constant combinator]]
* [[Decider combinator]]
* [[Circuit network]]

Tutorial talk:Circuit network cookbook

2025-03-31T04:24:02Z

Dalestan: /* Remove "RS latch" and "Usage of RS latch" sections? */ new section

I'm uncertain as to editing practices on this wiki, but wanted to mention something I feel could be worthy of note, a circuit network recipe for controlling usage of uranium-235 and uranium-238 between nuclear fuel and other usages to ensure there is always fuel for the reactor.

Set up a conveyor with a splitter to create two conveyors, one for uranium-235 and one for uranium-238. Have these two conveyors run by two inserters that each feed a container, each container feeds an inserter delivering its contents to an assembly machine making nuclear fuel. Hook the first two containers up to the inserters feeding them from the conveyor, as well as the tile of conveyor after the tile the inserters are drawing from. Set both the inserters to disable when the amount of uranium (235 or 238, whichever either is taking) in the container reaches X amount, and the conveyors to disable when the amount of uranium is below the same amount. Have the assembly machine deliver its product to a third container, and connect that container to the inserters feeding the assembly machine from the uranium containers, with the enable condition nuclear fuel = 0. This container will be the one that feeds your nuclear reactors.

With this set-up, the first two inserters will grab uranium until they reach quota, and until they do the conveyors are disabled to ensure the uranium will not pass by them by. Once quota is met the conveyors enable and the inserters disable, allowing excess uranium to continue down the conveyors to other machines. Meanwhile that stored uranium will not be consumed to produce nuclear fuel until you have none left in reserve, at which time the inserters passing the uranium to the assembly machine activate, in turn activating the first two inserters to get more uranium from the conveyor.

Thus, you always have a stockpile of nuclear fuel and uranium, and when you run out the consumption of uranium by other machines is halted to prioritize production of nuclear fuel. [[User:DrakeyC|DrakeyC]] ([[User talk:DrakeyC|talk]]) 21:33, 1 September 2020 (UTC)

:This page is mostly maintained by the community. So please feel free to add your circuit with images ofc. If you have any more questions about this page then feel free to contact me (I am on discord / reddit under the same username) [[User:Stevetrov|Stevetrov]] ([[User talk:Stevetrov|talk]]) 14:42, 3 September 2020 (UTC)

::Sounds good, I'll see what I can do shortly. [[User:DrakeyC|DrakeyC]] ([[User talk:DrakeyC|talk]]) 17:15, 7 September 2020 (UTC)

== Remove "RS latch" and "Usage of RS latch" sections? ==

I'd think it would be good to remove at least the "RS latch" and "Usage of RS latch" sections:
The two-decider form of the latch was superseded almost 9 years ago, and the Usage section doesn't add anything that isn't already covered by the steam example.

Any objections?
--[[User:Dalestan|Dalestan]] ([[User talk:Dalestan|talk]]) 04:24, 31 March 2025 (UTC)

Tutorial:Circuit network cookbook

2025-03-31T04:15:01Z

Dalestan: /* Latches */ Add an 2.0 SR latch example, update Backup steam example to use 2.0 deciders and a 2.0 blueprint.

{{cleanup|Combinator GUI and circuit network changed in 2.0}}
''This is a '''beginners''' tutorial. See also the [[Circuit network]] page for an overview over the circuit network and the [[Tutorial:Combinator tutorial]] for an advanced tutorial.''
{{Languages}}

== Foreword ==
This page provides examples of simple circuit network designs and some not so simple designs that others can use, combine and modify. They are designed to be as easy to understand as possible. To see the settings of combinators without opening them, the option "Show combinator settings in "Alt-mode"" in the Interface/Alt-mode settings has to be checked and "Alt-mode" has to be turned on.

== Lights ==
[[File:LightWiredToChest.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Lamp showing chest content condition ===

This is one of the simplest possible use of circuit-network. A [[lamp]] is light depending on the number of goods (in this example empty barrels) in a chest.

==== Setting up circuit connection ====
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* The lamp is connected to the chest.
* The lamp is set to light if the chest contain less than 10 empty barrels.

==== To set the light condition ====
* Open the lamp (left click on it).
* Set the input to barrels.
* Set the operator to < (less than).
* Set the constant number:
** Left click on the constant number
** Move the slider until 10 is shown, or edit the value box directly.
** Press set.

Depending on the condition you set, the lamp may light if the chest is empty, or if it contains the required quantity of items.

The drawback with this scenario is that the lamp has a white light , and is therefore difficult to differentiate from an ordinary lamp at night.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:ConditionalLights.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Conditional Lights ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* In this circuit we connect a series of [[lamp]]s to a [[storage tank]].
* By setting different conditions on each lamp we can build an indicator strip.
* The Enabled condition of the first lamp is '''Petroleum gas > 100'''.
* The others light up when gas is greater than 200, 300, 400 and 500 respectively.

In this setup you can connect the storage tank to the lamps directly.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:ColoredLights.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Colored Lights ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
To light a [[lamp]] with a color rather than white, you need an intermediate device like an [[arithmetic combinator]] that can send a color signal.
Instead of directly connect the [[lamp]] and the [[Storage tank]] you need:
# Add the arithmetic combinator.
# Connect the [[storage tank]] with the input of the arithmetic combinator.
# Connect the output of the [[arithmetic combinator]] with the lamp.
# Set up the arithmetic combinator:
## Setting the input to petroleum Gas + 0 (the constant 0 not the signal 0)
## Set the output to the pink signal (on the bottom row of the last tab of signals.)
# Set up the [[lamp]]:
## Select the "Use colors" check box on the lamp.
## Set the condition to the pink signal, and what value you want (i.e. > 100)
</div>
{{clear}}

== Oil Setups ==
Balancing the production of petroleum gas, light oil and heavy oil is one of the most important use cases of the circuit network.

[[File:LgtOilCracking.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Light Oil Cracking ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This circuit provides balanced light oil and petroleum gas production by cracking excess light oil into gas.
* The [[pump]] is connected to the [[storage tank]] by a [[red wire]].
* The pump has an enabled condition set to '''Light Oil > 20000'''.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:HvyOilCracking.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Heavy Oil Cracking ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This circuit extends on the previous circuit by adding optional heavy oil cracking to provide lubricant etc.
* The pump has an enabled condition set to '''Heavy oil > 20000'''.
</div>
{{clear}}

=== Alternative Setup for Cracking and Lubricant Production ===
This setup compares different fluid levels to each other instead of checking fixed values. It offers some guarantees such as petroleum gas being produced when you have light oil to spare, and light oil not being cracked when you have plenty of petroleum gas, and similar rules for heavy oil cracking and lubricant production.

[[File:oil-single-cct.png|border|left|430px]]

<div style="margin-left:440px;">
It takes 4 steps:

# Have a fluid tank for heavy oil, light oil, petroleum gas, and lubricant. For each fluid, make sure to connect the tank via pipes to every location where the fluid is being produced or consumed.
# For each chemical plant (or each row of them, if you use rows) add a pump to the non-water fluid input pipe to make it possible to block the flow. Note: Alternatively, the blocking pumps could be added to the chemical plant output pipes, but there is no need to add pumps to both inputs and outputs.
# Connect every pump and every fluid tank to a single circuit network of red (or green) wire. The resulting circuit network will know about the fluid level in every storage tank and pass this information to every pump.
# For each connected pump set the circuit “enable condition” to "[input fluid] > [output fluid]" , for its respective chemical plant recipe. E.g. set "heavy oil > light oil" for the heavy oil cracking input pump, set "heavy oil > lubricant" for the lubricant production input pump, and set "light oil > petroleum gas" for the light oil cracking input pump.

Done! Now all the pumps will move to equalize the fluid levels to each other. This will prevent fluid system deadlocks where you have plenty of one fluid but you are unable to make any of the other.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Misc ==
[[file:MulitipleChestsAndPoles.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Multiple Storages ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* If you connect multiple chests to a pole, the pole displays the sum of items in all the chests.
* This also works with [[storage tank]]s and [[roboport]]s.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:ConstantComb.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Constant Combinator ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* With a [[constant combinator]] you can generate any signals you may need.
* In this example we have generated a signal of 50 Laser turrets and 200 Piercing round magazine.
* Constant combinators are not of much use on their own but we shall use them later.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:ThisASign.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Constant Combinator Signs (Words) ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* You can use [[constant combinator]]s to make signs, just set the letter signals in the combinator, each combinator can display 2 characters side by side.
* Note that to see these letters, Alt-mode must be on and the Interface setting “Show combinator settings in “Alt-Mode”” must also be enabled.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:constant_combinator_signs2.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Constant Combinator Signs (Managing Belts) ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Somewhat similar to the previous example, constant combinator signals can be used with belts to help indicate what items should be on which belts. This is extremely useful when sharing blueprints, as it's possible for blueprints to be shared albeit with no indication on which items are meant for which belts.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:MemoryCell.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Memory Cell / Counter ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Basic memory cell that counts all the items moved by the inserter
* The [[fast inserter]] is connected to '''BOTH''' ends of the arithmetic combinator.
* If the fast inserter hasn't picked anything up this tick the input to the Arithmetic combinator is the same as and output and hence the values are persisted.
* When the fast inserter does pick something up its value is added to the output from the previous tick thus incrementing that item.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Inserters ==
[[File:LimitItemsPlacedIntoAChest.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Limit items placed into a chest ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* The [[inserter]] is connected to the [[wooden chest]] using a [[red wire]].
* The inserter's enabled condition is '''Advanced Circuit < 10'''.
* In reality this means the inserter may place more than 10 Advanced circuits in the chest because it could pick up to 3 at once due to stack size bonuses.
* This effect can be even greater with Stack inserters because of their large carrying capacity.
* This technique still gives far greater control than limiting the inventory on the chest.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:BalancedChestInsert.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Balanced chest insert ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
Goal: Load n chests with approximately the same number of items. This can be used for train stations: [https://www.reddit.com/r/factorio/comments/4e03g2/madzuris_smart_loading_train_station_guide/ MadZuri's smart loading train station]
* Place n chests and n inserters.
* Place 1 [[arithmetic combinator]]
* Set the combinator to take Each (yellow star) and divide by the negative number of chests. ie −n.
* Connect all chests to each other and to the input of the combinator using red wire.
* Connect all inserters to each other and to the output of the combinator using red wire.
* Connect each inserter to the box it inserts into with green wire.
* Set the enable condition on each inserter to be Everything (red star) < 0.

The combinator calculates the average number of items in the chests, and makes it negative. Each inserter gets the amount in the chest it is inserting to and adds the negative average, i.e. it calculates how many more than the average it has in its chest. Thus if that number is negative, it has less than the average in the chest and it enables.

Due to inserter stack bonus the count is not exact. If a precise count is needed, set the inserter stack size to 1.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:SmartOutpostUnloader.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Keeping outpost stocked with specified items ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This circuit keeps a [[storage chest]] at an outpost stocked with customized levels of different items.
* For example you could keep an outpost stocked with 50 laser turrets and 200 piercing magazine rounds but not have to worry about it being over filled.
* The [[storage chest]] is attached to the input of the [[arithmetic combinator]] (left side in the picture) with a [[red wire]].
* Another couple of [[red wire]]s join the output of the [[arithmetic combinator]] (right side) to the [[constant combinator]] and to the [[stack filter inserter]].
* The [[arithmetic combinator]] '''multiplies''' each input value (from the storage chest) by '''-1'''.
* Finally the filter stack inserter's mode of operation is set to '''Set filters'''.
* So the input to the [[stack filter inserter]] is '''<constant combinator> - <storage chest contents>''' and the filter is set to filter for the first item by inventory order.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:SolarAccumalatorBalancer.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Balanced Solar panel / Accumulator Production ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This circuit balances production of [[solar panel]]s and [[accumulator]]s to a desired ratio in my case 24:20.
* The first [[arithmetic combinator]] takes the number of accumulators in the chest and '''multiplies''' it by '''24'''.
* The second [[arithmetic combinator]] takes the output of the first combinator and '''divides''' it by '''20'''.
* This gives us the number of accumulators that we can directly compare to the number of Solar panels in both inserters.
* If the number of accumulators is greater we enable the Solar panels inserter, if the number of Solar panels is greater we enable the accumulators inserter.
* However, if they are equal, neither machine does anything. So we add a single accumulator to one of the inserters using a constant combinator and a wire of the other color, therefore breaking the deadlock.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Sushi Belts ==
[[File:SushiScience1.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Reading Belt Design ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Six belts in a row are connected with Red wire and set to '''Read belts contents''' and '''Hold'''
* This [[red wire]] is then connected to the inserters that insert onto the belt.
* Read hand contents is unselected for all inserters.
* Mode of operation is set to '''Enable/Disable''' on all inserters.
* The first inserter is enabled when '''Automation science pack = 0'''
* The other inserters are set similarly for the other science packs.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:SushiScience2.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Memory Cell Design ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This recipe produces a rolling sum of the number of items of each type, as they added or removed from a looping conveyor belt. Inserters placing items onto the belt can use this sum to turn on or off as needed.
* It achieves this through two networks, one red (subtraction) and one green (addition), connected to their own inserters, and two arithmetic combinators: one basic [[arithmetic combinator]] to do the subtraction, and one memory cell, to update and persist the values.
 
* Each inserter that takes items '''from''' the belt is connected with Red wire. Each of these inserters is set to '''Mode of operation: None''', '''Read hand contents is checked''', and Hand read mode is set to '''Pulse''' (sends 1 each time an item is picked up).
* These red wire inserters are connected to the input of the subtraction arithmetic combinator, in this example, it is the one on the left.
* The left [[arithmetic combinator]] multiples '''each''' input by '''-1''' and outputs it to '''each'''. This subtracts 1 each time an inserter removes an item from the belt, for the specific type of item taken.
* The right [[arithmetic combinator]] is the '''memory cell'''.
* The memory cell's input is connected to: 1. A green wire network of inserters placing items onto the belt (the addition), 2. The output of the left [[arithmetic combinator]] (the subtraction).
* The memory cell's output should be connected to its input, so that each time an update is sent from either the addition network (green wire) or subtraction network (red wire), the updated value is persisted.
* When a Green wire inserter adds an item to the belt, that item's count in the memory cell is increased by 1.
* The inserters that place items onto the belt (green wire) should be set to: '''Enable/disable''', '''Read hand contents is checked''' and '''Hand read mode is set to Pulse'''.
* The '''Enable/disable''' condition is set based on the number of items you'd like picked up by the red wire inserters, e.g. Automation science pack <= 16 (one pack for each lab in the example shown here).
</div>
{{clear}}

== Power ==
[[File:SteamBackup.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Backup steam power ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* The [[steam engine]]s are not directly connected to the power network. They are connected to the power network through a [[power switch]].
* The [[power switch]] is connected to one of the [[accumulator]]s in the main network.
* The [[power switch]] turns on when A < 10. That is when the [[accumulator]]s are less than 10% full.
</div>
{{clear}}

=== Optimal usage of fuel for nuclear power ===
Unlike the normal steam power that adjusts fuel usage based on power usage, the [[Power_production#Nuclear_power|nuclear reactors]] spend fuel in fixed units of time. To be exact, the consumption of 1 fuel cell takes exactly 200 seconds.

Combined with the fact that creating the nuclear fuel cells are time consuming and expensive to create, it is therefore beneficial to optimize their use to match the actual consumed power.

[[File:NuclearCircuits.png|border|left|430px]]
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
This picture shows a setup with 4 reactors, that spend only 1 fuel cell each whenever steam runs low.<br>
''Note: The GUI in the image above has been altered to make sure all important info fits within the image size.''

There are a few elements in this setup:
* Storage tank that provides the [[steam]] signal. You should only read from one storage tank, and it should have pipe connections to all your other steam storage tanks.
* Chests containing [[uranium fuel cell]]s for the reactor.
* Output inserter that takes [[Used_up_uranium_fuel_cell|empty fuel cells]] from the reactor. This is connected to the storage tank to listen for the steam signal, and to the chests to listen for the uranium fuel cell signal. If the steam level is low and there are uranium fuel cells available, it removes the empty fuel cells from the reactor and sends an empty fuel cell signal (since "Read hand contents" is checked).
* Input inserter that put uranium fuel cells into the reactor. This is connected to the output inserter and listens for the empty fuel cell signal. The "Override stack size" is set to 1, so that it only inserts 1 fuel cell at a time.
* If you are using multiple reactors you should only wire one output inserter to one steam tank, and then connect all input inserters to the single output inserter. This will synchronize fuel insertion to maximize the reactor neighbour heat bonus. The other reactors can have "dumb" output inserters that remove [[Used_up_uranium_fuel_cell|empty fuel cells]] immediately.

Since this design uses empty fuel cells as a signal to fill the reactor, you need to manually insert 1 uranium fuel cell into the reactor to get it started.
</div>
{{clear}}

=== Prioritize usage of uranium towards nuclear fuel production ===
Because a continuous supply of [[uranium fuel cell]]s is critical to maintaining a [[nuclear reactor]], the circuit network can be used to set up a system where [[uranium-235]] and [[uranium-238]] are conserved for the production of nuclear fuel before other uses.

[[File:Nuclear Fuel Circuit Network.png|border|left|430px]]
<div style="margin-left:440px;">

Using a [[splitter]], divert the two types of uranium onto two parallel conveyors, with an [[inserter]] positioned to gather uranium from each conveyor (a [[long-handed inserter]] will be needed for the far belt). Each of these inserters deposits their load into a container, from which two more inserters deliver the contents to an [[assembling machine]] making nuclear fuel. An inserter delivers the produced fuel to a third container, from which inserter(s) delivers the fuel to your nuclear reactor. Wire the two inserters gathering from the conveyors to the container each of them is delivering to, and to the tile of conveyor immediately after the tile the inserter is gathering from. Set each inserter's enable condition to "less than or equal to X amount of uranium", using the appropriate type of uranium the inserter is gathering and X being the number of reserve uranium desired (optimally, one uranium-235 and nineteen uranium-238, the amount needed to produce nuclear fuel; the amount may be increased if a greater stockpile is desired). Set each conveyor's enable condition to "greater than or equal to X amount of uranium" in the same manner. Finally, connect the inserters delivering uranium to the assembly machine up to the container the assembly machine is delivering nuclear fuel to, and set each of their enable conditions to "nuclear fuel = 0 (the enable condition can be set to "less than or equal to X amount of nuclear fuel" if a larger stockpile is desired).

This set-up accomplishes the following:

* When there is sufficient nuclear fuel and uranium stockpiled, the inserters will deactivate and the conveyors activate, allowing the uranium to continue down the conveyors to other facilities.
* When the nuclear fuel stockpile hits zero (or decreases below the desired amount), the inserters delivering to the assembly machine will activate and deliver uranium to resume production of nuclear fuel until quota is reached again.
* When there is not enough uranium stockpiled to produce a batch of nuclear fuel, the inserters gathering uranium will activate and and resume gathering uranium until they reach their quota. The conveyors carrying uranium will stop past the inserters, cutting off other facilities from that type of uranium until its respective inserter reaches quota.
* The assembly machine will only be provided with uranium when the stockpile of nuclear fuel hits zero (or decreases below the desired amount), preventing over-production of nuclear fuel and thus over-consumption of uranium.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Railway network ==
=== Set train routing ===
The circuit network can be used to allow deeper micromanagement of [[train]]s. Circuits can be used to adjust train limits for [[Train stop|stops]], effectively disabling a stop when a resource is not available for loading, or if an unloading station already has more than enough of a resource. Note that adjusting train limits runs into fewer problems than fully enabling/disabling stops; see [https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-361 Friday Facts #361 - Train stop limit, Tips and tricks] and the [[Train stop]] page for additional information about using train limits.

=== Player safety ===
The circuit network can be used to ensure the player's safety when crossing train tracks so they do not get hit. Place [[gate]]s at designated crossing areas and connect an adjacent [[wall]] to [[rail signal]]s near the gate. Set the gate to "read sensor" and the signal to "close signal" with the condition being the signal the gate sends out being "1". This means that when the gate is closed, the signal will be green and trains can pass freely, but when the player approaches the gate and it opens for them, the train signal will be turned red and trains will be stopped until the player clears the area.

Alternatively, this system can be reversed - by setting the gate to "open gate" and the train signal set to "read signal", the gate will remain open normally and will close when a train is approaching, preventing the player from crossing until it is safe.

In lieu of gates, the player can connect a [[programmable speaker]] to the train signals to broadcast a warning siren when a train is approaching the area.

== Latches ==
=== RS latch - single decider version ===
[https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?f=193&t=14556 This discussion] on the Factorio forums starts with the common 2 decider RS latch version, but later a [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=111192#p111192 single decider version was proposed]. The thread [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=160896#p160896 goes on to explain] why this is better. In the thread, the latch is described as an SR latch. However, when both inputs are true, the latch will reset, so it is an RS latch.

=== SR latch ===
In 2.0, an SR latch can be accomplished in a single decider combinator with many combinations of set and reset conditions. This latch, for example will set if the steam levels or the accumulator levels fall too low, and will reset when both levels recover. This is an SR latch; if both inputs are true, the latch will set.

[[File:SR-Multi-condition.png]]
{{clear}}
=== Backup steam example ===
This example will turn on the steam generator when the Accumulator charge drops to 20%, but will "latch" (remember) the On state until the accumulator is charged to 90%.

