In other languages: Deutsch Русский Українська 简体中文

Inserter capacity bonus (research): Difference between revisions

From Official Factorio Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(overhauled page)
(Rewrote much of the intro section for clarity, giving more details on the wait time etc.)
Line 3: Line 3:
{{:Inserter capacity bonus (research)/infobox}}
{{:Inserter capacity bonus (research)/infobox}}


After researching inserter capacity bonus 1, [[inserters]] that are moving items from one [[Storage/Stack|stack]] to another (or loading/unloading trains) can move more items at the same time. It works only when moving from stack to stack. This means if the moved item has a stack size of 1, the stack size bonus doesn't work.
''Inserter capacity bonus'' research increases the ''stack size'' for [[inserters]], i.e. the number of items they can hold in the arm at once.


When moving items to a belt, inserters will pick up several items and will then drop those items on the belt sequentially - this still takes longer than dropping one item, but because the arm doesn't have to move back and forth, the overall throughput is still higher. When moving items from a belt, the inserter only rotates to drop the items into the machine/chest once there is a "gap" on the belt with no item to pick up, or once it reaches the capacity limit. If the inserter is picking up items from a fully compressed [[transport belt|belt]] the inserter will typically pick up the maximum number of items it can hold each time. Therefore, the bonus is more effective when moving from machine/chest to machine/chest than when moving from machine/chest to belt or belt to machine/chest.
* When moving items from one [[stack]] to another, the inserter takes as many items as it can (i.e. up to the stack size) at once, without any additional delay.


A slow [[inserter]] with stack size bonus of 4, which moves from chest to chest, can easily keep up with a [[Fast inserter]], moving from chest to a belt. This is why it is recommended to directly move items that are required in high quantities at high speeds during automatic crafting.
* When moving items to a [[transport belt|belt]], the inserter picks up several items and then drops those items on the belt one by one. While this takes longer than dropping a single item, the overall throughput is still higher because the arm doesn't have to move back and forth.


A high inserter capacity bonus can break some constructions that use the [[Circuit network]] because an inserter can move more items at once so a equal ("=") condition might not be met because the number of items "jumps" over the specified number.
* When moving items from a belt, the inserter tries to fill its stack to capacity before moving the arm to drop them off. To do this, it waits for a short time for a new item to become in range. The wait time is long enough to make the inserter fill up completely on a fully compressed belt. It is shorter than the time to move the arm away and back, so even though it waits it is a net benefit for throughput.
 
: However, the extra time to fill the stack and wait for more items mean longer delays, e.g. for a machine to get enough items to start working. Beginning with 0.15 it is possible to override the max stack size.
 
This means the bonus is more effective when moving from stack to stack than when moving from stack to belt or belt to stack. The increased throughput is still significant in any case though, especially for the [[Stack inserter]] that has a max size of 12.
 
A slow [[Inserter]] with stack size bonus of 4, which moves from chest to chest, can easily keep up with a [[Fast inserter]], moving from chest to a belt. This is why it is recommended to move items that are required in high quantities at high speeds directly between machines.
 
A high inserter capacity bonus can break some constructions that use the [[circuit network]]; since an inserter can move more items at once an equal ("=") condition might not be met because the number of items "jumps" over the specified number.
 
In 0.15 it is possible to override the max stack size to overcome problems like that. It can also be controlled by a circuit network signal.


This bonus is is also often called "inserter bonus", "stacksize bonus" , or "stack bonus".
This bonus is is also often called "inserter bonus", "stacksize bonus" , or "stack bonus".


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan=2 | Technology !! rowspan=2 | Cost !! colspan=2 | pickup bonus (total stack size)
! rowspan=2 | Technology !! rowspan=2 | Cost !! colspan=2 | Pickup bonus (total stack size)
|-
|-
! style="width: 100px;" | Non-Stack<br>Inserter !! style="width: 100px;" | Stack<br>Inserter
! style="width: 100px;" | Non-Stack<br>Inserter !! style="width: 100px;" | Stack<br>Inserter

Revision as of 19:01, 20 May 2017


Inserter capacity bonus (research)/infobox

Inserter capacity bonus research increases the stack size for inserters, i.e. the number of items they can hold in the arm at once.

  • When moving items from one stack to another, the inserter takes as many items as it can (i.e. up to the stack size) at once, without any additional delay.
  • When moving items to a belt, the inserter picks up several items and then drops those items on the belt one by one. While this takes longer than dropping a single item, the overall throughput is still higher because the arm doesn't have to move back and forth.
  • When moving items from a belt, the inserter tries to fill its stack to capacity before moving the arm to drop them off. To do this, it waits for a short time for a new item to become in range. The wait time is long enough to make the inserter fill up completely on a fully compressed belt. It is shorter than the time to move the arm away and back, so even though it waits it is a net benefit for throughput.
However, the extra time to fill the stack and wait for more items mean longer delays, e.g. for a machine to get enough items to start working. Beginning with 0.15 it is possible to override the max stack size.

This means the bonus is more effective when moving from stack to stack than when moving from stack to belt or belt to stack. The increased throughput is still significant in any case though, especially for the Stack inserter that has a max size of 12.

A slow Inserter with stack size bonus of 4, which moves from chest to chest, can easily keep up with a Fast inserter, moving from chest to a belt. This is why it is recommended to move items that are required in high quantities at high speeds directly between machines.

A high inserter capacity bonus can break some constructions that use the circuit network; since an inserter can move more items at once an equal ("=") condition might not be met because the number of items "jumps" over the specified number.

In 0.15 it is possible to override the max stack size to overcome problems like that. It can also be controlled by a circuit network signal.

This bonus is is also often called "inserter bonus", "stacksize bonus" , or "stack bonus".

Technology Cost Pickup bonus (total stack size)
Non-Stack
Inserter
Stack
Inserter
none - (1) (2)
Inserter capacity bonus 1
Time.png
30
Science pack 1.png
1
Science pack 2.png
1
X 200
+1 (3)
Inserter capacity bonus 2
Time.png
30
Science pack 1.png
1
Science pack 2.png
1
X 250
+1 (2) +1 (4)
Inserter capacity bonus 3
Time.png
30
Science pack 1.png
1
Science pack 2.png
1
Science pack 3.png
1
X 250
+1 (5)
Inserter capacity bonus 4
Time.png
30
Science pack 1.png
2
Science pack 2.png
2
Science pack 3.png
1
X 250
+1 (6)
Inserter capacity bonus 5
Time.png
30
Science pack 1.png
2
Science pack 2.png
2
Science pack 3.png
2
Alien science pack.png
1
X 300
+2 (8)
Inserter capacity bonus 6
Time.png
30
Science pack 1.png
2
Science pack 2.png
2
Science pack 3.png
2
Alien science pack.png
2
X 400
+2 (10)
Inserter capacity bonus 7
Time.png
30
Science pack 1.png
4
Science pack 2.png
4
Science pack 3.png
3
Alien science pack.png
2
X 600
+1 (3) +2 (12)

See also