Inserters

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< Transport network

Inserters are the fundamental structures of a factory, and are a vital component in almost all contraptions. They look and work like a robot-arm and take items from behind and place them in front of it, if the object in front of it has enough space to accomodate for it.

Inserters will:

File:Mpstark-5ceWt8I.gif

Inserter mechanics

Inserters will act differently depending on what they are moving items to/into so as not to monopolize all of the items being picked up and allow other machines and inserters on the same transport belt to have items.

Insertion Limits

Inserters will not insert into certain buildings if they already have, or are above of, a certain amount of items; it will simply seize to function until space has been made, and it will resume insertion.

For example, if a boiler has 5 or more pieces of fuel in it, then an inserter will not insert additional fuel until it has 4 or less.

Entity Item type Inserter-limit Comment
Boilers, Burner inserters, Furnaces Fuel 5 Modders should avoid recipes for furnaces with fuel.
Gun turrets Magazines 10 Since v0.8.4
Assembling machines Items needed for the recipe twice the items needed in the recipe
Furnaces Items needed for the recipe twice the items needed in the recipe
Labs Science packs twice the items needed for one research point

An inserter, which takes items from a chest or another assembly (anything, which has Storage/Stacks), can overfill due to the Inserter item stack size. The same happens, if you load with more than one inserter.

Inserters and transport belts

  • Inserters will always place the item on the further lane.
File:Mpstark-5RdLql0.gif
  • Inserters prefer taking items on the near lane.
File:Mpstark-8pfqtMV.gif
When taking from a belt, they might change this initial direction!
File:Mpstark-0XL7KBq.gif
  • Inserters can place items on
    • All types of conveyor belts
    • Underground-belt (entry and exit)
    • Curves, but their behavior is then very "special" and the items have a big chance to block.
    • They cannot place on splitter
  • Inserters can pick up from
    • Splitters
    • First half of the conveyor belt
  • Inserters have problems to pick up
    • from fast belts, cause the items are moving too fast for them.
    • picking up from curves
    • from the entry/exit of an underground belt


How to change lanes

Conveyor belts have two lanes. Inserters place the items always on the far lane of a belt (see above).

Many beginners and advanced players have problems to change the lane. There are several tricks to do that in more or less elegant ways: See Transport_belts/Belt_lane#Changing_side_of_lane

Types

Item Total raw Max power Speed (Rot/sec) Range (tiles) Special
Burner inserter 180 W (burner) 0.6
(1x)
1 Only inserter using Fuel. Since v0.10.0 it will inset items with fuel value into itself when it has an empty inventory.
Inserter.png
Inserter
12.6 W (electric) 0.8
(1.4x)
1 Standard inserter.
Long handed inserter 18 W (electric) 1.1
(2x)
2 Only inserter with higher range.
Fast inserter 31.5 W (electric) 2
(3.5x)
1 Basic faster inserter.
Smart-inserter.png
Smart inserter
44.1 W (electric) 2
(3.5x)
1 Only inserter connectable to Circuit networks and with configurable working condition, such as filtering in only a specific set of items
File:Mpstark-UlSB2pr.gif

Special behavior

See also