Latching is used to introduce [[Wikipedia:hysteresis|hysteresis]] and avoid the power switch rapidly cycling on and off (as the accumulator falls to 19%, charges to 20%, falls to 19% and so on).
[[File:SR-01-Layout.png|850px|left]]
{{clear}}
{{BlueprintString|bp-string=0eNqllMmO2zAMht+FZ2UQx0trHwr0GXoMAkO2mRkBWgwtyQSB330oJXGKxmg604tNUdQnkr+kM3Qy4GiF9tCcQfRGO2i2Z3DiVXMZfZorhAacR65WqF+FRpgYCD3gOzTZtGOA2gsv8LIyDU6tDqpDSwHsRlA4iEAIib23ol+NRiIwGI2jxUbHvQhY5C8lgxMZ9Us5TewBuPkksMyeAPMZ6BSX8inv+xNeMfN43wcVJPfGLhRaJ0qZUTOp7d4a2Xb4xg+CoinEBD8G396F8KcxQg/C+kCee9YpYvUTpqVsyjluwF4MaFe9UZ3Qy0mV+TUpKo3BICy1Is0Wy0lemS3NDYnjovf3EZ2IvbDuc4WkzZzn8VRu1rGq/2PUX2H8ujDUyG1qVgM/4ObA9rqY6wHiFbio9efd+bcdxhP1L2jf7q1RrdAEgmbPpcNpt6hpNYNGcyRF3VH4/m1BzervR6wXtg/Ct6h5J3GAxtuAbHbPMsbYrzXvJsD6oZNUF1zybinG463ix2q/scU36KHaan29mAunN0p0pHEUaJuxkm1YuWNb+rIqWXmyKrIKFuczslIUK5JV0OxmRxThUVEq92eTwQGtS9uU1aYu6pp+eZ1X+TR9AMRRzM0=}}
{{clear}}
[[File:SR-02-Accumulator.png|left]]Accumulator outputs the current charge level as % on signal [[File:Signal-A.png|21px]]
{{clear}}
[[File:SR-04-SRLatch.png|left]]The decider sets and latches the Set signal [[File:Signal-S.png|21px]] when the accumulator falls below 20%, and unlatches when the accumulator reaches 90%.<br />
{{clear}}
[[File:SR-05-PowerSwitch.png|left]]The Power switch isolates the generator from the rest of the factory until [[File:Signal-S.png|21px]] = 1
{{clear}}
----

[[File:SRLatch.png|border|left|430px]]

=== RS latch ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This should be familiar to anyone with any background in electronics.
* The signal is set and reset with the [[constant combinator]]s on the left by setting an A=1 signal.
* The latch "remembers" which one was last set and the light stays on until another signal is received.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:SRlatchinaction.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Usage of RS latch ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Here is an example of how you could use an RS latch.
* The two extra [[decider combinator]]s provide the set and reset conditions.
* Petroleum gas < 50 and petroleum gas > 100.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:BeltLatch.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Belt only latch ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* To make it work, '''3''' pieces of raw wood must be placed on the inside lane of the belt.
* It will have higher latency than the combinator version, but in most situations you will not notice the difference.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Displays ==
[[File:5digitDisplay.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Numerical Display ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Each digit is driven by its own [[green wire]], that wire holds 15 signals, one for each lamp used in the digit.
* [[constant combinator]]s are used to define which lamp should light up for each value.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:BWDisplay.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Black and White Grid Display ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* Each row has its own [[red wire]] connection and within that row each light has a numbered signal 0-9.
* We turn each light on by just setting or clearing the relevant signal.
</div>
{{clear}}

[[File:MultiColoredDisplay.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Multicolor Display by DaveMcW ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* To understand how this works, you first need to understand how color lights choose which color to light up when there are multiple colored signals.
* The [[lamp]] will light up with the colored signal that is greater than zero and earliest in this list: red, green, blue, yellow, pink, cyan, white.
* We have a [[red wire]] per column, that wire has each of the colored signals on it at different values and a numbered signal for each row.
* There is a [[arithmetic combinator]] for each cell that subtracts the "row" value from each of the colored signals.
* And this enables us to choose the color for each cell.
* Simple!
</div>
{{clear}}

== Setting Recipes ==
[[File:MultipleItemAssembler.png|border|left|430px]]

=== Multiple Item Assembling Machine ===
<div style="margin-left:440px;">
* This Version 2 circuit design allows a user to have a single [[assembling machine]] produce several different items that all use mostly the same ingredients. This is a convenient way to avoid routing the same set of inputs to multiple assembly machines for items that need automated, but not constant production. For example, [[medium electric pole]]s and [[big electric pole]]s share the same ingredients, or the [[pumpjack]], [[oil refinery]], and [[chemical plant]] take mostly the same inputs.
* To use this, the player opens the [[constant combinator]] and selects which items and what quantities to make.
* This signal goes into the green wire input of the [[decider combinator]], where it is compared to the quantity of items in the logistics chest connected to the combinator input on the red wire.
* The decider combinator uses the "each" signal, so each signal on the green wire is compared to each signal on the red wire, and if there are fewer of any item in the chest than are set by the constant combinator, the decider combinator will output a signal on that item's channel.
* The assembling machine then is configured to set the recipe based on incoming signals and so will produce whatever items are needed to fulfill the settings on the constant combinator.
* The assembly machine outputs items to the steel chest, which then loads them into the requester chest, which feeds back into the assembly machine. This is because when a new recipe is loaded, any extra input items of the previous recipe must be unloaded from the machine, and this loop will supply those unloaded items back into the assembly machine, otherwise input materials will fill up the output storage, preventing new items from being produced.
</div>
{{clear}}

== Signal Switch ==

=== Simple Signal Switch ===
[[File:Factorio signal switch edit.png|430px|border|left|alt=combinator settings for a simple signal switch]]
* With the advent of complex conditionals, it is possible to have a single [[constant combinator]] + [[decider combinator]] output any arbitrary signal from any conditional block
* This relies the behavior of the '''each''' signal. If the '''each''' signal is used in an input condition, then it can be used as the output signal as well.
* To start, we'll define all of the signals we may want to output in the constant combinator, and give them each a unique value. If circumstances dictate that you cannot dedicate one of the decider's input wires to just the constant combinator, you may want to make the values negative and/or very large to ensure they stay unique.
* We can exploit the behavior of '''each''' to propagate any of our constant combinator signals when any arbitrary condition is true.
* The format is simple: Define the condition in which you want your signal sent, and then add `AND` '''each''' = `the signal in the constant combinator you want to send when that condition is true`.
* The condition can be simple, using only a single condition, or can have as many AND statements as you need.
* Because the '''each''' statement is only true - due to our constant combinator signals all having unique values - when '''each''' compares a signal to itself, and because we are using '''each''' as our output value, whenever the other conditions in each block are all true, the signal that is compared to '''each''' is sent as the output signal, as it is the only signal that passes that particular condition.
* In the example shown, the decider will output the "pipe" signal when there are fewer than 100 pipes in the chest. It will output the "underground pipe" signal when there are 100 or more pipes AND less than 100 underground pipes in the chest.
* It is important to set the '''each''' comparisons to use only the wire connected to the constant combinator, otherwise any other signals that share the same values might get passed through.

=== Latching Signal Switch ===
[[File:Factorio latching signal switch edit.png|430px|border|left|alt=Combinator settings for a latching signal switch that manages metallic asteroid processing]]
* This type of circuit expands on the simple signal switch by making the decider act as an SR (set/reset) latch as well as a signal switch.
* Adding latching helps prevent machines from flickering on and off, and recipes from switching wildly due to changing conditions.
* For this, the decider's output is connected to its input via the wire NOT connected to the constant combinator. This allows us to use the decider's current output as part of our logic.
* Each separate recipe needs two blocks: the "set" conditions, or "when do we turn the latch on," and the "reset" conditions, or "when do we turn the latch off."
* For the example shown here, the latch for advanced metallic asteroid processing is ''set'' when there is less than 80 copper ore on the output belts ({{Icon|Copper ore}} < 80).
* The second group of conditionals keeps the latch on until the reset condition - {{Icon|copper ore}} ≥ 300 - is reached. Because the ''set'' condition makes the decider start outputting the {{Icon|Advanced metallic asteroid crushing}} signal, then that makes the second block of conditionals true until {{Icon|copper ore}} reaches 300. Once there are 300 copper ore on the belt, neither of the {{Icon|Advanced metallic asteroid crushing}} conditions will be true, and the latch will ''reset''.
* The next two blocks are a latch for basic metallic asteroid processing. In this case, the ''set'' condition is {{Icon|Iron ore}} < 120 AND {{Icon|Advanced metallic asteroid crushing}} = 0. The check for {{Icon|Advanced metallic asteroid crushing}} ensures that we do not have both latches on at once. It's up to you to define the priority of possible output signals by adding similar checks. So for basic processing, the latch can be ''reset'' by two things: either {{Icon|Iron ore}} reaching 500+, or by the {{Icon|Advanced metallic asteroid crushing}} latch turning on.
* Pay close attention to which wires you're using for each condition. Always be as restrictive as possible.

== See Also ==
* [[Arithmetic combinator]]
* [[Constant combinator]]
* [[Decider combinator]]
* [[Circuit network]]

File:SR-Multi-condition.png

2025-03-31T04:07:19Z

Dalestan: Multi-condition SR latch

== Summary ==
Multi-condition SR latch

File:SR-04-SRLatch.png

2025-03-31T04:05:36Z

Dalestan: Dalestan uploaded a new version of File:SR-04-SRLatch.png

{{Screenshot}}SR Latch example - SR Latch decider configuration

File:SR-01-Layout.png

2025-03-31T04:04:20Z

Dalestan: Dalestan uploaded a new version of File:SR-01-Layout.png

{{Screenshot}}SR Latch example - layout and wiring

Asteroid collector

2025-03-22T12:00:53Z

Dalestan: Add placement and collection area information

{{Languages}}
{{:Infobox:Asteroid collector}}
{{Stub}}
{{About/Space age}}
The '''Asteroid collector''' collects [[asteroids]]{{SA}} in a 15×15 radius and can collect 5 items with its arm before going back to store them. Higher [[quality]] asteroid collectors increase base health, electricity consumption, collection area, storage size, arm speed, and arm amount.

The center tile of the collection area is five tiles in front of the center tile of the asteroid collector. The image below has a tile ghost in the center of the collection area.

[[File:Center tile of asteroid collection area.png|frameless|alt=An image showing an asteroid collector. The collection area highlight is visible, and there is a tile ghost indicating the center of the collection area.|The tile ghost is the center of the collection area]]

== Placement ==
It must be placed on the edge of a [[space platform]]{{SA}}, with the back 2×3 tiles on the space platform and the front 1×3 tiles (where the arms come out) off of the space platform. The nine (3x3) tiles in front of the asteroid collector must also be empty space.

== History ==
{{history|2.0.7|
* Introduced in [[Space Age]]{{SA}} expansion.
}}

== See also ==
* [[Inserters]]
* [[Storage]]
* [[Stack]]

{{SpaceNav}}
{{C|Resource extraction}}

File:Center tile of asteroid collection area.png

2025-03-22T11:58:53Z

Dalestan: Dalestan moved page File:Center tile of asteroid collection area .png to File:Center tile of asteroid collection area.png: Misspelled title

This shows an asteroid collector and marks the center tile of its collection area with a ghost space platform tile.

File:Center tile of asteroid collection area.png

2025-03-22T11:51:16Z

Dalestan:

This shows an asteroid collector and marks the center tile of its collection area with a ghost space platform tile.

Talk:Quality

2025-03-21T16:12:33Z

Dalestan: /* One addition needed */

== Template for quality-affected stats ==

Writing this here because I need to write it somewhere.

I went ahead and made a template for when the same property varies based on quality. (Example: {{Quality|Small number|Not so small number|Decent number|Big number|Insane number}}.) Not sure if this is how we're gonna handle it (I've never been one to make good decisions :b), so it won't bother me if we wind up doing something completely different. I've already added it to the [[electromagnetic plant]] infobox (not sure if that was a good idea...), so you can see it there in practice if you need to. However, I don't really want to take it any further if I'm the only one who thinks this is a good idea. So, any thoughts? - [[User:Tecanec|tecanec]] ([[User talk:Tecanec|talk]]) 13:07, 28 October 2024 (UTC)
: Thanks for the initial implementation and the example usage! I made some adjustments and I think it's good to go now :D -- [[User:Bilka|Bilka]] ([[User talk:Bilka|talk]]) - <span style="color:#FF0000">Admin</span> 21:51, 28 October 2024 (UTC)

== Optimal module usage ==
How exactly is the optimal module usage calculated? I know the list only applies to it's usage in Assembler 3's, but with the new special buildings from other planets, chemical plants, and other various machines, I feel like it would be much better to break down what exactly the formula is in a general sense so we can apply it to every machine, instead of only getting the answers for a single machine.<br>
-- [[User:Brin|Brin]] ([[User talk:Brin|talk]]) 00:07, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

: Agreed with this - even for one machine, it seems incredibly un-useful to present these stats on the page as absolute truth without showing any workings. I'd rather have this section removed from the wiki than blindly trust it.
:-- [[User:Sachertorte|Sachertorte]] ([[User talk:Sachertorte|talk]]) 18:29, 17 November 2024 (UTC)

::I created an excel sheet to do the iterative calculations to work out the number of crafts required to take 1 set of common inputs to 1 set of legendary outputs, using the statistical products. It is a bit complicated, using Markov chains and matrix multiplication. I'm not in a position to upload the sheet, but a screenshot is included showing the transition probabilities and workflow (for a 50% productivity machine with common quality 3 modules in it and the recycler

::[[File:Screenshot 2024-11-21 094640.png|thumb]]
::-- [[User:Cooky173|Cooky173]] ([[User talk:Cooky173|talk]]) 23:55, 20 November 2024 (UTC)

:::Have done a further revision to add some derivation - maybe getting too technical for the wiki page, but figured it was better to write it down somewhere and let people more familiar with wiki format to either clean it up or put it in a more appropriate place.

:::-- [[User:Cooky173|Cooky173]] ([[User talk:Cooky173|talk]]) 07:07, 22 November 2024 (UTC)

::::Cause i had no access to wiki and couldnt contact Cooky173 i added a post concerning this page: https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=122540
::::Not sure whether i should delete my post and move it to this discussion.

::::Now that i looked at your numbers in the spreadsheat i wonder why there is a "crafting round 2"? It seems like the output of the recycling round 1 is not the same as the input to recycling round 2.

::::At least for items that were not recycled into its ingredients (like iron or superconductors) the calculation should imo base on 1 crafting plus (theoretically) infinite recycling of the non-legendary items.

::::The situation differs when recycling results into components of the item (like green circuits). Then it can be proven that using the results of 1 recycling should better be used for next crafting than for further recycling. To calculate these odds then becomes way more complex.
::::[[File:Screenshot 2024-11-23 002509.png|thumb]]
::::-- [[User:FactorioGamer22|FactorioGamer22]] ([[User talk:FactorioGamer22|talk]]) 23:12, 22 November 2024 (UTC)

:::::I converted my spreadsheet to google sheets. I think its working and I think I made mistakes when generating the tables in the wiki. Need to crunch the data again and fix.

:::::https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13HH2twPdDAOo0L1jNLODH1rbGHgyowZjcVNXBhBAaDA/edit?usp=sharing
:::::-- [[User:Cooky173|Cooky173]] ([[User talk:Cooky173|talk]]) 12:29, 24 November 2024 (UTC)

::::::The data in this spreadsheet is now what is on this wiki page for the table of quality modules. However, I can't make any sense of it. What on earth is 1% for '''''normal''''' quality supposed to mean? Normal is the default. Adding quality modules should only '''''decrease''''' the % of normal quality items. Can someone explain this? @[[User:Cooky173|Cooky173]]?
::::::-- [[User:Cowlinator|Cowlinator]] ([[User talk:Cowlinator|talk]]) 19:45, 22 January 2025 (UTC)

::::::With a little bit of linear algebra I have found an explicit formula for the number of batches of ingredients required per legendary product. When there is no quality module in the assemblers(/foundries/whatever), the formula is rather simple:

::::::<math>\frac{1000 \, \left[(p+1) \,q_r-p+3\right]^4}{(p+1)^2 \,q_r\, \left[10 \,(p+1)\, q_r-p+3\right]^3}</math>

::::::where <math>p</math> is the total productivity bonus of the crafting machines, and <math>q_r</math> is the quality bonus of the recyclers. There is also a more general formula when the quality bonus of the assemblers, <math>q_a</math>, is non zero, but it is much uglier (and it breaks formatting, sorry):

::::::<math>\frac{1000 \left((p+1) q_a \left(q_r-1\right)-(p+1) q_r+p-3\right)^4}{(p+1) \left(-q_r \left((p+1) q_a \left(q_a \left((p+1) q_a \left((p+1) (p+15997) q_a-4 (p (p+3194)+6409)\right)+6 (p-3) (p (p+474)+969)\right)-4 (p-3)^2 (p+57)\right)+((p-8) p+18) p^2\right)+1000 (p+1)^4 \left(q_a-1\right){}^4 q_r^4-100 (p+1)^3 \left(q_a-1\right){}^3 q_r^3 \left((3 p+151) q_a-3 p+9\right)+6 (p+1)^2 q_r^2 \left(q_a \left(q_a \left(5 (p+1) (p+797) q_a^2-2 (p (10 p+3207)+6289) q_a+30 p (p+114)+5470\right)-20 (p-3) (p+27)\right)+5 (p-3)^2\right)+4 q_a \left(10 (p+1) q_a-p+3\right)^3+27 q_r\right)}</math>

::::::As a check, these formulas give the same results as the spreadsheet of Cooky173. However these results are different than the ones currently shown on the page.

::::::I believe there are currently too much information on the page. Many lines of the giant table are not so useful, as no one should try to upcycle for legendary products without at least epic modules, as the figures show. Regarding the formulas: the general one does not have its place on the page, but the one with only productivity could be useful I think. Going full productivity is almost always the best choice anyway, even when it is not truly optimal, since it lets you use beacons with speed modules to build at scale.

::::::I am newly registered here and I don't have experience writing for wikis, so I would like your opinions before modifying the page.

::::::-- [[User:Kaloether|Kaloether]] ([[User talk:Kaloether|talk]]) 22:27, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

:::::::I think you might be right about the tables being unnecessary clutter. I guess thinking about it from the perspective of the wiki, people are probably going to want to know the following:
:::::::1) When they are starting out on Nauvis, what is the best way to get uncommon and rare items (e.g. pre-recycling)
:::::::2) Once they have have access to recyclers, what is the best way to get rare/epic items (maybe with and without Tier 3 modules)
:::::::3) Once they have unlocked legendary items, what is the most efficient way to get legendary items.
:::::::3 is the question I've really set about answering in a simple way and yea - if you are at the point of making legendary everything you are just going to be using legendary modules - if not immediately, very soon. This is where you can also go down the rabbit hole of recycling products with outrageous prod. bonuses like Blue circuits and Low density structures as more efficient pathways to legendary copper, steel, plastic, green and red circuits.

:::::::I don't really know how to answer all of this, but I'll try and update my spreadsheet at least to work better at lower levels of available quality and to enable doing smart things like always use productivity in the last step of the production chain.

:::::::-- [[User:Cooky173|Cooky173]] ([[User talk:Cooky173|talk]]) 09:14, 27 November 2024 (UTC)

::::::::I cleaned up the page in terms of HTML/CSS which made the tables easier to parse at a glance. I also made them inline-blocks, so they can be inspected horizontally side-by-side. I believe these things should alleviate the concern about clutter a whole lot.
::::::::I'm concerned I may have misinterpreted some things about those tables so I'd appreciate if someone could look over my changes and confirm that I didn't get something wrong. I didn't change the numbers, but I did change the labels and some wording. Likewise, if someone could check the tables in the derivation section. I changed the formulas in those as I believe they were simply incorrect; or otherwise, I just couldn't understand what they signified. The current formulas give the same numbers as shown in the stochastic matrix, so I expect it's fine. I just worry that instead of the original tables being wrong, I misunderstood the original formula.

::::::::Last thing, I removed the bullet points that began the optimal module usage subsection. It had conflicting information with the tables, as far as I could tell.
::::::::Since the tables have mathematical support rather than an appeal to authority, I thought it was better to lean on them. In fact, I thought it'd be good to expand on the stochastic matrix and show example usage to make the connection between it and the tables clear. But the sentiment on this seems split.

::::::::Something that might be considered, given the discussion above, is to keep the "facts" simple on the Quality page, but move the math and derivations to another page, which the quality page can then reference as needed.
::::::::I personally appreciate the clarity of the tables as opposed to an unsupported statement(s). Wikis are open to public editing which comes with a healthy amount of doubt from visiting users. Having the derivation is rather valuable in the face of that.

::::::::--[[User:Raw Salad|Raw Salad]] ([[User talk:Raw Salad|talk]]) 07:25, 8 December 2024 (UTC)

:::::::::Cooky173 Thanks for the spreadsheet link. It was very helpful! I double checked the math and everything is on order as far as I could tell.

:::::::::I updated the tables on the page since those were made with a slightly incorrect matrix, it seems. I also added all the other potential buildings players might be interested in.

:::::::::But the tables are rather long. I'm new to this wiki, so I'm not sure how much flexibility we have with CSS.
:::::::::Ideally we'd split the tables into "tabs", where each tab corresponds to buildings with certain max module slots. That would make the tables far more tidy. Leaving the CSS for this in the page itself seems like poor design though, so I'm not ready to commit to making that.

:::::::::Short of that, we can simply change out the tables to only show the maximal Prod to Quality module setups.

:::::::::-- [[User:Raw Salad|Raw Salad]] ([[User talk:Raw Salad|talk]]) 14:15, 8 December 2024 (UTC)

::::::::::I thought it might be useful to confirm the math with practical results from in-game so I ran an artificial test in the game to see how close the math gets to the real game figures.

::::::::::For both setups I had 800 basic recycling loops running using electromagnetic plants to create legendary blue circuits. The table presents rates per minute, averaged over an hour of in-game time.

::::::::::{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Quality Modules per Building !! Green Circuit Consumption !! Green Circuit Production !! Legendary Blue Circuit Production !! Legendary Blue Circuit per Craft !! Theoretical Production !! Theoretical per Craft
|-
|1-1-1-1-0||168267||74340||329||329 / ((168267-74340)/20) = 0.070054||354||0.075563
|-
|2-4-5-5-0||216267||80225||345||345 / ((216267-80225)/20) = 0.050720||367||0.053889
|}
::::::::::The figures are rather close. Not sure why it was off though.

::::::::::--[[User:Raw Salad|Raw Salad]] ([[User talk:Raw Salad|talk]]) 14:35, 8 December 2024 (UTC)

== Consider adding table of items and effects of each quality level? ==

I think it would help immensely for quick reference if the Quality Effects section was replaced with a table showing the effects of different qualities on each item.

Something like this (please ignore the incorrect effects, this is just an example layout) with the item icons in the Item column.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Quality Effects
|-
! Item !! Normal !! Uncommon !! Rare !! Epic !! Legendary
|-
| Small electric pole || +1 tile reach || +2 tile reach || +3 tile reach || +4 tile reach || +5 tile reach
|-
| Laser turret || 130% health|| 160% health || 190% health || 210% health || 250% health
|}

If others agree, I can start putting this together and it can just be added to?

-- [[User:MadKingAyres|MadKingAyres]] ([[User talk:MadKingAyres|talk]])

:Could you perhaps post a more fleshed out example?

:My gut reaction is that this will make for a cumbersome table given how many effects there are. Plus, there are items with multiple quality effects, how would the table handle this?
:-- [[User:Raw Salad|Raw Salad]] ([[User talk:Raw Salad|talk]]) 16:23, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

::I think it would be a lot less cumbersome than any other format it could be put in. As for items with multiple effects per quality level, the extra effects would simply be listed in the relevant cell on a new line.

::Here is an example of what I would put on the page, if all are happy with it. Items would be arranged in alphabetical order for easy perusal.

::What do you think?

::{| class="wikitable"
|+ Quality Effects
|-
! Item !! [[File:quality_normal.png|15px]] Normal !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|15px]] Uncommon !! [[File:quality_rare.png|15px]] Rare !! [[File:quality_epic.png|15px]] Epic !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|15px]] Legendary
|-
| [[File:small_electric_pole.png|15px]] Small electric pole ||
* 5x5 supply area
* Wire reach - 7.5 tiles
* Health - 100

||
* 7x7 supply area
* Wire reach - 9.5 tiles
* Health - 130

||
* 9x9 supply area
* Wire reach - 11.5 tiles
* Health - 160

||
* 11x11 supply area
* Wire reach - 13.5 tiles
* Health - 190

||
* 15x15 supply area
* Wire reach - 17.5 tiles
* Health - 250
|-

|-
| [[File:laser_turret.png|15px]] Laser turret ||
* Range - 24 tiles
* Health - 1000

||
* Range - 26.4 tiles
* Health - 1300

||
* Range - 28.8 tiles
* Health - 1600

||
* Range - 31.2 tiles
* Health - 1900

||
* Range - 36 tiles
* Health - 2500
|-
| [[File:assembling_machine_2.png|15px]] Assembling machine 2 ||
* Crafting speed - 0.75
* Health - 350

||
* Crafting speed - 0.975
* Health - 455

||
* Crafting speed - 1.2
* Health - 560

||
* Crafting speed - 1.425
* Health - 665

||
* Crafting speed - 1.875
* Health - 875
|-
| [[File:construction_robot.png|15px]] Construction robot||
* Max flying reach - 571m
* Health - 100
* Energy capacity - 3MJ

||
* Max flying reach - 1152m
* Health - 130
* Energy capacity - 6MJ

||
* Max flying reach - 1728m
* Health - 160
* Energy capacity - 9MJ

||
* Max flying reach - 2305m
* Health - 190
* Energy capacity - 12MJ

||
* Max flying reach - 3457m
* Health - 250
* Energy capacity - 18MJ
|-

|}
::-- [[User:MadKingAyres|MadKingAyres]] ([[User talk:MadKingAyres|talk]])

::: Looks good to me. Having a reference with actual items and their numbers would be nice.
::: Imo, we shouldn't ''replace'' the current list though. Having the quality effect rules stated explicitly is useful. Best to simply have both the list and the table.

::: Unrelated to the topic, to sign your talk page comments use <code><nowiki>~~~~</nowiki></code>. This generates the user name tag with a timestamp automatically. The user stamp along with indentation helps keep the message chain clear.

:::-- [[User:Raw Salad|Raw Salad]] ([[User talk:Raw Salad|talk]]) 12:54, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

:::: Cool, so am I ok to start adding this in at the bottom of the Quality Effects section (i.e. below the current bulletpoint list)? Or should it go in its own section below Quality Effects?

:::: Also, thanks for the bit about signing the talk page comments; I wasn't sure if it was something that got added in automatically or not when I last replied.

::::-- [[User:MadKingAyres|MadKingAyres]] ([[User talk:MadKingAyres|talk]]) 13:30, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

:::::I think the Quality Effects section is good, yeah, but put it wherever you feel best. We can always adjust it as needed.

:::::-- [[User:Raw Salad|Raw Salad]] ([[User talk:Raw Salad|talk]]) 14:14, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

::::::Great, I have added the table to the page (now alphabetised and I have also linked each item's name to its respective page). Will continue to add to the table as and when I have time.

::::::-- [[User:MadKingAyres|MadKingAyres]] ([[User talk:MadKingAyres|talk]]) 14:28, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

:::::::For some reason it's displaying the table in the "Creating high-quality items" section despite my placing it in the Quality Effects section. Anyone able to tell me what I'm doing wrong there?

:::::::-- [[User:MadKingAyres|MadKingAyres]] ([[User talk:MadKingAyres|talk]]) 14:43, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

::::::::I believe you missed the closing <code>|}</code> table tag, so it's placing the table nearest the next wikitable closing tag.
::::::::-- [[User:Raw Salad|Raw Salad]] ([[User talk:Raw Salad|talk]]) 14:46, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

:::::::::That was it, thanks. Fixed now.
:::::::::-- [[User:MadKingAyres|MadKingAyres]] ([[User talk:MadKingAyres|talk]]) 15:07, 11 December 2024 (UTC)

::::::::::What do you think of limiting the table to only items players would realistically be looking for in higher qualities?
::::::::::I don't see much point in dedicating space to items like Assembly Machine 1 and 2, nor for wooden chest, they're completely superseded by the higher production chain items.
::::::::::Limiting the table to items that have medium-to-late-game use will keep it short and sweet, while still providing practical figures for reference.
::::::::::-- [[User:Raw Salad|Raw Salad]] ([[User talk:Raw Salad|talk]]) 19:15, 13 December 2024 (UTC)

== One addition needed ==

Someone should check this before editing the page, but in the "Quality Effects" section, there should also be an entry in the +30% output rate group for Solar Panels. I've checked this in game, but a second opinion never hurts. On Nauvis, output of a base quality panel is 60 KW max. Upgrade that to a rare panel, and it increases to 96 KW, which is the same +30% output improvement per quality level.

--- Edit 3/20/2025 ---

Another addition needed is for the Asteroid Gatherer on space platforms. Some research will be necessary to get the exact details, but at standard quality a Gatherer has a 15 by 15 area of capture, a single arm and 39 storage. At Legendary, the area has increased to 25 by 25, the arm count has increased to six, and the storage is 64.

: Honestly, I'm questioning why this section needs to exist to begin with. The quality bonus for every item is already listed on their own individual pages. Having a secondary, ''comprehensive'' list seems like a chore to keep in sync with. It might be good to give a general overview of how many common items improve with quality, but trying to be comprehensive doesn't seem worth it.

: Also, please sign additions to discussion pages. [[User:Alfonse|Alfonse]] ([[User talk:Alfonse|talk]]) 02:39, 21 March 2025 (UTC)

:: There is (at least now) information that isn't obvious from the infoboxes. Determining that asteroid collectors consume a total of ((1+level) × (1+level/10) × 60 + (1+level/10) × 12) kW was non-trivial.
:: But I'm not opposed to trimming it, or at least re-organizing it. [[User:Dalestan|Dalestan]] ([[User talk:Dalestan|talk]]) 16:12, 21 March 2025 (UTC)

Quality

2025-03-21T15:58:30Z

Dalestan: Quality effect updates, especially for collectors

{{Languages}}
{{About/Space age}}
[[File:Any quality.png|right]]
'''Quality''' is a feature of the [[Space Age]] expansion. It introduces four higher quality levels for all items, structures and equipment with improved attributes. The goal of quality is to allow vertical factory upgrading as alternative to expansion in size. Items of higher quality are created by chance when using quality modules in the producing structure. When Space Age itself is enabled, the two highest quality tiers require technology not available on Nauvis. Different buildings and items can have different attributes that can be upgraded. When hovering over something, the attributes that will be upgraded with quality will be marked with a blue diamond ([[File:Quality info.png]]) in the tooltip.

While players are required to own Space Age to access this feature, quality is a separate mod, and can be activated independent of most Space Age content.

== Quality tiers ==
There are 5 quality tiers in vanilla gameplay, with tier strength in brackets:
* [[File:quality_normal.png|15px]] Normal (0)
* [[File:quality_uncommon.png|15px]] Uncommon (1)
* [[File:quality_rare.png|15px]] Rare (2)
* [[File:quality_epic.png|15px]] Epic (3)
* [[File:quality_legendary.png|15px]] Legendary ('''5''')

Note that legendary quality represents a 2-tier improvement over epic.

== Technologies ==
Certain tiers of quality cannot be created until they have been researched.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Research !! Base Game !! {{SA}} Space Age !! Unlocks
|-
| {{icontech|Quality module (research)|}} [[Quality module (research)]]
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Production science pack}} x 300
| {{icon|Time|30}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}} x 500
| [[File:quality_uncommon.png|32px]] [[File:quality_rare.png|32px]]
|-
| {{icontech|Epic quality (research)|}} [[Epic quality (research)]]
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Production science pack}}{{icon|Utility science pack}} x 5000
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Utility science pack}}{{icon|Space science pack}}{{icon|Agricultural science pack}} x 5000
| [[File:quality_epic.png|32px]]
|-
| {{icontech|Legendary quality (research)|}} [[Legendary quality (research)]]
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Production science pack}}{{icon|Utility science pack}}{{icon|Space science pack}} x 5000
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{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|Metallurgic science pack}}{{icon|Electromagnetic science pack}}{{icon|Agricultural science pack}}{{icon|Cryogenic science pack}} x 5000
| [[File:quality_legendary.png|32px]]
|-
|}

== Quality effects ==
The currently known effects of each level of quality are as follows:
* +30% health
* +30% crafting speed
* +30% robot limit (rounded down)
* +1 robot recharge slot for [[personal roboport]]s (both tiers, but not [[roboport]]s)
* +30% robot recharge rate (all roboports)
* +30% positive module effects (rounded down for at least quality modules)
* +10% turret range
* +10% weapon range
* +1 tile reach and +2 wire reach on power poles
* +1 equipment grid size (both dimensions)
* +30% chest inventory size (rounded down)
* +30% increased ammo damage
* +30% inserter rotation speed
** The power consumption of inserters is defined as energy per angle of turn. A 30% faster inserter can turn 30% more angles in a given space of time, so it consumes 30% more energy.
* -16.67% (1/6) resource drain on miners and [[pumpjack]]s
** This is multiplicative with [[productivity]]
* +30% [[solar panel]] output
* +100% (+5 MJ) capacity on accumulators
* +30% capacity on [[personal battery|personal batteries]] (all three tiers)
* +30% output rate on [[boiler]]s, [[steam engine]]s, [[steam turbine]]s, [[accumulator]]s (also affects input rate), and [[nuclear reactor]]s
** Note that consumption and pollution are also increased at the same rate
* +30% reach and efficiency for lightning [[lightning rod|rods]] and [[lightning collector|collectors]]
* -16.67% (1/6) power consumption on beacons
* +1 to both continuous coverage distance and exploration coverage distance in [[radar]]s
* +100% durability on consumable items ([[repair pack]]s, [[science pack]]s)
* +5% fork chance on the [[tesla turret]] and tesla ammo for the tesla gun
* [[Asteroid collector]]s:
** +5% arm speed
** +1 arm
** +10% active power consumption per arm and +10% drain
** +2 collection area size (both dimensions)
** +5 storage size

These effects are per quality strength and additive: a Legendary (5 tier-levels) [[Productivity module 3]] (base +10% productivity) would grant 25% productivity.

Some buildings only get increased health, with no special effect. Examples are:
*Buildings related to [[Circuit network]]s and [[Rail signal]]s
*[[Transport belt]]s
*[[Pipe]]s
*[[Wall]]s
*[[Locomotive|Trains]]
*[[Cargo wagon]]s

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Quality Effects
! Item !! Effect !! [[File:quality_normal.png|15px]] Normal !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|15px]] Uncommon !! [[File:quality_rare.png|15px]] Rare !! [[File:quality_epic.png|15px]] Epic !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|15px]] Legendary

|-
| rowspan="2" | [[File:assembling_machine_1.png|15px]] [[Assembling machine 1]] || Health || 300 || 390 || 480 || 570 || 750
|-
| Crafting speed || 0.5 || 0.65 || 0.8 || 0.95 || 1.25

|-
| rowspan="2" | [[File:assembling_machine_2.png|15px]] [[Assembling machine 2]] || Health || 350 || 455 || 560 || 665 || 875
|-
| Crafting speed || 0.75 || 0.975 || 1.2 || 1.425 || 1.875

|-
| rowspan="2" | [[File:assembling_machine_3.png|15px]] [[Assembling machine 3]] || Health || 400 || 520 || 640 || 760 || 1000
|-
| Crafting speed || 1.25 || 1.625 || 2 || 2.375 || 3.125

|-
| rowspan="3" | [[File:construction_robot.png|15px]] [[Construction robot]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-
| Max flying reach || 571m || 1152m || 1728m || 2305m || 3457m
|-
| Energy capacity || 3MJ || 6MJ || 9MJ || 12MJ || 18MJ

|-
| rowspan="3" | [[File:inserter.png|15px]] [[Inserter]] || Health || 150 || 195 || 240 || 285 || 375
|-
| Energy consumption || 15.1kW || 19.51kW || 23.92kW || 28.33kW || 37.15kW
|-
| Rotation speed || 302°/s || 393°/s || 484°/s || 575°/s || 756°/s

|-
| rowspan="3" | [[File:fast_inserter.png|15px]] [[Fast inserter]] || Health || 150 || 195 || 240 || 285 || 375
|-
| Energy consumption || 59.3kW || 76.94kW || 94.58kW || 112kW || 148kW
|-
| Rotation speed || 864°/s || 1123°/s || 1382°/s || 1642°/s || 2160°/s

|-
| rowspan="2" | [[File:laser_turret.png|15px]] [[Laser turret]] || Health || 1000 || 1300 || 1600 || 1900 || 2500
|-
| Range || 24 tiles || 26.4 tiles || 28.8 tiles || 31.2 tiles || 36 tiles

|-
| rowspan="1" | [[File:pipe.png|15px]] [[Pipe]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250

|-
| rowspan="3" | [[File:roboport.png|15px]] [[Roboport]] || Health || 500 || 650 || 800 || 950 || 1250
|-
| Energy consumption || 2.1MW || 2.7MW || 3.3MW || 3.9MW || 5.1MW
|-
| Robot recharge rate || 4 x 500kW || 4 x 650kW || 4 x 800kW || 4 x 950kW || 4 x 1.25MW

|-
| rowspan="3" | [[File:small_electric_pole.png|15px]] [[Small electric pole]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-
| Supply area || 5x5 || 7x7 || 9x9 || 11x11 || 15x15
|-
| Wire reach || 7.5 tiles || 9.5 tiles || 11.5 tiles || 13.5 tiles || 17.5 tiles

|-
| rowspan="2" | [[File:wooden_chest.png|15px]] [[Wooden chest]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-
| Storage size || 16 || 20 || 25 || 30 || 40

|-
| rowspan="2" | [[File:iron_chest.png|15px]] [[Iron chest]] || Health || 200 || 260 || 320 || 380 || 500
|-
| Storage size || 32 || 41 || 51 || 60 || 80

|-
| rowspan="2" | [[File:steel_chest.png|15px]] [[Steel chest]] || Health || 350 || 455 || 560 || 665 || 875
|-
| Storage size || 48 || 62 || 76 || 91 || 120
|}

== Creating high-quality items ==

There are two ways to create an item with above normal quality: The player must either use ingredient items of the same quality, or use quality modules for a random chance of a higher-quality item.

=== Quality ingredients ===
Recipes that consume items have variations for each quality that the items might take. When setting such a recipe in a production unit, an ingredient quality must be selected. For these variations, the set of ingredients required is the same, except that all item ingredients must have the specified quality. Recipes that consume only fluids do not have quality variations. If they produce items, those items will be normal quality unless affected by quality modules. Recipes that fill or empty [[barrel]]s and recipes that produce the same item they consume ([[kovarex enrichment process]] and [[fish breeding]]) do not accept quality modules.

Item ingredient quality requirements are exact, not minimum. For example, one can not combine uncommon [[iron plate]]s with rare [[battery|batteries]] to make an [[accumulator]] of any quality. One must therefore ensure that high-quality items do not clog up belts and starve production units of lower-quality items.

As fluids do not possess any quality, they are exempt from ingredient quality requirements; the same [[lubricant]] can be used to create [[electric engine unit]]s of any quality.

=== Quality modules ===
{{Main|Quality module}}
[[File:quality_module_animated.png|64px|right]]'''Quality modules''' allow crafting machines to produce items of a higher quality than their ingredients. Each module adds a quality chance to a machine, depending on its tier and quality. See the following table for all quality chances:

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! {{Diagonal split header|Module|Quality}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
|-
! {{Icon|quality_module}}
| +1% || +1.3% || +1.6% || +1.9% || +2.5%
|-
! {{Icon|quality_module_2}}
| +2% || +2.6% || +3.2% || +3.8% || +5%
|-
! {{Icon|quality_module_3}}
| +2.5% || +3.2% || +4% || +4.7% || +6.2%
|}

When working out the odds of improving quality, a machine starts with the sum of the quality chance of all its modules. When the machine produces an item, it performs a random roll with that chance to succeed. If it succeeds, the product is upgraded 1 level from its ingredients. If the product was upgraded, the machine repeats this process, now with a constant 10% chance of passing, rolling and upgrading until a roll fails.

When using quality ingredients as an input, the base quality is the quality of the recipe. You can only use items with the same quality as input.

Quality modules are only required to ''improve'' quality, crafting will always give the base quality of the used items. Additionally, the odds of improving from a given base quality is the same as improving the same number of tiers from Normal quality.

Where Q is quality chance, the following tables present expected outputs for each level of research.
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+ {{icontech|Quality module (research)|}} [[Quality module (research)]]
!{{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]
| 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 1/10
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]]
| - || 1 - Q || Q
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]
| - || - || 1
|}
</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+ {{icontech|Epic quality (research)|}} [[Epic quality (research)]]
!{{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]
| 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 9/100 ||Q * 1/100
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]]
| - || 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 1/10
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]
| - || - || 1 - Q || Q
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]
| - || - || - || 1
|}
</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+ {{icontech|Legendary quality (research)|}} [[Legendary quality (research)]]
!{{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]
| 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 9/100 ||Q * 9/1000 || Q * 1/1000
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]]
| - || 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 9/100 || Q * 1/100
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]
| - || - || 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 1/10
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]
| - || - || - || 1 - Q || Q
|-
! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]
| - || - || - || - || 1
|}
</div>

==== Examples ====
<div style="display:inline-block; margin-right:20px; vertical-align:top;">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ 2× {{Icon|quality_module_2|[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]}} → Q = 4%
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]]
| 96% || 3.6% || 0.4%
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]]
| - || 96% || 4%
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
| - || - || 100%
|}
</div><div style="display:inline-block; margin-right:20px;">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ 4× {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]}} → Q = 10%
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]]
| 90% || 9% || 0.9% || 0.09% || 0.01%
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]]
| - || 90% || 9% || 0.9% || 0.1%
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
| - || - || 90% || 9% || 1%
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]]
| - || - || - || 90% || 10%
|-
! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
| - || - || - || - || 100%
|}
</div><div style="display:inline-block; margin-right:20px;">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
|+ 4× {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]}} → Q = 24.8%
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]]
| 75.2% || 22.32% || 2.232% || 0.2232% || 0.0248%
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]]
| - || 75.2% || 22.32% || 2.232% || 0.248%
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
| - || - || 75.2% || 22.32% || 2.48%
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]]
| - || - || - || 75.2% || 24.8%
|-
! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
| - || - || - || - || 100%
|}
</div>

==== Optimal module usage ====
It is optimal to improve quality on the lead-up to the target output item due to the [[recycler]] only giving back 25% of the input items, except for cases where the chosen item has a productivity research available, in which case looping through a recycler is optimal and has no added material cost (ignoring fluids).

The following tables summarize the number of normal crafts (rounded up) needed to produce 1 legendary output using ideal ratios of quality module 3s to productivity module 3s, with 4 matching quality module 3 in the recycler.

It is important to emphasize that these ratios maximize return per input material. If input capacity isn't a concern and the goal is speed rather than material efficiency, then switch out productivity modules for quality modules as needed. Beware, however, that in many cases material inefficiency nearly keeps pace with the legendary output rate.

<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="border: 2px solid; text-align:center;"
! Max Modules !! Base Prod. !! No. of {{Icon|productivity_module_3|[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]}} !! No. of {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]}} !! Crafts
|-
| 2 || 0% || 0 || 2 || 891
|-
| 3 || 0% || 0 || 3 || 533
|-
| 4 || 0% || 1 || 3 || 342
|-
| 4 || 50% || 0 || 4 || 97
|-
| 5 || 50% || 1 || 4 || 67
|-
| 8 || 0% || 4 || 4 || 70
|}</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="border: 2px solid; text-align:center;"
! Max Modules !! Base Prod. !! No. of {{Icon|productivity_module_3|[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]}} !! No. of {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]}} !! Crafts
|-
| 2 || 0% || 0 || 2 || 608
|-
| 3 || 0% || 1 || 2 || 356
|-
| 4 || 0% || 1 || 3 || 212
|-
| 4 || 50% || 1 || 3 || 62
|-
| 5 || 50% || 2 || 3 || 40
|-
| 8 || 0% || 5 || 3 || 34
|}</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="border: 2px solid; text-align:center;"
! Max Modules !! Base Prod. !! No. of {{Icon|productivity_module_3|[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]}} !! No. of {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]}} !! Crafts
|-
| 2 || 0% || 0 || 2 || 309
|-
| 3 || 0% || 1 || 2 || 153
|-
| 4 || 0% || 2 || 2 || 80
|-
| 4 || 50% || 3 || 1 || 25
|-
| 5 || 50% || 4 || 1 || 14
|-
| 8 || 0% || 8 || 0 || 7
|}</div>
For example, suppose legendary T3 modules are available and the goal is to produce legendary [[File:Processing_unit.png|link=Processing unit|20px]] processing units. If each electromagnetic plant producing epic quality or below has 4 legendary [[File:productivity_module_3.png|link=Productivity module 3|20px]] productivity module 3 and 1 legendary [[File:quality_module_3.png|link=Quality module 3|20px]] quality module 3, and the electromagnetic plant with the legendary recipe has 5 legendary [[File:productivity_module_3.png|link=Productivity module 3|20px]] productivity module 3, then on average an input of 280 normal [[File:Electronic_circuit.png|link=Electronic circuit|20px]] electronic circuits and 28 normal [[File:Advanced_circuit.png|link=Advanced circuit|20px]] advanced circuits is expected to produce 1 legendary [[File:Processing_unit.png|link=Processing unit|20px]] processing unit.

===== Derivation =====
Derivation of the tables above was as follows: Starting with 1 set of common ingredients, with an assembly quality chance of Q and total productivity bonus of P, the statistical expected number of product is as follows:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
| (1 + P) * (1 - Q) || (1 + P) * (Q * (10<sup>0</sup> - 10<sup>-1</sup>))|| (1 + P) * (Q * (10<sup>-1</sup> - 10<sup>-2</sup>)) || (1 + P) * (Q * (10<sup>-2</sup> - 10<sup>-3</sup>)) || (1 + P) * (Q * 10<sup>-3</sup>)
|-
| (1 + P) * (1 - Q) || (1 + P) * Q * 9/10 || (1 + P) * Q * 9/100 || (1 + P) * Q * 9/1000 || (1 + P) * Q * 1/1000
|}

In a similar vein, the same calculations can be done for recycling products, except that there is, in effect, -75% productivity bonus, where only a quarter of the items are returned.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
| (1 + -0.75) * (1-Q) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * (10<sup>0</sup> - 10<sup>-1</sup>)) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * (10<sup>-1</sup> - 10<sup>-2</sup>)) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * (10<sup>-2</sup> - 10<sup>-3</sup>)) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * 10<sup>-3</sup>)
|-
| 0.25 * (1-Q) || 0.25 * Q * 9/10|| 0.25 * Q * 9/100 || 0.25 * Q * 9/1000 || 0.25 * Q * 1/1000
|}

For example, recycling an uncommon ingredient with a Q of 25%:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
| style="background:#424242" | [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]] || - || 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.005625 || 0.000625
|}

Combining these results allows a 'Transition Matrix' to be developed (see the Wikipedia article [[Wikipedia:Stochastic matrix|Stochastic matrix]]) which after iteration can generate the expected number of legendary products from 1 set of common ingredients via matrix multiplication. An example matrix for P of 50% and Q of 25% for both recycling and assembly is copied below. Note that since legendary products are the goal, they are not recycled.

{| class="wikitable" style="border:2px solid; text-align:center;"
! !! style="border-left:2px solid" | I<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
! style="border-left:2px solid" | P<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
|- style="border-top:2px solid"
! I<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 1.125 || 0.3375 || 0.03375 || 0.003375 || 0.000375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 1.125 || 0.3375 || 0.03375 || 0.00375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 1.125 || 0.3375 || 0.0375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 1.125 || 0.375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1.5
|- style="border-top:2px solid"
! P<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.005625 || 0.0005625 || 0.0000625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.005625 || 0.000625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.00625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.1875 || 0.0625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1
|}

To iterate this matrix (M) apply the matrix to itself. For example, M<sup>6</sup> would indicate 6 iterations, corresponding to 3 crafting steps and 3 recycling steps. To see how much 1 ingredient set produces after a given iteration, x, multiply an input vector by M<sup>x</sup>. The vector format follows that of the matrix labels, so with the table arranged as above, left multiply a row vector of ingredient(s) by the matrix. In order to see the expected product of 1 set of normal ingredients, the vector will have '1' in the first column and '0's everywhere else. Likewise, a set of uncommon ingredients will correspond to '1' in the second column of the vector.

It is important to note that since the recycling step has a material loss of 75% most recycling loops will be well behaved and converge quickly.

Extreme productivity from research breaks this pattern and will prevent convergence, but this simply means that there is a positive material cycle, so 1 set of ingredients will produce infinite legendary crafts, on average. The closer the total productivity is to 400%, the slower the convergence of the matrix iteration and the higher you need to calculate x in M<sup>x</sup>.


== Usage tips ==
=== Using quality to increase production ===
There are four ways in which quality can increase the output of a single production machine:
* Increasing the quality of the machine itself will improve its base crafting speed.
* Increasing the quality of [[speed module]]s will increase the effect of their speed improvements.
* Increasing the quality of [[productivity module]]s will increase their productivity bonus without reducing crafting speed. Since extra items obtained from the productivity bonus do not take extra time to produce, this will also increase the number of items produced over time.
* Increasing the quality of [[beacon]]s will increase their transmission efficiency. If they contain speed modules, then the effect of these modules is increased.

These four options share a powerful synergy, as they react multiplicatively with one another. This makes it possible to achieve very high production rates with very few machines when compared to only using normal quality items. For example, imagine a setup where [[electronic circuit]]s are made using one [[electromagnetic plant]] with five [[productivity module 3]]s, which is surrounded by 12 [[beacon]]s with two [[speed module 3]]s, each. With normal quality, this will achieve an output rate of almost 45 items per second (almost enough to saturate one non-layered [[express transport belt]]). However, if the electromagnetic plant and all beacons and modules have legendary quality, the output rate becomes slightly more than 600 items per second (enough to saturate two and a half [[turbo transport belt]]s with four layers of items). This is more than 13 times as many items as without quality.

It should be noted that quality beacons are the only one of these factors that may increase energy consumption over time, as the transmission effect is also applied to the energy cost of speed modules. However, this is offset or even negated by the reduced energy consumption of the beacons themselves (which is also affected by quality), especially with high beacon counts wherein the transmission effect is subject to diminishing returns. For speed modules, productivity modules, and the machine itself, only the speed increase, productivity bonus, and base crafting speed are affected, respectively.

The increased transmission effect of high-quality beacons is also notable because unlike when increasing the number of beacons, there are no diminishing returns for increasing their quality (aside from the exponentially increasing cost of producing those higher-quality beacons in the first place). This means that, despite a legendary beacon only being 1.66 times as powerful as a normal-quality beacon, one would need 0.36 times as many legendary beacons as normal ones to achieve the same effect. Aside from making more powerful beacon setups, this can also be used to save space by achieving the same effect with fewer beacons, thereby leaving more room for machines and belts.

Higher-quality machines are also particularly useful for producing quality items as, unlike speed modules, machine quality does not reduce the chance of increasing a product's quality.

=== Using quality to save space ===
Another use for quality is decreasing the amount of buildings needed to perform the same production. This is particularly useful in a [[space platform]], where small, compact designs are rewarded with increased speed, as well as needing fewer rockets to build the platform.

=== Notes ===
* In the below circumstances, quality modules have no useful effects.
** Placed in a [[Rocket silo]]
** Placed in a [[Lab]]
** Placed in a [[Biolab]]
** Fluid recipes (e.g [[holmium solution]])
* [[Barrel]]s cannot accept quality modules, most likely to stop quality upcycling with no loss.
* The [[Kovarex enrichment process]] recipe cannot accept quality modules, most likely to stop quality upcycling with no loss.

== Relevant Factorio Friday Facts ==
* [https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-375 FFF 375 - Quality]
* [https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-376 FFF 376 - Research and Technology]

== Achievements ==
{{Achievement|make-it-better}}
{{Achievement|look-at-my-shiny-rare-armor}}
{{Achievement|todays-fish-is-trout-a-la-creme}}
{{Achievement|crafting-with-quality}}
{{Achievement|my-modules-are-legendary}}
{{Achievement|no-room-for-more}}

== Trivia ==
* Quality is not technically exclusive to player-made entities; Though this does not occur naturally, quality is also allowed on enemies, asteroids, and even the [[player]] character.
** Some enemies with qualities above normal can even be created in regular sandbox gameplay: Big biters, behemoth biters, and big premature wriggler pentapods born from spoiled [[biter egg]]s, [[captive biter spawner]]s, and [[pentapod egg]]s inherit the quality of the spoiled items, with the latter two being possible to craft with quality modules. Furthermore, a starved captured biter spawner will retain its quality upon converting into a hostile biter spawner, with said quality even being inherited by the biters that it will spawn. Should these biters chose to expand, they may also create quality spitters and worms.

== History ==
{{history|2.0.7|
* Introduced in [[Space Age]]{{SA}} expansion.
}}

{{C|Main}}

Aquilo

2025-03-03T15:44:59Z

Dalestan: Rail support does not need ice; add two missing turrets to freezable entities

{{Languages}}
{{Stub}}
{{About/Space age}}
[[File:aquilo_preview.png|210px|right]]'''Aquilo''' is a desolate, freezing ocean [[planet]]. Its surface consists solely of a vast ocean of liquid ammonia, with the occasional floating iceberg.

Progression wise, Aquilo is meant to be visited after establishing factories on all the previous planets. [[Planet discovery Aquilo (research)]] requires [[rocket turret]]s, [[Advanced asteroid processing (research)]], and [[heating tower]]s from Gleba, [[Asteroid reprocessing (research)]] from [[Vulcanus]], and [[Electromagnetic science pack (research)]] from [[Fulgora]].

[[Planet discovery Aquilo (research)]] is required to travel to the planet.

== Achievements ==
{{Achievement|visit-aquilo}}

== Exclusive items ==
The following items are unlocked on Aquilo:
*{{imagelink|Cryogenic plant|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Cryogenic science pack|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Fusion generator|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Fusion reactor|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Railgun turret|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Railgun|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Captive biter spawner|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Portable fusion reactor|space-age=yes}}

==Surface==

===Properties===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Aquilo Surface Properties
|-
! Property !! Value
|-
| Pollutant Type || None
|-
| Day Night Cycle || 20 Minutes
|-
| Magnetic Field|| 10
|-
| Solar Power || 01%
|-
| Pressure || 300
|-
| Gravity || 15
|-
| Robot energy usage || 500%
|}

=== Natural resources ===
In terms of directly exploitable natural resources, Aquilo has:
* [[Ammoniacal solution]]{{SA}} (via [[offshore pump]] on the edge of the ammoniacal seas)
* [[Lithium brine]]{{SA}} (via [[pumpjack]])
* [[Fluorine]]{{SA}} (via pumpjack)
* [[Crude oil]] (via pumpjack)

With crude oil being the only non-exclusive resource to Aquilo, excluding ice obtained from [[lithium ice formation]].

Stone, iron and copper (and coal if desired) need to be imported from other planets as Aquilo lacks ways to obtain these from the environment.

== Access to basic resources ==

* [[Water]] can be obtained via [[Ammoniacal solution separation]] and [[Ice melting]]
* [[Stone]] is not available and must be shipped in from other planets
* [[Iron ore]] is not available and must be shipped in from other planets
* [[Copper ore]] is not available and must be shipped in from other planets
* [[Coal]] is not available and must be shipped in from other planets
* [[Crude oil]] can be obtained using pumpjacks as normal

== Mechanics ==

The starting area on Aquilo is a relatively small patch of snow and ice terrain. Beyond this small platform are the vast ammoniacal seas, which have small dots of icey terrain in them, usually around [[crude_oil|crude oil]], [[fluorine]]{{SA}}, or [[lithium_brine|lithium brine]]{{SA}} resource geysers. Aquilo is notable for having nothing to drill with any kind of miner. All natural resources, spare the [[lithium ice formation]]s, are gathered either by an [[offshore pump]] or [[pumpjack]]. Bases on Aquilo will be reliant on regularly shipping in resources from other planets.

=== Ice terrain ===

On Aquilo, most terrain must be constructed, but [[landfill]] and [[foundation]]{{SA}} are no help. Instead, you must use [[ice platform|ice platforms]]{{SA}}. These platforms are created by first using [[ammoniacal solution separation]]{{SA}} to make [[ice]]{{SA}} and [[ammonia]]{{SA}}, then re-combining those into a platform that can be placed on the ocean like [[landfill]].

Snowy terrain can be built on directly, but on any kind of ice terrain or [[ice platform]], most buildings will require an insulating floor of [[concrete]] tiles or derivatives before they can be placed. [[Stone_brick|Stone Bricks]] can not be used to pave ice.

=== Freezing ===
Aquilo is brutally cold. The harsh ambient temperatures drain the energy from any airborne [[construction robot|construction robots]] and [[logistic robot|logistic robots]], making them consume 5 times more power than normal. Most buildings will freeze and stop working unless heated by a [[heat pipe]] or heat generator. Heat can be generated by the [[nuclear reactor]] or [[heating tower]]{{SA}}.

Once a building is adjacent to a heat source above 30°C, it will consume heat energy to maintain its state, reducing the energy (and temperature) in the heat source. Different entities consume different amounts of heat to prevent freezing.

===Notes===
* [[Underground belt]]s and [[pipe]]s are substantially larger heat drains than their above-ground versions
* Heat pipes do not lose heat to the environment; they only lose heat to entities that need to be kept warm.
* All [[burner devices|burner]] entities and heat-producing machines are immune to freezing.

For details on heat throughput, see the [[heat pipe]] page.

A building is adjacent to a heat source when it is one tile away from the heat source either orthogonally or diagonally. All of the pipes would be heated in the below example:<br>


{| class="wikitable"
|
[[File:Ice_platform.png|24px|link=Ice_platform]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Ice_platform.png|24px|link=Ice_platform]]<br>
[[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=Pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Heat_pipe.png|24px|link=heat_pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=Pipe]]<br>
[[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Heating_tower.png|72px|link=Heating_tower]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]]<br>
[[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]]<br>
|
[[File:Heat_demo.gif]]
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Entity Heat Consumption
|-
! Building !! Kilowatts
|-
| {{Icon|Transport belt}} {{Icon|Fast transport belt}} {{Icon|Express transport belt}} {{Icon|Turbo transport belt}}|| 10
|-
| {{Icon|Underground belt}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Fast underground belt}} || 100
|-
| {{Icon|Express underground belt}} || 150
|-
| {{Icon|Turbo underground belt}} || 200
|-
| {{Icon|Splitter}} {{Icon|Fast splitter}} {{Icon|Express splitter}} {{Icon|Turbo splitter}} || 40
|-
| {{Icon|Pipe}} || 1
|-
| {{Icon|Pipe to ground}} || 150
|-
| {{Icon|Pump}} || 30
|-
| {{Icon|Storage tank}} || 100
|-
| {{Icon|Power switch}} || 20
|-
| {{Icon|Programmable speaker}} || 30
|-
| {{Icon|Inserter}} {{Icon|Fast inserter}} || 30
|-
| {{Icon|Long-handed inserter}} {{Icon|Bulk inserter}} {{Icon|Stack inserter}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Steam engine}} {{Icon|Steam turbine}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Pumpjack}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Gun turret}} {{Icon|Laser turret}} {{Icon|Rocket turret}} {{Icon|Railgun turret}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Arithmetic combinator}} {{Icon|Decider combinator}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Selector combinator}} || 100
|-
| {{Icon|Assembling machine 1}} {{Icon|Assembling machine 2}} {{Icon|Assembling machine 3}} {{Icon|Electric furnace}} {{Icon|Chemical plant}} {{Icon|Lab}} || 100
|-
| {{Icon|Cryogenic plant}} {{Icon|Recycler}} {{Icon|Biochamber}} {{Icon|Electromagnetic plant}} {{Icon|Centrifuge}} || 100
|-
| {{Icon|Oil refinery}} {{Icon|Artillery turret}} || 200
|-
| {{Icon|Foundry}} {{Icon|Radar}} {{Icon|Roboport}} {{Icon|Rocket silo}} || 300
|-
| {{Icon|Beacon}} ||400
|}

The following Entities are immune from freezing. Many may be placed directly on ice tiles (with the exceptions you might expect, mostly).
{| class="wikitable"
! Tile !! Entities !! Category
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Cargo landing pad}} {{Icon|Cargo bay}} || Space Cargo
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Offshore pump}} || Offshore Pumps
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Wooden chest}} {{Icon|Iron chest}} {{Icon|Steel chest}} {{Icon|Active provider chest}} {{Icon|Passive provider chest}} {{Icon|Storage chest}} {{Icon|Buffer chest}} {{Icon|Requester chest}} || Chests
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Small electric pole}} {{Icon|Medium electric pole}} {{Icon|Big electric pole}} {{Icon|Substation}} || Electric Poles
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Solar panel}} {{Icon|Accumulator}} {{Icon|Lamp}} {{Icon|Constant combinator}} || Basic Electric Devices
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Display panel}} || Player Notification Devices
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Burner inserter}} {{Icon|Boiler}} {{Icon|Stone furnace}} {{Icon|Steel furnace}} || Burner Entities
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Nuclear reactor}} {{Icon|Heat exchanger}} {{Icon|Heating tower}} {{Icon|Heat pipe}} || Heat Generators and Heat Pipes
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Fusion reactor}} {{Icon|Fusion generator}} || Fusion Power
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Tesla turret}} || Tesla Turrets
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Flamethrower turret}} || Flamethrower Turrets
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Wall}} {{Icon|Gate}} || Walls and Gates
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Construction robot}} {{Icon|Logistic robot}} {{Icon|Defender capsule}} {{Icon|Distractor capsule}} {{Icon|Destroyer capsule}} || Bots
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Car}} {{Icon|Tank}} {{Icon|Spidertron}} || Vehicles
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Locomotive}} {{Icon|Cargo wagon}} {{Icon|Fluid wagon}} {{Icon|Artillery wagon}} || Trains
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Straight rail}} {{Icon|Rail ramp}} {{Icon|Train stop}} {{Icon|Rail signal}} {{Icon|Rail chain signal}} || Rail Pieces
|-
| Any || {{Icon|Rail support}} || Rail Pieces
|}

=== Solar energy ===
Aquilo is far from its sun, and so [[solar panel]]s on its surface only output at 1% of their rate on Nauvis: 0.6 kW peak production. This makes panels practical for little more than powering the first machines to produce the water needed for real power generation.

The minimum machines needed to produce water is either a single [[chemical plant]] to melt [[ice]] (which can initially be dropped from a space platform), or a single [[assembling machine 2]] to [[barrel|empty barrels of water]] also dropped from the platform. Assembling machine 2s require less power than chemical plants, and the unbarreling recipe is faster than [[ice melting]]. So on the whole, the assembler version will be faster.

Note that it is not necessary to fully power these machines. As long as the available power is greater than their drain, they will be able to function, albeit at reduced speed. [[Efficiency module]]s can speed this process up. With 3 efficiency modules, an assembling machine 2 only needs 35 kW to run at full speed (59 solar panels). To reach just 1/8th of max speed requires only 8.75 kW, which only needs 15 (base [[quality]]) solar panels.

Once even a little water is available, [[heat exchanger]]s heated by either [[heating tower]]s or [[nuclear reactor]]s can feed [[steam turbine]]s for power. This power can be used to process [[ammoniacal solution separation]] to generate ice, which can be melted into water for continuous power generation.

==Space routes==
[[Aquilo]] is connected to 2 other planets, [[Gleba]]{{SA}} and [[Fulgora]]{{SA}}, along with the [[Solar system edge]]{{SA}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Planet Distance
|-
! Planet !! Distance (km)
|-
| [[Gleba]]{{SA}}|| 30,000
|-
| [[Fulgora]]{{SA}}|| 30,000
|-
| [[Solar system edge]]{{SA}}|| 100,000
|}

Asteroid rate graphs:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
| [[File:Asteroid_chart_Gleba_Aquilo.png]] <br> Space route from [[Gleba]] to [[Aquilo]]
| [[File:Asteroid_chart_Fulgora_Aquilo.png]] <br> Space route from [[Fulgora]] to [[Aquilo]]
| [[File:Asteroid_chart_Aquilo_Solar_System_Edge.png]] <br> Space route from [[Aquilo]] to [[Solar system edge]]
|}

Graph legend:
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Asteroid type</th>
<th>Chunk</th>
<th>Medium</th>
<th>Big</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[File:Metallic asteroid chunk.png|32px]] Metallic</td>
<td><span style="color: blue;">●</span> Blue</td>
<td><span style="color: red;">●</span> Red</td>
<td><span style="color: cyan;">●</span> Cyan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[File:Carbonic asteroid chunk.png|32px]] Carbonic</td>
<td><span style="color: orange;">●</span> Orange</td>
<td><span style="color: yellow;">●</span> Yellow</td>
<td><span style="color: brown;">●</span> Brown</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[File:Oxide asteroid chunk.png|32px]] Oxide</td>
<td><span style="color: green;">●</span> Green</td>
<td><span style="color: magenta;">●</span> Magenta</td>
<td><span style="color: purple;">●</span> Purple</td>
</tr>
</table>

==Orbit==

===Properties===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Property !! Value
|-
| Solar Power || 60%
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Asteroid Spawning Types
|-
! [[Asteroids| Asteroid]] Type !! Spawn Ratio
|-
| [[Metallic asteroid chunk]] || 1
|-
| [[Carbonic asteroid chunk]] || 2
|-
| [[Oxide asteroid chunk]] || 20
|-
| [[Promethium asteroid chunk]] || 0
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Asteroid Spawning Sizes
|-
! [[Asteroids| Asteroid]] Size !! Spawn %
|-
| Chunk|| .10
|-
| Medium|| 0
|-
| Big || 0.25
|-
| Huge || 0
|}

'''Note:'''
*Chunks spawn at Nauvis at 1.25%
*Huge Asteroids only spawn past [[Aquilo]]{{SA}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="300px" heights="200px">
aquilo_landscape.png|Example landscape of Aquilo.
aquilo_landscape_main_menu.png|Aquilo seen on the expansion's title screen.
</gallery>

== Trivia ==
* In mythology, Aquilo is the Roman god of the north wind, storms, and winter.
* During development, Aquilo was home to floating, jellyfish-like enemies, concept art for which were shown in Friday Facts [https://factorio.com/blog/post/fff-367 #367]. However, they were removed due to them making progression "much slower". [https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-429]
* Aquilo's design with ice and liquid ammonia oceans is based on real-world [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice%20planet ice planets].

== History ==
{{history|2.0.7|
* Introduced in [[Space Age]]{{SA}} expansion.
}}

== See also ==
* [[Fulgora]] {{SA}}
* [[Gleba]] {{SA}}
* [[Nauvis]]
* [[Vulcanus]] {{SA}}
* [[Space platform]] {{SA}}

{{C|Planets}}
{{SpaceNav}}

Quality

2025-02-06T13:41:28Z

Dalestan: /* Quality ingredients */ create->consume correction; add sentences about fluid-consuming and quality-immune recipes.

{{Languages}}
{{About/Space age}}

'''Quality''' is a feature of the [[Space Age]] expansion. It introduces four higher quality levels for all items, structures and equipment with improved attributes. The goal of quality is to allow vertical factory upgrading as alternative to expansion in size. Items of higher quality are created by chance when using quality modules in the producing structure. The two highest quality tiers require technology not available on Nauvis. Different buildings and items can have different attributes that can be upgraded. When hovering over something, the attributes that will be upgraded with quality will be marked with a blue diamond in the tooltip.
[[File:Quality icon.png|50px|thumb|right|Quality icon]]

While players are required to own Space Age to access this feature, quality is a separate mod, and can be activated independent of most Space Age content.

== Achievements ==
Quality is directly related to the following achievements:
{{Achievement|make-it-better}}
{{Achievement|look-at-my-shiny-rare-armor}}
{{Achievement|todays-fish-is-trout-a-la-creme}}
{{Achievement|crafting-with-quality}}
{{Achievement|my-modules-are-legendary}}
{{Achievement|no-room-for-more}}

== Quality tiers ==
There are 5 quality tiers in vanilla gameplay, with tier strength in brackets:
* [[File:quality_normal.png|15px]] Normal (0)
* [[File:quality_uncommon.png|15px]] Uncommon (1)
* [[File:quality_rare.png|15px]] Rare (2)
* [[File:quality_epic.png|15px]] Epic (3)
* [[File:quality_legendary.png|15px]] Legendary ('''5''')

Note that legendary quality represents a 2-tier improvement over epic.

== Technologies ==
Certain tiers of quality cannot be created until they have been researched.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Research !! Base Game !! {{SA}} Space Age !! Unlocks
|-
| {{icontech|Quality module (research)|}} [[Quality module (research)]]
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Production science pack}} x 300
| {{icon|Time|30}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}} x 500
| [[File:quality_uncommon.png|32px]] [[File:quality_rare.png|32px]]
|-
| {{icontech|Epic quality (research)|}} [[Epic quality (research)]]
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Production science pack}}{{icon|Utility science pack}} x 5000
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Utility science pack}}{{icon|Space science pack}}{{icon|Agricultural science pack}} x 5000
| [[File:quality_epic.png|32px]]
|-
| {{icontech|Legendary quality (research)|}} [[Legendary quality (research)]]
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Production science pack}}{{icon|Utility science pack}}{{icon|Space science pack}} x 5000
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{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|Metallurgic science pack}}{{icon|Electromagnetic science pack}}{{icon|Agricultural science pack}}{{icon|Cryogenic science pack}} x 5000
| [[File:quality_legendary.png|32px]]
|-
|}

== Quality effects ==
The currently known effects of each level of quality are as follows:
* +30% health
* +30% crafting speed
* +30% robot limit (rounded down)
* +30% robot recharge rate (both number and speed, rounded down)
* +30% positive module effects (rounded down for at least quality modules)
* +10% turret range
* +10% weapon range
* +1 tile reach and +2 wire reach on power poles
* +1 equipment grid size (both dimensions)
* +30% chest inventory size (rounded down)
* +30% increased ammo damage
* +30% inserter rotation speed
* -16.67% (1/6) resource drain on miners.
** This is multiplicative with productivity
* +100% (+5 MJ) capacity on accumulators
* +30% output rate on [[boiler]]s, [[steam engine]]s, [[steam turbine]]s, [[accumulator]]s (also affects input rate), and [[nuclear reactor]]s
** Note that consumption and pollution are also increased at the same rate
* −16% power consumption on beacons
* +1 to both continuous coverage distance and exploration coverage distance in [[radar]]s
* +100% durability on consumable items ([[repair pack]]s, [[science pack]]s)
* +5% fork chance on the [[tesla turret]] and tesla ammo for the tesla gun
* +30% power consumption on some entities, such as [[inserter]]s and [[asteroid collector]]s

These effects are per quality strength and additive: a Legendary (5 tier-levels) [[Productivity module 3]] (base +10% productivity) would grant 25% productivity.

Some buildings only get increased health, with no special effect. Examples are:
*Buildings related to [[Circuit network]]s and [[Rail signal]]s
*[[Transport belt]]s
*[[Pipe]]s
*[[Wall]]s
*[[Locomotive|Trains]]
*[[Cargo wagon]]s

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Quality Effects
|-
! Item !! Effect !! [[File:quality_normal.png|15px]] Normal !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|15px]] Uncommon !! [[File:quality_rare.png|15px]] Rare !! [[File:quality_epic.png|15px]] Epic !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|15px]] Legendary
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:assembling_machine_1.png|15px]] [[Assembling machine 1]] || Health || 300 || 390 || 480 || 570 || 750
|-
| Crafting speed || 0.5 || 0.65 || 0.8 || 0.95 || 1.25
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:assembling_machine_2.png|15px]] [[Assembling machine 2]] || Health || 350 || 455 || 560 || 665 || 875
|-
| Crafting speed || 0.75 || 0.975 || 1.2 || 1.425 || 1.875
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:assembling_machine_3.png|15px]] [[Assembling machine 3]] || Health || 400 || 520 || 640 || 760 || 1000
|-
| Crafting speed || 1.25 || 1.625 || 2 || 2.375 || 3.125
|-

| rowspan="3" | [[File:construction_robot.png|15px]] [[Construction robot]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-
| Max flying reach || 571m || 1152m || 1728m || 2305m || 3457m
|-
| Energy capacity || 3MJ || 6MJ || 9MJ || 12MJ || 18MJ
|-

| rowspan="3" | [[File:inserter.png|15px]] [[Inserter]] || Health || 150 || 195 || 240 || 285 || 375
|-
| Energy consumption || 15.1kW || 19.51kW || 23.92kW || 28.33kW || 37.15kW
|-
| Rotation speed || 302°/s || 393°/s || 484°/s || 575°/s || 756°/s
|-

| rowspan="3" | [[File:fast_inserter.png|15px]] [[Fast inserter]] || Health || 150 || 195 || 240 || 285 || 375
|-
| Energy consumption || 59.3kW || 76.94kW || 94.58kW || 112kW || 148kW
|-
| Rotation speed || 864°/s || 1123°/s || 1382°/s || 1642°/s || 2160°/s
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:iron_chest.png|15px]] [[Iron chest]] || Health || 200 || 260 || 320 || 380 || 500
|-
| Storage size || 32 || 41 || 51 || 60 || 80
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:laser_turret.png|15px]] [[Laser turret]] || Health || 1000 || 1300 || 1600 || 1900 || 2500
|-
| Range || 24 tiles || 26.4 tiles || 28.8 tiles || 31.2 tiles || 36 tiles
|-

| rowspan="1" | [[File:pipe.png|15px]] [[Pipe]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-

| rowspan="3" | [[File:roboport.png|15px]] [[Roboport]] || Health || 500 || 650 || 800 || 950 || 1250
|-
| Energy consumption || 2.1MW || 2.7MW || 3.3MW || 3.9MW || 5.1MW
|-
| Robot recharge rate || 4 x 500kW || 4 x 650kW || 4 x 800kW || 4 x 950kW || 4 x 1.25MW
|-

| rowspan="3" | [[File:small_electric_pole.png|15px]] [[Small electric pole]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-
| Supply area || 5x5 || 7x7 || 9x9 || 11x11 || 15x15
|-
| Wire reach || 7.5 tiles || 9.5 tiles || 11.5 tiles || 13.5 tiles || 17.5 tiles
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:steel_chest.png|15px]] [[Steel chest]] || Health || 350 || 455 || 560 || 665 || 875
|-
| Storage size || 48 || 62 || 76 || 91 || 120
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:wooden_chest.png|15px]] [[Wooden chest]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-
| Storage size || 16 || 20 || 25 || 30 || 40

|}

== Creating high-quality items ==

There are two ways to create an item with above normal quality: The player must either use ingredient items of the same quality, or use quality modules for a random chance of a higher-quality item.

=== Quality ingredients ===
Recipes that consume items have variations for each quality that the items might take. When setting such a recipe in a production unit, an ingredient quality must be selected. For these variations, the set of ingredients required is the same, except that all item ingredients must have the specified quality. Recipes that consume only fluids do not have quality variations. If they produce items, those items will be normal quality unless affected by quality modules. Recipes that fill or empty [[barrel]]s and recipes that produce the same item they consume ([[kovarex enrichment process]] and [[fish breeding]]) do not accept quality modules.

Item ingredient quality requirements are exact, not minimum. For example, one can not combine uncommon [[iron plate]]s with rare [[battery|batteries]] to make an [[accumulator]] of any quality. One must therefore ensure that high-quality items do not clog up belts and starve production units of lower-quality items.

As fluids do not possess any quality, they are exempt from ingredient quality requirements; the same [[lubricant]] can be used to create [[electric engine unit]]s of any quality.

=== Quality modules ===
{{Main|Quality module}}
[[File:quality_module_animated.png|64px|right]]'''Quality modules''' allow crafting machines to produce items of a higher quality than their ingredients. Each module adds a quality chance to a machine, depending on its tier and quality. See the following table for all quality chances:

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! {{Diagonal split header|Module|Quality}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
|-
! {{Icon|quality_module}}
| +1% || +1.3% || +1.6% || +1.9% || +2.5%
|-
! {{Icon|quality_module_2}}
| +2% || +2.6% || +3.2% || +3.8% || +5%
|-
! {{Icon|quality_module_3}}
| +2.5% || +3.2% || +4% || +4.7% || +6.2%
|}

When working out the odds of improving quality, a machine starts with the sum of the quality chance of all its modules. When the machine produces an item, it performs a random roll with that chance to succeed. If it succeeds, the product is upgraded 1 level from its ingredients. If the product was upgraded, the machine repeats this process, now with a constant 10% chance of passing, rolling and upgrading until a roll fails.

When using quality ingredients as an input, the base quality is the quality of the recipe. You can only use items with the same quality as input.

Quality modules are only required to ''improve'' quality, crafting will always give the base quality of the used items. Additionally, the odds of improving from a given base quality is the same as improving the same number of tiers from Normal quality.

Where Q is quality chance, the following tables present expected outputs for each level of research.
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+ {{icontech|Quality module (research)|}} [[Quality module (research)]]
!{{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]
| 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 1/10
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]]
| - || 1 - Q || Q
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]
| - || - || 1
|}
</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+ {{icontech|Epic quality (research)|}} [[Epic quality (research)]]
!{{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]
| 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 9/100 ||Q * 1/100
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]]
| - || 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 1/10
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]
| - || - || 1 - Q || Q
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]
| - || - || - || 1
|}
</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+ {{icontech|Legendary quality (research)|}} [[Legendary quality (research)]]
!{{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]
| 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 9/100 ||Q * 9/1000 || Q * 1/1000
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]]
| - || 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 9/100 || Q * 1/100
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]
| - || - || 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 1/10
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]
| - || - || - || 1 - Q || Q
|-
! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]
| - || - || - || - || 1
|}
</div>

==== Examples ====
<div style="display:inline-block; margin-right:20px; vertical-align:top;">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ 2× {{Icon|quality_module_2|[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]}} → Q = 4%
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]]
| 96% || 3.6% || 0.4%
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]]
| - || 96% || 4%
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
| - || - || 100%
|}
</div><div style="display:inline-block; margin-right:20px;">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ 4× {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]}} → Q = 10%
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]]
| 90% || 9% || 0.9% || 0.09% || 0.01%
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]]
| - || 90% || 9% || 0.9% || 0.1%
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
| - || - || 90% || 9% || 1%
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]]
| - || - || - || 90% || 10%
|-
! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
| - || - || - || - || 100%
|}
</div><div style="display:inline-block; margin-right:20px;">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
|+ 4× {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]}} → Q = 24.8%
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]]
| 75.2% || 22.32% || 2.232% || 0.2232% || 0.0248%
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]]
| - || 75.2% || 22.32% || 2.232% || 0.248%
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
| - || - || 75.2% || 22.32% || 2.48%
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]]
| - || - || - || 75.2% || 24.8%
|-
! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
| - || - || - || - || 100%
|}
</div>

==== Optimal module usage ====
It is optimal to improve quality on the lead-up to the target output item due to the recycler only giving back 25% of the input items, except for cases where the chosen item has a productivity research available, in which case looping through a recycler is optimal and has no added material cost (ignoring fluids).

The following tables summarize the number of normal crafts (rounded up) needed to produce 1 legendary output using ideal ratios of quality module 3s to productivity module 3s, with 4 matching quality module 3 in the recycler.

It is important to emphasize that these ratios maximize return per input material. If input capacity isn't a concern and the goal is speed rather than material efficiency, then switch out productivity modules for quality modules as needed. Beware, however, that in many cases material inefficiency nearly keeps pace with the legendary output rate.

<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="border: 2px solid; text-align:center;"
! Max Modules !! Base Prod. !! No. of {{Icon|productivity_module_3|[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]}} !! No. of {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]}} !! Crafts
|-
| 2 || 0% || 0 || 2 || 891
|-
| 3 || 0% || 0 || 3 || 533
|-
| 4 || 0% || 1 || 3 || 342
|-
| 4 || 50% || 0 || 4 || 97
|-
| 5 || 50% || 1 || 4 || 67
|-
| 8 || 0% || 4 || 4 || 70
|}</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="border: 2px solid; text-align:center;"
! Max Modules !! Base Prod. !! No. of {{Icon|productivity_module_3|[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]}} !! No. of {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]}} !! Crafts
|-
| 2 || 0% || 0 || 2 || 608
|-
| 3 || 0% || 1 || 2 || 356
|-
| 4 || 0% || 1 || 3 || 212
|-
| 4 || 50% || 1 || 3 || 62
|-
| 5 || 50% || 2 || 3 || 40
|-
| 8 || 0% || 5 || 3 || 34
|}</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="border: 2px solid; text-align:center;"
! Max Modules !! Base Prod. !! No. of {{Icon|productivity_module_3|[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]}} !! No. of {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]}} !! Crafts
|-
| 2 || 0% || 0 || 2 || 309
|-
| 3 || 0% || 1 || 2 || 153
|-
| 4 || 0% || 2 || 2 || 80
|-
| 4 || 50% || 3 || 1 || 25
|-
| 5 || 50% || 4 || 1 || 14
|-
| 8 || 0% || 8 || 0 || 7
|}</div>
For example, suppose legendary T3 modules are available and the goal is to produce legendary [[File:Processing_unit.png|link=Processing unit|20px]] processing units. If each electromagnetic plant producing epic quality or below has 4 legendary [[File:productivity_module_3.png|link=Productivity module 3|20px]] productivity module 3 and 1 legendary [[File:quality_module_3.png|link=Quality module 3|20px]] quality module 3, and the electromagnetic plant with the legendary recipe has 5 legendary [[File:productivity_module_3.png|link=Productivity module 3|20px]] productivity module 3, then on average an input of 280 normal [[File:Electronic_circuit.png|link=Electronic circuit|20px]] electronic circuits and 28 normal [[File:Advanced_circuit.png|link=Advanced circuit|20px]] advanced circuits is expected to produce 1 legendary [[File:Processing_unit.png|link=Processing unit|20px]] processing unit.

===== Derivation =====
Derivation of the tables above was as follows: Starting with 1 set of common ingredients, with an assembly quality chance of Q and total productivity bonus of P, the statistical expected number of product is as follows:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
| (1 + P) * (1 - Q) || (1 + P) * (Q * (10<sup>0</sup> - 10<sup>-1</sup>))|| (1 + P) * (Q * (10<sup>-1</sup> - 10<sup>-2</sup>)) || (1 + P) * (Q * (10<sup>-2</sup> - 10<sup>-3</sup>)) || (1 + P) * (Q * 10<sup>-3</sup>)
|-
| (1 + P) * (1 - Q) || (1 + P) * Q * 9/10 || (1 + P) * Q * 9/100 || (1 + P) * Q * 9/1000 || (1 + P) * Q * 1/1000
|}

In a similar vein, the same calculations can be done for recycling products, except that there is, in effect, -75% productivity bonus, where only a quarter of the items are returned.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
| (1 + -0.75) * (1-Q) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * (10<sup>0</sup> - 10<sup>-1</sup>)) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * (10<sup>-1</sup> - 10<sup>-2</sup>)) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * (10<sup>-2</sup> - 10<sup>-3</sup>)) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * 10<sup>-3</sup>)
|-
| 0.25 * (1-Q) || 0.25 * Q * 9/10|| 0.25 * Q * 9/100 || 0.25 * Q * 9/1000 || 0.25 * Q * 1/1000
|}

For example, recycling an uncommon ingredient with a Q of 25%:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
| style="background:#424242" | [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]] || - || 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.005625 || 0.000625
|}

Combining these results allows a 'Transition Matrix' to be developed (see the Wikipedia article [[Wikipedia:Stochastic matrix|Stochastic matrix]]) which after iteration can generate the expected number of legendary products from 1 set of common ingredients via matrix multiplication. An example matrix for P of 50% and Q of 25% for both recycling and assembly is copied below. Note that since legendary products are the goal, they are not recycled.

{| class="wikitable" style="border:2px solid; text-align:center;"
! !! style="border-left:2px solid" | I<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
! style="border-left:2px solid" | P<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
|- style="border-top:2px solid"
! I<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 1.125 || 0.3375 || 0.03375 || 0.003375 || 0.000375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 1.125 || 0.3375 || 0.03375 || 0.00375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 1.125 || 0.3375 || 0.0375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 1.125 || 0.375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1.5
|- style="border-top:2px solid"
! P<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.005625 || 0.0005625 || 0.0000625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.005625 || 0.000625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.00625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.1875 || 0.0625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1
|}

To iterate this matrix (M) apply the matrix to itself. For example, M<sup>6</sup> would indicate 6 iterations, corresponding to 3 crafting steps and 3 recycling steps. To see how much 1 ingredient set produces after a given iteration, x, multiply an input vector by M<sup>x</sup>. The vector format follows that of the matrix labels, so with the table arranged as above, left multiply a row vector of ingredient(s) by the matrix. In order to see the expected product of 1 set of normal ingredients, the vector will have '1' in the first column and '0's everywhere else. Likewise, a set of uncommon ingredients will correspond to '1' in the second column of the vector.

It is important to note that since the recycling step has a material loss of 75% most recycling loops will be well behaved and converge quickly.

Extreme productivity from research breaks this pattern and will prevent convergence, but this simply means that there is a positive material cycle, so 1 set of ingredients will produce infinite legendary crafts, on average. The closer the total productivity is to 400%, the slower the convergence of the matrix iteration and the higher you need to calculate x in M<sup>x</sup>.


== Usage tips ==
=== Using quality to increase production ===
There are four ways in which quality can increase the output of a single production machine:
* Increasing the quality of the machine itself will improve its base crafting speed.
* Increasing the quality of [[speed module]]s will increase the effect of their speed improvements.
* Increasing the quality of [[productivity module]]s will increase their productivity bonus without reducing crafting speed. Since extra items obtained from the productivity bonus do not take extra time to produce, this will also increase the number of items produced over time.
* Increasing the quality of [[beacon]]s will increase their transmission efficiency. If they contain speed modules, then the effect of these modules is increased.

These four options share a powerful synergy, as they react multiplicatively with one another. This makes it possible to achieve very high production rates with very few machines when compared to only using normal quality items. For example, imagine a setup where [[electronic circuit]]s are made using one [[electromagnetic plant]] with five [[productivity module 3]]s, which is surrounded by 12 [[beacon]]s with two [[speed module 3]]s, each. With normal quality, this will achieve an output rate of almost 45 items per second (almost enough to saturate one non-layered [[express transport belt]]). However, if the electromagnetic plant and all beacons and modules have legendary quality, the output rate becomes slightly more than 600 items per second (enough to saturate two and a half [[turbo transport belt]]s with four layers of items). This is more than 13 times as many items as without quality.

It should be noted that quality beacons are the only one of these factors that may increase energy consumption over time, as the transmission effect is also applied to the energy cost of speed modules. However, this is offset or even negated by the reduced energy consumption of the beacons themselves (which is also affected by quality), especially with high beacon counts wherein the transmission effect is subject to diminishing returns. For speed modules, productivity modules, and the machine itself, only the speed increase, productivity bonus, and base crafting speed are affected, respectively.

The increased transmission effect of high-quality beacons is also notable because unlike when increasing the number of beacons, there are no diminishing returns for increasing their quality (aside from the exponentially increasing cost of producing those higher-quality beacons in the first place). This means that, despite a legendary beacon only being 1.66 times as powerful as a normal-quality beacon, one would need 0.36 times as many legendary beacons as normal ones to achieve the same effect. Aside from making more powerful beacon setups, this can also be used to save space by achieving the same effect with fewer beacons, thereby leaving more room for machines and belts.

Higher-quality machines are also particularly useful for producing quality items as, unlike speed modules, machine quality does not reduce the chance of increasing a product's quality.

=== Using quality to save space ===
Another use for quality is decreasing the amount of buildings needed to perform the same production. This is particularly useful in a [[space platform]], where small, compact designs are rewarded with increased speed, as well as needing fewer rockets to build the platform.

== Relevant Factorio Friday Facts ==
* [https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-375 FFF 375 - Quality]
* [https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-376 FFF 376 - Research and Technology]

== Trivia ==
* Quality is not technically exclusive to player-made entities; Though this does not occur naturally, quality is also allowed on enemies, asteroids, and even the [[player]] character.
** Some enemies with qualities above normal can even be created in regular sandbox gameplay: Big biters, behemoth biters, and big premature wriggler pentapods born from spoiled [[biter egg]]s, [[captive biter spawner]]s, and [[pentapod egg]]s inherit the quality of the spoiled items, with the latter two being possible to craft with quality modules. Furthermore, a starved captured biter spawner will retain its quality upon converting into a hostile biter spawner, with said quality even being inherited by the biters that it will spawn. Should these biters chose to expand, they may also create quality spitters and worms.

== History ==
{{history|2.0.7|
* Introduced in [[Space Age]]{{SA}} expansion.
}}

{{C|Main}}

Recycler

2025-02-06T09:52:00Z

Dalestan: /* Mechanics */ The flavor text is misleading

{{Languages}}
{{:Infobox:Recycler}}
{{About/Space age}}
The '''recycler''' is a building that can convert most items into the ingredients used in their recipes, at the cost of losing 75% of said ingredients. In other words, it performs a lossy reversal of crafting.

Although it can only be crafted on Fulgora, it can be transported to be placed on other planets or [[space platform]]s.

It has 4 module slots, but it cannot use [[productivity module]]s.

== Mechanics ==

When an item enters a recycler, the item's main recipe is found, and the recycler is automatically set to perform its inverse.

For each type of item used as an ingredient in the recycled item's main recipe, the number of items returned by the recycler is decided by <math>\left \lfloor 0.25 \cdot \tfrac{i}{o} + r \right\rfloor</math>, where <math>i</math> is the number of items used as ingredients, <math>o</math> is the number of items returned by the recipe, and <math>r</math> is a random number that is greater than or equal to 0 but less than 1. On average, this returns exactly 25% of the items needed to craft one item of the same type as the recycled item. For example, recycling a [[processing unit]] always gives 5 [[electronic circuit]]s while having a 50% chance of returning one [[advanced circuit]].

All fluid ingredients are lost when recycling, as the recycler has no fluid output.

Without quality modules, the resulting items have the same quality as the item being recycled, even if the latter was crafted using lower-quality ingredients. Quality modules can further increase the output's quality, just like with regular non-recycling recipes.

The recycler has 12 internal slots for its output, but can only hold one stack of each item. The recycler will try to eject the contents of these slots, much like a mining drill. It is therefore not necessary to use an inserter to collect its output. Much like the [[big mining drill]]{{SA}}, if the recycler has more than one of an individual item type in its inventory, the recycler will output stacks of materials onto a belt if the [[stack inserter]]{{SA}} has been researched.

=== Non-recyclable items ===

The broad rule governing the recycler's ability to reverse a recipe is that it can only reverse recipes made in [[assembling machine]]s of some type. There are many exceptions to this, however. For the purposes of the recycler's ability to recycle items, the [[electromagnetic plant]] counts as an "assembler". So all of its recipes count unless otherwise stated. Recipes shared by assemblers and other machines are not so clear-cut: sometimes they count as recipes for those other machines, but sometimes they count as pure assembler recipes.

Items can have multiple recipes; all that is needed for the recycler to reverse it is to find a single reversible recipe that produces that item.

If no valid recipe producing the item can be reversed, the recycler will return the same item 25% of the time (possibly with a [[quality]] bonus if the appropriate modules are used), with the other 75% destroying the item. The in-game description says "Other items are ... turned to spoilage if they were biological." Despite this, only nutrients are turned to spoilage. Most other apparently biological items, such as [[jelly]], eggs, or [[biolab]]s, get returned 25% of the time, as listed (or not listed, since eggs cannot be created in assemblers) in the table below.

Recipes which can be made in an assembler (possibly also in non-assembler buildings) which cannot be reversed:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left !important;"
|-
! Recycler Input !! Time !! Rate
|-
| {{imagelink|Automation science pack}} || 0.625s || 1.6/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Logistic science pack}} || 0.75s || 1.33/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Military science pack}} || 1.25s || 0.8/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Chemical science pack}} || 3s || 0.33/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Production science pack}} || 2.625s || 0.38/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Utility science pack}} || 2.625s || 0.38/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Space science pack}} || 1.875s || 0.53/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Electromagnetic science pack}} || 1.25s || 0.8/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Biolab}} || 1.25s || 0.8/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Holmium plate}} || 0.125s || 8/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Landfill}} || 0.0625s || 16/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Superconductor}} || 0.625s || 1.6/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Tungsten carbide}} || 0.125s || 8/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Uranium fuel cell}} || 1.25s || 0.8/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Wood processing}} || 0.25 || 4/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Yumako mash}} || 0.125s || 8/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Jelly}} || 0.125s || 8/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Iron bacteria}} || 0.125s || 8/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Copper bacteria}} || 0.125s || 8/s
|}

Recipes exclusively executed by non-assembler machines, but can still be reversed:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left !important;"
|-
! Recycler Input !! Time !! Rate
|-
| {{imagelink|Battery}} || 0.5s || 2/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Big mining drill}} || 3.75s || 0.27/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Fusion reactor}} || 7.5s || 0.13/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Fusion generator}} || 3.75s || 0.27/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Railgun}} || 1.25s || 0.8/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Railgun turret}} || 1.25s || 0.8/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Turbo transport belt}} || 0.0625s || 16/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Turbo underground belt}} || 0.25s || 4/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Turbo splitter}} || 0.25s || 4/s
|}

Recipes shared by assembler/EMP and non-assembler machines which ''can'' be reversed:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left !important;"
|-
! Recycler Input !! Time !! Rate
|-
| {{imagelink|Biochamber}} || 2.5s || 0.4/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Cryogenic plant}} || 1.25s || 0.8/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Foundry}} || 1.25s || 0.8/s
|-
| {{imagelink|Nutrients from spoilage}} || 0.25s || 4/s
|}

=== Unique recycling recipes ===

Some items have unique recycling recipes:

* Recycling [[scrap]] will perform the [[scrap recycling]] recipe, for which there is no inverse, as scrap cannot be crafted. This is used to obtain most resources on [[Fulgora]].
* Recycling [[nutrients]] will yield 2.5× that amount of [[spoilage]], as if they were made using the [[nutrients from spoilage]] recipe.

=== Stats ===

The recycling recipe for an item, other than scrap, is equal to 1/16th (0.0625) of the time it takes to craft that item. (Items without recipes, such as ore, are treated as having a crafting time of 0.5 seconds.) But because the recycler has a base crafting speed of 0.5, the time it takes one recycler to recycle one item is effectively 1/8th (0.125) of the item's crafting time without modules or beacons. For example, the time it takes to craft a [[steel plate]] in a [[stone furnace]] (which has a crafting speed of 1) is 16 seconds, and so recycling a steel plate takes 2 seconds. The following table provides some examples of how long it takes a recycler without modules or beacons to recycle one of that item, and the rate at which it recycles those items.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left !important;"
|-
! Recycler input !! Time !! Rate
|-
| {{Imagelink|Steel plate}} || 2.0s || 0.5/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Low density structure}} || 1.875s || 0.533/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Processing unit}} || 1.25s || 0.8/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Advanced circuit}} || 0.75s || 1.33/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Copper plate}} || 0.4s || 2.5/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Iron plate}} || 0.4s || 2.5/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Iron ore}} || 0.0625s || 16/s
|-
|-
|}

The scrap recycling recipe takes 0.2 seconds, meaning that it actually takes 0.4 seconds to run in a recycler, so a recycler takes in 2.5 scrap/s. The output rates are as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Input !! Output !! Chance !! Rate
|-
|rowspan="12"| {{Imagelink|Scrap|space-age=yes}} || {{Imagelink|Iron gear wheel}} || 20% || 0.5/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Solid fuel}} || 7% || 0.175/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Concrete}} || 6% || 0.15/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Ice|space-age=yes}} || 5% || 0.125/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Steel plate}} || 4% || 0.1/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Battery}} || 4% || 0.1/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Stone}} || 4% || 0.1/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Copper cable}} || 3% || 0.075/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Advanced circuit}} || 3% || 0.075/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Processing unit}} || 2% || 0.05/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Low density structure}} || 1% || 0.025/s
|-
| {{Imagelink|Holmium ore|space-age=yes}} || 1% || 0.025/s
|}

In total, the recycler spits out 1.5 items/s, meaning 10 recyclers are just enough to saturate a yellow belt. The output values are increased by [[Scrap recycling productivity (research)|scrap recycling productivity research]].

=== Technical details ===

Internally, the recycler uses the [https://lua-api.factorio.com/latest/prototypes/FurnacePrototype.html furnace prototype], which performs recipes that are automatically selected based on input ingredients. Every item in the game has its own "recycling" recipe, almost all of which are hidden in the Factoriopedia and can only be performed by a recycler.

Since there are hundreds of items in the game, as well as to ensure compatibility with third-party mods, most recycling recipes are not explicitly defined. Instead, recycling recipes are procedurally generated based on existing recipes. Depending on whether or not the item is deemed "recyclable", these procedurally generated recipes will either output a quarter of an item's ingredients or have a 25% chance of outputting the item itself.

The recyclabillity of most items is based on the category of their recipes, with some exceptions being explicitly filtered by the name of the recipe's prototype. Furthermore, items with multiple viable recycling recipes are made non-recyclable to avoid ambiguity, and recipes with multiple different products will fail to generate a recycling recipe, thereby making them irreversible as a default. Third-party mods can also explicitly make a recipe irreversible by setting the recipe's <code>auto_recycle</code> field to <code>false</code>.

The scrap recycling recipe is a special case, as it is the only hard-coded recipe. It is also the only recycling recipe that is not hidden from the player, and which can be performed without a recycler. (Notably, this recipe is defined by the Space Age mod rather than the Quality mod, as scrap is exclusive to the former.)

The generation of recycling recipes, as well as the filtering of non-recyclable recipes, is defined by the file <code>recycling.lua</code> in the Quality mod's prototype folder. More specifically, the function <code>default_can_recycle</code> decides whether a given recipe can be recycled or not, and the function <code>add_recipe_values</code> does most of the configuration of recycling recipes, which includes setting the products of these recipes and how long they take to perform.

== Trivia ==
* If the recycled item has a fluid ingredient, then the smoke emitted from the recycler matches the fluid in colour.

== Gallery ==
[[File:Fff-375-recycler-freezeframe.png|500px]]

== History ==
{{history|2.0.7|
* Introduced in [[Space Age]]{{SA}} expansion.
}}

== See also ==
* [[Quality]]{{SA}}

{{ProductionNav}}
{{C|Furnaces}}

Quality

2025-02-06T06:27:48Z

Dalestan: /* Quality effects */ Add increased power consumption for inserters and collectors

{{Languages}}
{{About/Space age}}

'''Quality''' is a feature of the [[Space Age]] expansion. It introduces four higher quality levels for all items, structures and equipment with improved attributes. The goal of quality is to allow vertical factory upgrading as alternative to expansion in size. Items of higher quality are created by chance when using quality modules in the producing structure. The two highest quality tiers require technology not available on Nauvis. Different buildings and items can have different attributes that can be upgraded. When hovering over something, the attributes that will be upgraded with quality will be marked with a blue diamond in the tooltip.
[[File:Quality icon.png|50px|thumb|right|Quality icon]]

While players are required to own Space Age to access this feature, quality is a separate mod, and can be activated independent of most Space Age content.

== Achievements ==
Quality is directly related to the following achievements:
{{Achievement|make-it-better}}
{{Achievement|look-at-my-shiny-rare-armor}}
{{Achievement|todays-fish-is-trout-a-la-creme}}
{{Achievement|crafting-with-quality}}
{{Achievement|my-modules-are-legendary}}
{{Achievement|no-room-for-more}}

== Quality tiers ==
There are 5 quality tiers in vanilla gameplay, with tier strength in brackets:
* [[File:quality_normal.png|15px]] Normal (0)
* [[File:quality_uncommon.png|15px]] Uncommon (1)
* [[File:quality_rare.png|15px]] Rare (2)
* [[File:quality_epic.png|15px]] Epic (3)
* [[File:quality_legendary.png|15px]] Legendary ('''5''')

Note that legendary quality represents a 2-tier improvement over epic.

== Technologies ==
Certain tiers of quality cannot be created until they have been researched.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Research !! Base Game !! {{SA}} Space Age !! Unlocks
|-
| {{icontech|Quality module (research)|}} [[Quality module (research)]]
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Production science pack}} x 300
| {{icon|Time|30}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}} x 500
| [[File:quality_uncommon.png|32px]] [[File:quality_rare.png|32px]]
|-
| {{icontech|Epic quality (research)|}} [[Epic quality (research)]]
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Production science pack}}{{icon|Utility science pack}} x 5000
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Utility science pack}}{{icon|Space science pack}}{{icon|Agricultural science pack}} x 5000
| [[File:quality_epic.png|32px]]
|-
| {{icontech|Legendary quality (research)|}} [[Legendary quality (research)]]
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{icon|Automation science pack}}{{icon|Logistic science pack}}{{icon|Chemical science pack}}{{icon|Production science pack}}{{icon|Utility science pack}}{{icon|Space science pack}} x 5000
| {{icon|Time|60}}{{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|Metallurgic science pack}}{{icon|Electromagnetic science pack}}{{icon|Agricultural science pack}}{{icon|Cryogenic science pack}} x 5000
| [[File:quality_legendary.png|32px]]
|-
|}

== Quality effects ==
The currently known effects of each level of quality are as follows:
* +30% health
* +30% crafting speed
* +30% robot limit (rounded down)
* +30% robot recharge rate (both number and speed, rounded down)
* +30% positive module effects (rounded down for at least quality modules)
* +10% turret range
* +10% weapon range
* +1 tile reach and +2 wire reach on power poles
* +1 equipment grid size (both dimensions)
* +30% chest inventory size (rounded down)
* +30% increased ammo damage
* +30% inserter rotation speed
* -16.67% (1/6) resource drain on miners.
** This is multiplicative with productivity
* +100% (+5 MJ) capacity on accumulators
* +30% output rate on [[boiler]]s, [[steam engine]]s, [[steam turbine]]s, [[accumulator]]s (also affects input rate), and [[nuclear reactor]]s
** Note that consumption and pollution are also increased at the same rate
* −16% power consumption on beacons
* +1 to both continuous coverage distance and exploration coverage distance in [[radar]]s
* +100% durability on consumable items ([[repair pack]]s, [[science pack]]s)
* +5% fork chance on the [[tesla turret]] and tesla ammo for the tesla gun
* +30% power consumption on some entities, such as [[inserter]]s and [[asteroid collector]]s

These effects are per quality strength and additive: a Legendary (5 tier-levels) [[Productivity module 3]] (base +10% productivity) would grant 25% productivity.

Some buildings only get increased health, with no special effect. Examples are:
*Buildings related to [[Circuit network]]s and [[Rail signal]]s
*[[Transport belt]]s
*[[Pipe]]s
*[[Wall]]s
*[[Locomotive|Trains]]
*[[Cargo wagon]]s

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Quality Effects
|-
! Item !! Effect !! [[File:quality_normal.png|15px]] Normal !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|15px]] Uncommon !! [[File:quality_rare.png|15px]] Rare !! [[File:quality_epic.png|15px]] Epic !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|15px]] Legendary
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:assembling_machine_1.png|15px]] [[Assembling machine 1]] || Health || 300 || 390 || 480 || 570 || 750
|-
| Crafting speed || 0.5 || 0.65 || 0.8 || 0.95 || 1.25
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:assembling_machine_2.png|15px]] [[Assembling machine 2]] || Health || 350 || 455 || 560 || 665 || 875
|-
| Crafting speed || 0.75 || 0.975 || 1.2 || 1.425 || 1.875
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:assembling_machine_3.png|15px]] [[Assembling machine 3]] || Health || 400 || 520 || 640 || 760 || 1000
|-
| Crafting speed || 1.25 || 1.625 || 2 || 2.375 || 3.125
|-

| rowspan="3" | [[File:construction_robot.png|15px]] [[Construction robot]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-
| Max flying reach || 571m || 1152m || 1728m || 2305m || 3457m
|-
| Energy capacity || 3MJ || 6MJ || 9MJ || 12MJ || 18MJ
|-

| rowspan="3" | [[File:inserter.png|15px]] [[Inserter]] || Health || 150 || 195 || 240 || 285 || 375
|-
| Energy consumption || 15.1kW || 19.51kW || 23.92kW || 28.33kW || 37.15kW
|-
| Rotation speed || 302°/s || 393°/s || 484°/s || 575°/s || 756°/s
|-

| rowspan="3" | [[File:fast_inserter.png|15px]] [[Fast inserter]] || Health || 150 || 195 || 240 || 285 || 375
|-
| Energy consumption || 59.3kW || 76.94kW || 94.58kW || 112kW || 148kW
|-
| Rotation speed || 864°/s || 1123°/s || 1382°/s || 1642°/s || 2160°/s
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:iron_chest.png|15px]] [[Iron chest]] || Health || 200 || 260 || 320 || 380 || 500
|-
| Storage size || 32 || 41 || 51 || 60 || 80
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:laser_turret.png|15px]] [[Laser turret]] || Health || 1000 || 1300 || 1600 || 1900 || 2500
|-
| Range || 24 tiles || 26.4 tiles || 28.8 tiles || 31.2 tiles || 36 tiles
|-

| rowspan="1" | [[File:pipe.png|15px]] [[Pipe]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-

| rowspan="3" | [[File:roboport.png|15px]] [[Roboport]] || Health || 500 || 650 || 800 || 950 || 1250
|-
| Energy consumption || 2.1MW || 2.7MW || 3.3MW || 3.9MW || 5.1MW
|-
| Robot recharge rate || 4 x 500kW || 4 x 650kW || 4 x 800kW || 4 x 950kW || 4 x 1.25MW
|-

| rowspan="3" | [[File:small_electric_pole.png|15px]] [[Small electric pole]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-
| Supply area || 5x5 || 7x7 || 9x9 || 11x11 || 15x15
|-
| Wire reach || 7.5 tiles || 9.5 tiles || 11.5 tiles || 13.5 tiles || 17.5 tiles
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:steel_chest.png|15px]] [[Steel chest]] || Health || 350 || 455 || 560 || 665 || 875
|-
| Storage size || 48 || 62 || 76 || 91 || 120
|-

| rowspan="2" | [[File:wooden_chest.png|15px]] [[Wooden chest]] || Health || 100 || 130 || 160 || 190 || 250
|-
| Storage size || 16 || 20 || 25 || 30 || 40

|}

== Creating high-quality items ==

There are two ways to create an item with above normal quality: The player must either use ingredient items of the same quality, or use quality modules for a random chance of a higher-quality item.

=== Quality ingredients ===
Recipes that create items have variations for each quality that the item might take. When setting such a recipe in a production unit, an ingredient quality must be selected. For these variations, the set of ingredients required is the same, except that all item ingredients must have the specified quality.

Item ingredient quality requirements are exact, not minimum. For example, one can not combine uncommon [[iron plate]]s with rare [[battery|batteries]] to make an [[accumulator]] of any quality. One must therefore ensure that high-quality items do not clog up belts and starve production units of lower-quality items.

As fluids do not possess any quality, they are exempt from ingredient quality requirements; the same [[lubricant]] can be used to create [[electric engine unit]]s of any quality.

=== Quality modules ===
{{Main|Quality module}}
[[File:quality_module_animated.png|64px|right]]'''Quality modules''' allow crafting machines to produce items of a higher quality than their ingredients. Each module adds a quality chance to a machine, depending on its tier and quality. See the following table for all quality chances:

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! {{Diagonal split header|Module|Quality}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
|-
! {{Icon|quality_module}}
| +1% || +1.3% || +1.6% || +1.9% || +2.5%
|-
! {{Icon|quality_module_2}}
| +2% || +2.6% || +3.2% || +3.8% || +5%
|-
! {{Icon|quality_module_3}}
| +2.5% || +3.2% || +4% || +4.7% || +6.2%
|}

When working out the odds of improving quality, a machine starts with the sum of the quality chance of all its modules. When the machine produces an item, it performs a random roll with that chance to succeed. If it succeeds, the product is upgraded 1 level from its ingredients. If the product was upgraded, the machine repeats this process, now with a constant 10% chance of passing, rolling and upgrading until a roll fails.

When using quality ingredients as an input, the base quality is the quality of the recipe. You can only use items with the same quality as input.

Quality modules are only required to ''improve'' quality, crafting will always give the base quality of the used items. Additionally, the odds of improving from a given base quality is the same as improving the same number of tiers from Normal quality.

Where Q is quality chance, the following tables present expected outputs for each level of research.
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+ {{icontech|Quality module (research)|}} [[Quality module (research)]]
!{{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]
| 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 1/10
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]]
| - || 1 - Q || Q
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]
| - || - || 1
|}
</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+ {{icontech|Epic quality (research)|}} [[Epic quality (research)]]
!{{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]
| 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 9/100 ||Q * 1/100
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]]
| - || 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 1/10
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]
| - || - || 1 - Q || Q
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]
| - || - || - || 1
|}
</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+ {{icontech|Legendary quality (research)|}} [[Legendary quality (research)]]
!{{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]
| 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 9/100 ||Q * 9/1000 || Q * 1/1000
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]]
| - || 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 9/100 || Q * 1/100
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]
| - || - || 1 - Q || Q * 9/10|| Q * 1/10
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]
| - || - || - || 1 - Q || Q
|-
! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]
| - || - || - || - || 1
|}
</div>

==== Examples ====
<div style="display:inline-block; margin-right:20px; vertical-align:top;">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ 2× {{Icon|quality_module_2|[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]}} → Q = 4%
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]]
| 96% || 3.6% || 0.4%
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]]
| - || 96% || 4%
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
| - || - || 100%
|}
</div><div style="display:inline-block; margin-right:20px;">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ 4× {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|16px]]}} → Q = 10%
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]]
| 90% || 9% || 0.9% || 0.09% || 0.01%
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]]
| - || 90% || 9% || 0.9% || 0.1%
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
| - || - || 90% || 9% || 1%
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]]
| - || - || - || 90% || 10%
|-
! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
| - || - || - || - || 100%
|}
</div><div style="display:inline-block; margin-right:20px;">
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
|+ 4× {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]}} → Q = 24.8%
|-
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|32px]]
| 75.2% || 22.32% || 2.232% || 0.2232% || 0.0248%
|-
! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|32px]]
| - || 75.2% || 22.32% || 2.232% || 0.248%
|-
! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|32px]]
| - || - || 75.2% || 22.32% || 2.48%
|-
! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|32px]]
| - || - || - || 75.2% || 24.8%
|-
! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|32px]]
| - || - || - || - || 100%
|}
</div>

==== Optimal module usage ====
It is optimal to improve quality on the lead-up to the target output item due to the recycler only giving back 25% of the input items, except for cases where the chosen item has a productivity research available, in which case looping through a recycler is optimal and has no added material cost (ignoring fluids).

The following tables summarize the number of normal crafts (rounded up) needed to produce 1 legendary output using ideal ratios of quality module 3s to productivity module 3s, with 4 matching quality module 3 in the recycler.

It is important to emphasize that these ratios maximize return per input material. If input capacity isn't a concern and the goal is speed rather than material efficiency, then switch out productivity modules for quality modules as needed. Beware, however, that in many cases material inefficiency nearly keeps pace with the legendary output rate.

<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="border: 2px solid; text-align:center;"
! Max Modules !! Base Prod. !! No. of {{Icon|productivity_module_3|[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]}} !! No. of {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|16px]]}} !! Crafts
|-
| 2 || 0% || 0 || 2 || 891
|-
| 3 || 0% || 0 || 3 || 533
|-
| 4 || 0% || 1 || 3 || 342
|-
| 4 || 50% || 0 || 4 || 97
|-
| 5 || 50% || 1 || 4 || 67
|-
| 8 || 0% || 4 || 4 || 70
|}</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="border: 2px solid; text-align:center;"
! Max Modules !! Base Prod. !! No. of {{Icon|productivity_module_3|[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]}} !! No. of {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|16px]]}} !! Crafts
|-
| 2 || 0% || 0 || 2 || 608
|-
| 3 || 0% || 1 || 2 || 356
|-
| 4 || 0% || 1 || 3 || 212
|-
| 4 || 50% || 1 || 3 || 62
|-
| 5 || 50% || 2 || 3 || 40
|-
| 8 || 0% || 5 || 3 || 34
|}</div>
<div style="display:inline-block; vertical-align:top; margin-right:20px;">
{| class="wikitable" style="border: 2px solid; text-align:center;"
! Max Modules !! Base Prod. !! No. of {{Icon|productivity_module_3|[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]}} !! No. of {{Icon|quality_module_3|[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|16px]]}} !! Crafts
|-
| 2 || 0% || 0 || 2 || 309
|-
| 3 || 0% || 1 || 2 || 153
|-
| 4 || 0% || 2 || 2 || 80
|-
| 4 || 50% || 3 || 1 || 25
|-
| 5 || 50% || 4 || 1 || 14
|-
| 8 || 0% || 8 || 0 || 7
|}</div>
For example, suppose legendary T3 modules are available and the goal is to produce legendary [[File:Processing_unit.png|link=Processing unit|20px]] processing units. If each electromagnetic plant producing epic quality or below has 4 legendary [[File:productivity_module_3.png|link=Productivity module 3|20px]] productivity module 3 and 1 legendary [[File:quality_module_3.png|link=Quality module 3|20px]] quality module 3, and the electromagnetic plant with the legendary recipe has 5 legendary [[File:productivity_module_3.png|link=Productivity module 3|20px]] productivity module 3, then on average an input of 280 normal [[File:Electronic_circuit.png|link=Electronic circuit|20px]] electronic circuits and 28 normal [[File:Advanced_circuit.png|link=Advanced circuit|20px]] advanced circuits is expected to produce 1 legendary [[File:Processing_unit.png|link=Processing unit|20px]] processing unit.

===== Derivation =====
Derivation of the tables above was as follows: Starting with 1 set of common ingredients, with an assembly quality chance of Q and total productivity bonus of P, the statistical expected number of product is as follows:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|+
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
| (1 + P) * (1 - Q) || (1 + P) * (Q * (10<sup>0</sup> - 10<sup>-1</sup>))|| (1 + P) * (Q * (10<sup>-1</sup> - 10<sup>-2</sup>)) || (1 + P) * (Q * (10<sup>-2</sup> - 10<sup>-3</sup>)) || (1 + P) * (Q * 10<sup>-3</sup>)
|-
| (1 + P) * (1 - Q) || (1 + P) * Q * 9/10 || (1 + P) * Q * 9/100 || (1 + P) * Q * 9/1000 || (1 + P) * Q * 1/1000
|}

In a similar vein, the same calculations can be done for recycling products, except that there is, in effect, -75% productivity bonus, where only a quarter of the items are returned.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
| (1 + -0.75) * (1-Q) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * (10<sup>0</sup> - 10<sup>-1</sup>)) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * (10<sup>-1</sup> - 10<sup>-2</sup>)) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * (10<sup>-2</sup> - 10<sup>-3</sup>)) || (1 + -0.75) * (Q * 10<sup>-3</sup>)
|-
| 0.25 * (1-Q) || 0.25 * Q * 9/10|| 0.25 * Q * 9/100 || 0.25 * Q * 9/1000 || 0.25 * Q * 1/1000
|}

For example, recycling an uncommon ingredient with a Q of 25%:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
! {{Diagonal split header|Input|Output}} !! [[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|20px]] !! [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|20px]] !! [[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|20px]] !! [[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|20px]] !! [[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|20px]]
|-
| style="background:#424242" | [[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|16px]] || - || 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.005625 || 0.000625
|}

Combining these results allows a 'Transition Matrix' to be developed (see the Wikipedia article [[Wikipedia:Stochastic matrix|Stochastic matrix]]) which after iteration can generate the expected number of legendary products from 1 set of common ingredients via matrix multiplication. An example matrix for P of 50% and Q of 25% for both recycling and assembly is copied below. Note that since legendary products are the goal, they are not recycled.

{| class="wikitable" style="border:2px solid; text-align:center;"
! !! style="border-left:2px solid" | I<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub> !! I<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
! style="border-left:2px solid" | P<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub> !! P<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
|- style="border-top:2px solid"
! I<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 1.125 || 0.3375 || 0.03375 || 0.003375 || 0.000375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 1.125 || 0.3375 || 0.03375 || 0.00375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 1.125 || 0.3375 || 0.0375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 1.125 || 0.375
|-
! I<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1.5
|- style="border-top:2px solid"
! P<sub>[[File:quality_normal.png|Normal|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.005625 || 0.0005625 || 0.0000625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_uncommon.png|Uncommon|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.005625 || 0.000625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_rare.png|Rare|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0.1875 || 0.05625 || 0.00625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_epic.png|Epic|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.1875 || 0.0625
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
! P<sub>[[File:quality_legendary.png|Legendary|10px]]</sub>
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
| style="border-left:2px solid" | 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1
|}

To iterate this matrix (M) apply the matrix to itself. For example, M<sup>6</sup> would indicate 6 iterations, corresponding to 3 crafting steps and 3 recycling steps. To see how much 1 ingredient set produces after a given iteration, x, multiply an input vector by M<sup>x</sup>. The vector format follows that of the matrix labels, so with the table arranged as above, left multiply a row vector of ingredient(s) by the matrix. In order to see the expected product of 1 set of normal ingredients, the vector will have '1' in the first column and '0's everywhere else. Likewise, a set of uncommon ingredients will correspond to '1' in the second column of the vector.

It is important to note that since the recycling step has a material loss of 75% most recycling loops will be well behaved and converge quickly.

Extreme productivity from research breaks this pattern and will prevent convergence, but this simply means that there is a positive material cycle, so 1 set of ingredients will produce infinite legendary crafts, on average. The closer the total productivity is to 400%, the slower the convergence of the matrix iteration and the higher you need to calculate x in M<sup>x</sup>.


== Usage tips ==
=== Using quality to increase production ===
There are four ways in which quality can increase the output of a single production machine:
* Increasing the quality of the machine itself will improve its base crafting speed.
* Increasing the quality of [[speed module]]s will increase the effect of their speed improvements.
* Increasing the quality of [[productivity module]]s will increase their productivity bonus without reducing crafting speed. Since extra items obtained from the productivity bonus do not take extra time to produce, this will also increase the number of items produced over time.
* Increasing the quality of [[beacon]]s will increase their transmission efficiency. If they contain speed modules, then the effect of these modules is increased.

These four options share a powerful synergy, as they react multiplicatively with one another. This makes it possible to achieve very high production rates with very few machines when compared to only using normal quality items. For example, imagine a setup where [[electronic circuit]]s are made using one [[electromagnetic plant]] with five [[productivity module 3]]s, which is surrounded by 12 [[beacon]]s with two [[speed module 3]]s, each. With normal quality, this will achieve an output rate of almost 45 items per second (almost enough to saturate one non-layered [[express transport belt]]). However, if the electromagnetic plant and all beacons and modules have legendary quality, the output rate becomes slightly more than 600 items per second (enough to saturate two and a half [[turbo transport belt]]s with four layers of items). This is more than 13 times as many items as without quality.

It should be noted that quality beacons are the only one of these factors that may increase energy consumption over time, as the transmission effect is also applied to the energy cost of speed modules. However, this is offset or even negated by the reduced energy consumption of the beacons themselves (which is also affected by quality), especially with high beacon counts wherein the transmission effect is subject to diminishing returns. For speed modules, productivity modules, and the machine itself, only the speed increase, productivity bonus, and base crafting speed are affected, respectively.

The increased transmission effect of high-quality beacons is also notable because unlike when increasing the number of beacons, there are no diminishing returns for increasing their quality (aside from the exponentially increasing cost of producing those higher-quality beacons in the first place). This means that, despite a legendary beacon only being 1.66 times as powerful as a normal-quality beacon, one would need 0.36 times as many legendary beacons as normal ones to achieve the same effect. Aside from making more powerful beacon setups, this can also be used to save space by achieving the same effect with fewer beacons, thereby leaving more room for machines and belts.

Higher-quality machines are also particularly useful for producing quality items as, unlike speed modules, machine quality does not reduce the chance of increasing a product's quality.

=== Using quality to save space ===
Another use for quality is decreasing the amount of buildings needed to perform the same production. This is particularly useful in a [[space platform]], where small, compact designs are rewarded with increased speed, as well as needing fewer rockets to build the platform.

== Relevant Factorio Friday Facts ==
* [https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-375 FFF 375 - Quality]
* [https://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-376 FFF 376 - Research and Technology]

== Trivia ==
* Quality is not technically exclusive to player-made entities; Though this does not occur naturally, quality is also allowed on enemies, asteroids, and even the [[player]] character.
** Some enemies with qualities above normal can even be created in regular sandbox gameplay: Big biters, behemoth biters, and big premature wriggler pentapods born from spoiled [[biter egg]]s, [[captive biter spawner]]s, and [[pentapod egg]]s inherit the quality of the spoiled items, with the latter two being possible to craft with quality modules. Furthermore, a starved captured biter spawner will retain its quality upon converting into a hostile biter spawner, with said quality even being inherited by the biters that it will spawn. Should these biters chose to expand, they may also create quality spitters and worms.

== History ==
{{history|2.0.7|
* Introduced in [[Space Age]]{{SA}} expansion.
}}

{{C|Main}}

Aquilo

2025-01-29T06:48:10Z

Dalestan: /* Mechanics */ Update heat draw from 2.0.33

{{Languages}}
{{Stub}}
{{About/Space age}}
[[File:aquilo_preview.png|210px|right]]'''Aquilo''' is a desolate, freezing ocean [[planet]]. Its surface consists solely of a vast ocean of liquid ammonia, with the occasional floating iceberg.

Progression wise, Aquilo is meant to be visited after establishing factories on all the previous planets. [[Planet discovery Aquilo (research)]] requires [[rocket turret]]s, [[Advanced asteroid processing (research)]], and [[heating tower]]s from Gleba, [[Asteroid reprocessing (research)]] from [[Vulcanus]], and [[Electromagnetic science pack (research)]] from [[Fulgora]].

[[Planet discovery Aquilo (research)]] is required to travel to the planet.

== Achievements ==
{{Achievement|visit-aquilo}}

== Exclusive items ==
The following items are unlocked on Aquilo:
*{{imagelink|Cryogenic plant|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Cryogenic science pack|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Fusion generator|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Fusion reactor|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Railgun turret|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Railgun|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Captive biter spawner|space-age=yes}}
*{{imagelink|Portable fusion reactor|space-age=yes}}

==Surface==

===Properties===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Aquilo Surface Properties
|-
! Property !! Value
|-
| Pollutant Type || None
|-
| Day Night Cycle || 20 Minutes
|-
| Magnetic Field|| 10
|-
| Solar Power || 01%
|-
| Pressure || 300
|-
| Gravity || 15
|-
| Robot energy usage || 500%
|}

=== Natural resources ===
In terms of directly exploitable natural resources, Aquilo has:
* [[Ammoniacal solution]]{{SA}} (via [[offshore pump]] on the edge of the ammoniacal seas)
* [[Lithium brine]]{{SA}} (via [[pumpjack]])
* [[Fluorine]]{{SA}} (via pumpjack)
* [[Crude oil]] (via pumpjack)

With crude oil being the only non-exclusive resource to Aquilo, excluding ice obtained from [[lithium ice formation]].

Stone, iron and copper (and coal if desired) need to be imported from other planets as Aquilo lacks ways to obtain these from the environment.

== Access to basic resources ==

* [[Water]] can be obtained via [[Ammoniacal solution separation]] and [[Ice melting]]
* [[Stone]] is not available and must be shipped in from other planets
* [[Iron ore]] is not available and must be shipped in from other planets
* [[Copper ore]] is not available and must be shipped in from other planets
* [[Coal]] is not available and must be shipped in from other planets
* [[Crude oil]] can be obtained using pumpjacks as normal

== Mechanics ==

The starting area on Aquilo is a relatively small patch of snow and ice terrain. Beyond this small platform are the vast ammoniacal seas, which have small dots of icey terrain in them, usually around [[crude_oil|crude oil]], [[fluorine]]{{SA}}, or [[lithium_brine|lithium brine]]{{SA}} resource geysers. Aquilo is notable for having nothing to drill with any kind of miner. All natural resources, spare the [[lithium ice formation]]s, are gathered either by an [[offshore pump]] or [[pumpjack]]. Bases on Aquilo will be reliant on regularly shipping in resources from other planets.

=== Ice terrain ===

On Aquilo, most terrain must be constructed, but [[landfill]] and [[foundation]]{{SA}} are no help. Instead, you must use [[ice platform|ice platforms]]{{SA}}. These platforms are created by first using [[ammoniacal solution separation]]{{SA}} to make [[ice]]{{SA}} and [[ammonia]]{{SA}}, then re-combining those into a platform that can be placed on the ocean like [[landfill]].

Snowy terrain can be built on directly, but on any kind of ice terrain or [[ice platform]], most buildings will require an insulating floor of [[concrete]] tiles or derivatives before they can be placed. [[Stone_brick|Stone Bricks]] can not be used to pave ice. Despite the flavor text stating that ice platforms "Will melt if exposed to heat", they do not actually melt.

=== Freezing ===
Aquilo is brutally cold. The harsh ambient temperatures drain the energy from any airborne [[construction robot|construction robots]] and [[logistic robot|logistic robots]], making them consume 5 times more power than normal. Most buildings will freeze and stop working unless heated by a [[heat pipe]] or heat generator. Heat can be generated by the [[nuclear reactor]] or [[heating tower]]{{SA}}.

Once a building is adjacent to a heat source above 29°C (30.01°C or higher), it will consume heat energy to maintain its state, reducing the energy (and temperature) in the heat source. Different entities consume different amounts of heat to prevent freezing.

===Notes===
* [[Underground belt]]s and [[pipe]]s are substantially larger heat drains than their above-ground versions
* Heat pipes do not lose heat to the environment; they only lose heat to entities that need to be kept warm.
* All [[burner devices|burner]] entities and heat-producing machines are immune to freezing.

For details on heat throughput, see the [[heat pipe]] page.

A building is adjacent to a heat source when it is one tile away from the heat source either orthogonally or diagonally. All of the pipes would be heated in the below example:<br>


{| class="wikitable"
|
[[File:Ice_platform.png|24px|link=Ice_platform]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Ice_platform.png|24px|link=Ice_platform]]<br>
[[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=Pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Heat_pipe.png|24px|link=heat_pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=Pipe]]<br>
[[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Heating_tower.png|72px|link=Heating_tower]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]]<br>
[[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]][[File:Pipe.png|24px|link=pipe]]<br>
|
[[File:Heat_demo.gif]]
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Entity Heat Consumption
|-
! Building !! Kilowatts
|-
| {{Icon|Transport belt}} {{Icon|Fast transport belt}} {{Icon|Express transport belt}} {{Icon|Turbo transport belt}}|| 10
|-
| {{Icon|Underground belt}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Fast underground belt}} || 100
|-
| {{Icon|Express underground belt}} || 150
|-
| {{Icon|Turbo underground belt}} || 200
|-
| {{Icon|Splitter}} {{Icon|Fast splitter}} {{Icon|Express splitter}} {{Icon|Turbo splitter}} || 40
|-
| {{Icon|Pipe}} || 1
|-
| {{Icon|Pipe to ground}} || 150
|-
| {{Icon|Pump}} || 30
|-
| {{Icon|Storage tank}} || 100
|-
| {{Icon|Power switch}} || 20
|-
| {{Icon|Programmable speaker}} || 30
|-
| {{Icon|Inserter}} {{Icon|Fast inserter}} || 30
|-
| {{Icon|Long-handed inserter}} {{Icon|Bulk inserter}} {{Icon|Stack inserter}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Steam engine}} {{Icon|Steam turbine}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Pumpjack}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Rocket turret}} {{Icon|Railgun turret}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Arithmetic combinator}} {{Icon|Decider combinator}} || 50
|-
| {{Icon|Selector combinator}} || 100
|-
| {{Icon|Assembling machine 1}} {{Icon|Assembling machine 2}} {{Icon|Assembling machine 3}} {{Icon|Electric furnace}} {{Icon|Chemical plant}} {{Icon|Lab}} || 100
|-
| {{Icon|Cryogenic plant}} {{Icon|Recycler}} {{Icon|Biochamber}} {{Icon|Electromagnetic plant}} {{Icon|Centrifuge}} || 100
|-
| {{Icon|Oil refinery}} {{Icon|Artillery turret}} || 200
|-
| {{Icon|Foundry}} {{Icon|Radar}} {{Icon|Roboport}} {{Icon|Rocket silo}} || 300
|-
| {{Icon|Beacon}} ||400
|}

The following Entities are immune from freezing. Many may be placed directly on ice tiles (with the exceptions you might expect, mostly).
{| class="wikitable"
! Tile !! Entities !! Category
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Cargo landing pad}} {{Icon|Cargo bay}} || Space Cargo
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Offshore pump}} || Offshore Pumps
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Wooden chest}} {{Icon|Iron chest}} {{Icon|Steel chest}} {{Icon|Active provider chest}} {{Icon|Passive provider chest}} {{Icon|Storage chest}} {{Icon|Buffer chest}} {{Icon|Requester chest}} || Chests
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Small electric pole}} {{Icon|Medium electric pole}} {{Icon|Big electric pole}} {{Icon|Substation}} || Electric Poles
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Solar panel}} {{Icon|Accumulator}} {{Icon|Lamp}} {{Icon|Constant combinator}} || Basic Electric Devices
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Display panel}} || Player Notification Devices
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Burner inserter}} {{Icon|Boiler}} {{Icon|Stone furnace}} {{Icon|Steel furnace}} || Burner Entities
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Nuclear reactor}} {{Icon|Heat exchanger}} {{Icon|Heating tower}} {{Icon|Heat pipe}} || Heat Generators and Heat Pipes
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Fusion reactor}} {{Icon|Fusion generator}} || Fusion Power
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Tesla turret}} || Tesla Turrets
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Flamethrower turret}} || Flamethrower Turrets
|-
| {{Icon|Concrete}} || {{Icon|Wall}} {{Icon|Gate}} || Walls and Gates
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Construction robot}} {{Icon|Logistic robot}} {{Icon|Defender capsule}} {{Icon|Distractor capsule}} {{Icon|Destroyer capsule}} || Bots
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Car}} {{Icon|Tank}} {{Icon|Spidertron}} || Vehicles
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Locomotive}} {{Icon|Cargo wagon}} {{Icon|Fluid wagon}} {{Icon|Artillery wagon}} || Trains
|-
| {{Icon|Ice platform}} || {{Icon|Straight rail}} {{Icon|Rail ramp}} {{Icon|Rail support}} {{Icon|Train stop}} {{Icon|Rail signal}} {{Icon|Rail chain signal}} || Rail Pieces
|}

=== Solar energy ===
Aquilo is far from its sun, and so [[solar panel]]s on its surface only output at 1% of their rate on Nauvis: 0.6 kW peak production. This makes panels practical for little more than powering the first machines to produce the water needed for real power generation.

The minimum machines needed to produce water is either a single [[chemical plant]] to melt [[ice]] (which can initially be dropped from a space platform), or a single [[assembling machine 2]] to [[barrel|empty barrels of water]] also dropped from the platform. Assembling machine 2s require less power than chemical plants, and the unbarreling recipe is faster than [[ice melting]]. So on the whole, the assembler version will be faster.

Note that it is not necessary to fully power these machines. As long as the available power is greater than their drain, they will be able to function, albeit at reduced speed. [[Efficiency module]]s can speed this process up. With 3 efficiency modules, an assembling machine 2 only needs 35 kW to run at full speed (59 solar panels). To reach just 1/8th of max speed requires only 8.75 kW, which only needs 15 (base [[quality]]) solar panels.

Once even a little water is available, [[heat exchanger]]s heated by either [[heating tower]]s or [[nuclear reactor]]s can feed [[steam turbine]]s for power. This power can be used to process [[ammoniacal solution separation]] to generate ice, which can be melted into water for continuous power generation.

==Space routes==
[[Aquilo]] is connected to 2 other planets, [[Gleba]]{{SA}} and [[Fulgora]]{{SA}}, along with the [[Solar system edge]]{{SA}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Planet Distance
|-
! Planet !! Distance (km)
|-
| [[Gleba]]{{SA}}|| 30,000
|-
| [[Fulgora]]{{SA}}|| 30,000
|-
| [[Solar system edge]]{{SA}}|| 100,000
|}

Asteroid rate graphs:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
| [[File:Asteroid_chart_Gleba_Aquilo.png]] <br> Space route from [[Gleba]] to [[Aquilo]]
| [[File:Asteroid_chart_Fulgora_Aquilo.png]] <br> Space route from [[Fulgora]] to [[Aquilo]]
| [[File:Asteroid_chart_Aquilo_Solar_System_Edge.png]] <br> Space route from [[Aquilo]] to [[Solar system edge]]
|}

Graph legend:
<table class="wikitable">
<tr>
<th>Asteroid type</th>
<th>Chunk</th>
<th>Medium</th>
<th>Big</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[File:Metallic asteroid chunk.png|32px]] Metallic</td>
<td><span style="color: blue;">●</span> Blue</td>
<td><span style="color: red;">●</span> Red</td>
<td><span style="color: cyan;">●</span> Cyan</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[File:Carbonic asteroid chunk.png|32px]] Carbonic</td>
<td><span style="color: orange;">●</span> Orange</td>
<td><span style="color: yellow;">●</span> Yellow</td>
<td><span style="color: brown;">●</span> Brown</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[File:Oxide asteroid chunk.png|32px]] Oxide</td>
<td><span style="color: green;">●</span> Green</td>
<td><span style="color: magenta;">●</span> Magenta</td>
<td><span style="color: purple;">●</span> Purple</td>
</tr>
</table>

==Orbit==

===Properties===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Property !! Value
|-
| Solar Power || 60%
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Asteroid Spawning Types
|-
! [[Asteroids| Asteroid]] Type !! Spawn Ratio
|-
| [[Metallic asteroid chunk]] || 1
|-
| [[Carbonic asteroid chunk]] || 2
|-
| [[Oxide asteroid chunk]] || 20
|-
| [[Promethium asteroid chunk]] || 0
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Asteroid Spawning Sizes
|-
! [[Asteroids| Asteroid]] Size !! Spawn %
|-
| Chunk|| .10
|-
| Medium|| 0
|-
| Big || 0.25
|-
| Huge || 0
|}

'''Note:'''
*Chunks spawn at Nauvis at 1.25%
*Huge Asteroids only spawn past [[Aquilo]]{{SA}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="300px" heights="200px">
aquilo_landscape.png|Example landscape of Aquilo.
aquilo_landscape_main_menu.png|Aquilo seen on the expansion's title screen.
</gallery>

== Trivia ==
* In mythology, Aquilo is the Roman god of the north wind, storms, and winter.
* Aquilo's design with ice and liquid ammonia oceans is based on real-world [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice%20planet ice planets].

== History ==
{{history|2.0.7|
* Introduced in [[Space Age]]{{SA}} expansion.
}}

== See also ==
* [[Fulgora]] {{SA}}
* [[Gleba]] {{SA}}
* [[Nauvis]]
* [[Vulcanus]] {{SA}}
* [[Space platform]] {{SA}}

{{C|Planets}}
{{SpaceNav}}

Lightning collector

2025-01-22T17:00:18Z

Dalestan: Energy production & drain details

{{Languages}}
{{:Infobox:Lightning collector}}
{{Stub}}
{{About/Space age}}
The '''Lightning Collector''' is an upgraded version of the [[lightning rod]] from [[Fulgora]]{{SA}} that protects a larger area from getting struck by lightning, as well as [[Power production#Lightning power|converting each strike to more electricity]] than its counterpart. Like the lightning rod, the peak power production is limited only by the demands of the connected [[electric system]], but the internal storage is subject to a 150 MW drain in addition to the load from the electric system.

Also like the lightning rod, the lightning collector cannot be crafted on any planet other than Fulgora, due to the other planets' lack of a strong magnetic field.

== History ==
{{history|2.0.7|
* Introduced in [[Space Age]]{{SA}} expansion.
}}

== See also ==
* [[Fulgora]]{{SA}}
* [[Electric system]]

{{ProductionNav}}
{{C|Producers}}
{{C|Energy}}

Infobox:Lightning collector

2025-01-22T16:58:18Z

Dalestan: Lightning attractors don't have a power output in any normal sense

{{Infobox
|prototype-type = lightning-attractor
|internal-name = lightning-collector
|resistance = {{Translation|Electric}}: 0/100%<br>{{Translation|Fire}}: 0/90%
|mining-time = 0.1
|map-color = 006090
|category = Production
|image = Lightning collector entity.png
|dimensions = 2×2
|health = {{Quality|200|260|320|380|500}}
|stack-size = 20
|rocket-capacity = 20
|range = {{Quality|25|32.5|40|47.5|62.5}} + Lightning reach
|efficiency = {{Quality|40%|52%|64%|76%|100%}}
|energy-capacity = 1.0 {{Translation|GJ}} electric
|recipe = Time, 5 + Supercapacitor, 8 + Accumulator, 1 + Lightning rod, 1 + Electrolyte, 80
|total-raw = Time, 23 + Electrolyte, 80 + Stone brick, 4 + Iron plate, 2 + Copper plate, 6 + Steel plate, 8 + Battery, 5 + Supercapacitor, 8
|required-technologies = Lightning collector
|crafted-on = Fulgora
|buildable-on = Fulgora
|producers = Electromagnetic plant
|space-age = yes
}}<noinclude>[[Category:Infobox page]]</noinclude>

Lightning rod

2025-01-22T16:56:29Z

Dalestan: Energy production & drain details

{{Languages}}
{{:Infobox:Lightning rod}}
{{Stub}}
{{About/Space age}}
The '''Lightning Rod''' is a building from [[Fulgora]]{{SA}} that protects an area from getting struck by lightning from the nightly storms. When struck, they generate [[Power production#Lightning power|power for a limited time]]. The peak power production is limited only by the demands of the connected [[electric system]], but the internal storage is subject to a 150 MW drain in addition to the load from the electric system. It is unlocked by researching the [[Planet discovery Fulgora (research)|Planet discovery Fulgora]] technology.

However, the lightning rod cannot be crafted on any planet other than Fulgora, as other planets lack the same strong magnetic field.

== History ==
{{history|2.0.7|
* Introduced in [[Space Age]]{{SA}} expansion.
}}

== See also ==
* [[Fulgora]]{{SA}}
* [[Lightning collector]] A more powerful version of the lightning rod. The rod is not upgradable to a collector, as the collector is a larger building.
* [[Electric system]]

{{ProductionNav}}
{{C|Producers}}
{{C|Energy}}

Infobox:Lightning rod

2025-01-22T16:30:01Z

Dalestan: Lightning attractors don't have a power output in any normal sense

{{Infobox
|prototype-type = lightning-attractor
|internal-name = lightning-rod
|resistance = {{Translation|Electric}}: 0/100%<br>{{Translation|Fire}}: 0/90%
|mining-time = 0.1
|map-color = 006090
|category = Production
|image = Lightning rod entity.png
|dimensions = 1x1
|health = {{Quality|100|130|160|190|250}}
|rocket-capacity = 50
|stack-size = 50
|range = {{Quality|15|19.5|24|28.5|37.5}} + Lightning reach
|efficiency = {{Quality|20%|26%|32%|38%|50%}}
|energy-capacity = 500.0 {{Translation|MJ}} electric
|recipe = Time, 5 + Steel plate, 8 + Copper cable, 12 + Stone brick, 4
|total-raw = Time, 8 + Stone brick, 4 + Copper plate, 6 + Steel plate, 8
|required-technologies = Planet discovery Fulgora
|crafted-on = Fulgora
|buildable-on = Fulgora
|producers = Player + Assembling machine + Electromagnetic plant
|space-age = yes
|consumers = Lightning collector
}}<noinclude>[[Category:Infobox page]]</noinclude>

Power production

2025-01-22T16:11:12Z

Dalestan: /* Lightning power{{SA}} */ Correct the drain mechanics of lightning attractors; "base" quality -> "normal" quality

{{Languages}}
Electricity has to be produced before it can be transferred to consumers over the [[electric system]]. There are multiple methods to produce electricity:

== Steam engine power ==
Each [[steam engine]] needs 0.5 [[boiler]]s when running at full capacity. One [[offshore pump]] can supply 200 boilers and 400 steam engines.

The above ratio can be calculated from information available in-game: One boiler consumes 1.8MW of fuel and produces energy stored in [[steam]] at 100% efficiency. One steam engine consumes 900kW (0.9MW) of energy stored in steam, so each boiler can supply 2 steam engines: <math>\frac{1.8}{0.9} = 2</math>. One boiler consumes 6 units of [[water]] to produce 60 units of [[steam]] per second, one steam engine consumes 30 steam per second (3 units of water) and one offshore pump produces 1200 water per second, so each offshore pump produces enough water to supply 200 boilers: <math>\frac{1200}{6} = 200</math>. Two steam engines per boiler gives us 400. This produces the 1:200:400 ratio.

[[File:SteamSetupExample.png|center|600px|thumb|A possible setup.]]

== Solar panels and accumulators ==

=== Optimal ratio ===

The optimal ratio is 0.84 (21:25) [[accumulator]]s per [[solar panel]], and 23.8 solar panels per megawatt required by your factory (this ratio accounts for solar panels needed to charge the accumulators). This means that you need 1.428 MW of production (of solar panels) and 100MJ of storage to provide 1 MW of power over one day-night cycle.

A "close enough" ratio is 20:24:1 accumulators to solar panels to megawatts required (for example, a factory requiring 10 MW can be approximately entirely powered, day and night, by 200 accumulators and 240 solar panels - this approximation differs from optimal only in that it calls for 2 extra solar panels, which is negligible but remember that the difference between the "close enough" ratio and the optimal ratio increases as you add more solar panels).

This is taken from [http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5594 Accumulator / Solar Panel Ratio] (which calculates this in an impressive mathematical way!) and [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=143317#p143317 another post in that thread] (which calculates the solar panel to megawatt ratio in a different way).
[[File:9x9_accumulator_solar_panel_example.jpg|300px|thumb|top|A small 9x9 setup demonstrating the 20:24 "close enough" ratio above.]]

=== Calculations ===

The optimal ratio of accumulators per solar panel relies on many values in the game. These include the power generation of a solar panel, the energy storage of an accumulator, the length of a [[Time#Days|day]], and the length of a night. There are also times between day and night called dusk and dawn which complicate the calculations. In vanilla factorio, without mods which change any of these values, the optimal ratio will be the same. This ratio is

<math> \frac{\mathrm{Accumulators}}{\mathrm{SolarPanels}} = \frac{\left( \mathrm{day} + \mathrm{dawn} \right)}{\mathrm{gameday}} \cdot \left( \mathrm{night} + \frac{\mathrm{dawn} \cdot \left( \mathrm{day} + \mathrm{dawn} \right)}{\mathrm{gameday}} \right) \cdot \frac{\mathrm{SolarPower}}{\mathrm{AccumulatorEnergy}} </math>

which, given the default time lengths of: day = 12500/60 s; dawn or dusk = 5000/60 s; night = 2500/60 s, and the default: Solar_power = 60 kW; Accumulator_energy = 5 MJ = 5000 kJ, gives the optimal ratio of 0.84 accumulators per solar panel. If the player uses mods which change the power generation of solar panels, or the energy storage of accumulators, but <b>not</b> the length of days, a simplified version of this equation can be used.
<pre>Accumulators / Solar_panels = 70 s × Solar_power / Accumulator_energy</pre>

This equation could also be used to remember the vanilla optimal ratio given its simplicity. If the only effect the mod has on the game is it changes the total length of one day, without changing the ratio of dusk : day : dawn : night, then the equation can be simplified as
<pre>Accumulators / Solar_panels = 0.002016 /s × game_day </pre>

where game_day is the number of seconds in the game day which is 25000/60 s by default.

=== Vulcanus ===

In Space Age, the day/night cycle on Vulcanus is 90 seconds with each phase of that cycle proportionally smaller: day = 45 s; dawn or dusk = 18 s; night = 9 s. The formula above simplifies to:

<pre>Accumulators / Solar_panels = 15.2 s × Solar_power / Accumulator_energy</pre>

Additionally, solar power production in Vulcanus atmosphere is 400% of that of Nauvis. With normal quality solar panels and accumulators, the ratio is 0.72576 accumulator per solar panel. 3 accumulators per 4 panel is pretty close.

=== See also ===

* [http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5168 Perfectly optimal solar network (Factorio forums)]
* [http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=5394 Solar ratios (Factorio forums)]
* [http://www.factorioforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7619 1 solar panel produces 42KW after factoring in the night (Factorio forums)]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?p=629003#p629003 Day-Night cycle times in Space Age and Solar Power (Factorio forums)]
* [https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=119040 Solar Power in Space Age - Definitive Ratios for Planets, Qualities and Throughput-Limits (Factorio forums)]

== Nuclear power ==
[[File:Nuclear setup.png|thumb|700px|right|Uranium processing for nuclear power.]]
:''See also: [[Tutorial:Nuclear power]]''
In general, nuclear power is produced by the following production chain: [[Uranium ore]] is mined and [[Uranium processing|processed]] to [[uranium-235]] and [[uranium-238]], then [[uranium fuel cell]]s are created from the two. These fuel cells are then burned in a [[nuclear reactor]] to create heat. The heat can be used to convert [[water]] to [[steam]] using a [[heat exchanger]] and the steam can be consumed by [[steam turbine]]s to produce power.

A reactor without neighbor bonus needs 4 heat exchangers so that all its heat gets consumed. For each 100% neighbor bonus, the reactor needs 4 more heat exchangers.

{| class="wikitable"
! Ideal Ratio !! Simple Ratio !! Building
|-
| 2 || 1 ||{{imagelink|Offshore pump}}
|-
| 233 || 116 || {{imagelink|Heat exchanger}}
|-
| 400 || 200 || {{imagelink|Steam turbine}}
|}

== Heating tower {{SA}} ==

The [[Heating tower]], initially researched on [[Gleba]], is an alternate source of heat for [[Heat pipe]]s and [[Heat exchanger]]s. Unlike nuclear reactors, heating towers are traditional [[burner devices]], burning standard [[fuel]]s.

Heating towers burn fuel, extracting 16MW of power from the fuel. However, because they have 250% efficiency, they generate 40MW of heat from the fuel. Like a nuclear reactor, the heat must be transferred to heat exchangers to generate useful electricity. Since they use the same fuel, but can produce 2.5x the energy from it, one can think of a heating tower as a [[boiler]] "Mk 2".

A single heating tower can produce the same power output as a single nuclear reactor. However, they do not get neighbor bonuses the way reactors do. As such, the ratio of heating towers to exchangers is always 1:4.

Like reactors, they have a maximum temperature of 1000 C. And also like reactors, they will continue to burn fuel even after they reach their maximum temperature. This gives them a secondary use as a quick way to dispose of unwanted burnable materials, such as excess fruit products/[[spoilage]] on Gleba or excess solid fuel on [[Fulgora]].

Note that heating towers produce less pollution per MW of power produced than boilers. Boilers produce 3.6MW of power per pollution generated, while heating towers produce 24 MW per pollution.

== Lightning power{{SA}} ==
On Fulgora, when a [[lightning rod]] or [[lightning collector]] is struck by lightning, it becomes a short-lived source of electrical power. The way it works is as follows.

A single lightning bolt contains 1 GJ of energy. Rods and collectors can collect some portion of this energy and supply it to their connected grid.

A rod/collector has an energy capacity as well as an efficiency value (the latter varies by [[quality]]). The efficiency value determines the percentage of the 1 GJ of energy contained in the bolt which will be stored by the rod/collector. If the energy absorbed from lightning exceeds the storage capacity of the rod, the excess is lost.

A normal quality rod has 20% efficiency, so a single bolt will charge the collector by 20% of 1,000 MJ, or 200 MJ. A normal quality collector, with an efficiency of 40%, will store 400 MJ.

Rods/collectors have a discharge rate of 150 MW. When they have stored energy, they will supply all the demands of the attached [[Electric system]]. This will provide power to any buildings in the same electrical system as the rod/collector, including [[accumulator]]s. In addition, 150 MJ per second (2.5 MJ/tick) will be lost, unable to be used for anything. So lightning power is a "use it or lose it" arrangement.

A normal quality lightning rod struck by a single bolt will only generate power for a maximum of 1.33 seconds. A normal quality lightning collector will generate power for a maximum of 2.67 seconds. The principle advantages of collectors is the larger range for lightning strikes and their longer discharge times.

The key to taking advantage of this is to use accumulators. But because accumulators have a low charge speed compared to the rod/collectors' drains (0.3 MW at normal quality vs. 150MW), storing a significant fraction of the energy from a single bolt of lightning is not generally feasible. For a single lightning rod struck by a single bolt of lightning, 125 normal accumulators will draw 37.5 MW for just over 1 second, storing 40 MJ of the 200 MJ captured by the rod. The other 160 MJ are lost to the rod’s internal drain. 500 accumulators will store 100 MJ in 0.67 seconds, and 1,000 accumulators store 135 MJ in just under 0.5 seconds. To capture all the energy available in a lightning strike, the network must be able to absorb all the energy in a single tick: 12 GW for a normal rod, up to 60 GW for a legendary collector.

Do note that 500 normal quality accumulators cannot fit in the area protected by a ''single'' lightning collector, let alone the smaller area of a lightning rod.

== Fusion power{{SA}} ==
Fusion power requires the production of two ingredients to function: [[fusion power cell]]s and [[fluoroketone (cold)]]. Both can only be produced on [[Aquilo]] using the planet's exclusive fluid resources, and [[holmium plate]]s imported from [[Fulgora]].

[[Fusion reactor]]s consume the power cells, cold fluoroketone, and electricity to produce [[plasma]]. The plasma is fed into [[fusion generator]]s which produce electricity and [[fluoroketone (hot)]]. The hot fluoroketone must then be fed into a [[cryogenic plant]] to cool it back down, which can produce an self-sustaining loop. However, as the reactors require electricity (10 mW) to generate plasma, there must be some other power source already on the network to jump-start the system. After that, even a single fusion generator will create enough power to sustain the reactor.

Because the fluids which produce the power cells and hot fluoroketone cannot be [[barrel|barrelled]], production of them is confined to Aquilo. However, as the cold fluoroketone ''can'' be barreled, it and the power cells can be shipped to other planets with relative ease.

=== Ratio calculations ===

Fusion reactors produce plasma at a base temperature of <math>1.0\,M^\circ \text{C}</math>. Each directly connected reactor adds an additional <math>1.0\,M^\circ \text{C}</math> to the maximum achievable plasma temperature. The actual plasma temperature depends on the neighbor bonuses, which are determined by the arrangement of reactors and their current plasma production rate. For example, if a reactor produces plasma at its maximum rate, all reactors connected to this reactor receive a 100% neighbor bonus. The temperature used by generators is the average plasma temperature of all reactors in the setup.

The optimal ratio of fusion reactors to generators can be calculated in a single step:

<math>G = (R + N) \cdot \frac{P_{O}}{P_{C}}</math>

where:

* <math>G</math> is the optimal number of fusion generators for the given reactor setup
* <math>R</math> is the number of fusion reactors
* <math>N</math> is the sum of the neighbor bonuses of all reactors (expressed as an integer)
* <math>P_O</math> is the maximum plasma output of a reactor
* <math>P_C</math> is the maximum plasma consumption of a generator

Thus, the optimal reactor-to-generator ratio is <math>R:G</math>

If the fusion reactors and generators have the same quality tier (e.g. normal), then the formula simplifies to:

<math>G = 2 \cdot (R + N)</math>

'''Note''':

* This formula applies to all quality tiers and mixed setups where reactors and generators share the same quality tier respectively.
* Initially, a not fully utilized fusion power setup will produce plasma at a lower temperature than what is possible. As more power is needed, more plasma is produced, and therefore the neighbor bonuses rise. With rising neighbor bonuses, the resulting plasma temperature also increases, resulting in more efficient plasma usage. This cycle continues until the setup reaches its maximum plasma temperature, allowing it to deliver peak power output.

== Ensuring enough energy is produced ==

Try this checklist before you completely revamp your power source. You may also use this to rectify [[Glossary#B|brownouts/blackouts]].

* Did you connect the steam engine to the [[electric system]]? If not, a small yellow triangle will flash. To fix, Add some [[Small electric pole|power poles]] near the steam engines that go to machines needing that power. Any power pole will work.
* Is steam able to reach all steam engines?
* Do your pipes have water? Look at the windows in the pipes, hover over the pipes! Place some pipes or a tank at the end to see if there is really water coming through. If not, ensure all [[pipe]]s or [[Pipe to ground|underground pipes]] are connected together.
* Is the factory producing enough fuel (coal, solid fuel, uranium fuel cells)?
* Are there enough steam generators (boilers, heat exchangers)?
* Are there enough steam engines/turbines?

See also the [[Tutorial:Applied_power_math|applied power math tutorial]] to answer the question ''how much coal do I need?''

{{C|Production{{!}}#Power production}} {{C|Energy{{!}}#Power production}}