Transport network

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Basics

Transport belts are a core element in Factorio. They are used for transporting items in your factory. You put items at one place and take them down at another. In the simple setup below the transport belt is used to transport the iron ore from mining drills to the right where inserter picks it up and puts it into the furnace.

File:Transport-belt-intro-3.jpg

In most of the cases inserters must be used to put / pick things from the transport belts. However some entities (electric mining drill, burner mining drill) place items they produce (mine) directly on the transport belt - as you can see above.

Tips & Tricks

For specialities about the belt and how to optimize the throughput show into T&T transport belt.

Items

Transport belts

Basic transport is belt available from the start, it moves items approximately 1.8 tiles per second.

Items Speed
Basic transport belt
Basic underground belt
Basic splitter
1.8 squares / sec

Available when Logistics 2 has been researched, it moves items twice the fast as basic transport belt.

Items Speed
Fast transport belt
Fast underground belt
Fast splitter
3.6 squares / sec

Available when Logistics 3 has been researched, it moves items three times faster than as basic transport belt.

Items Speed
Express transport belt
Express underground belt
Express splitter
5.4 squares / sec

Underground belts can be used to cross different flows of items without interfering. Its maximum reach distance is 5 tiles. An underground belt pair with a blocked output stores up to 20 items.

Inserters

It is assured that inserters always put the items on the more distant part of the transport belt. Inserters also prefer taking items from the closer part of the belt.

Item Max power Description
Burner inserter 180 W (burner) Most basic inserter, needs burning fuel.
Inserter.png
Inserter
13 W Basic electric inserter.
Long handed inserter 18 W Basic inserter able to grab Items from 2 tiles distance.
Fast inserter 30 W Inserter working at double speed.
Filter inserter 40 W Inserter only moving items specified in filter.
Smart-inserter.png
Smart inserter
40 W Inserter able to connect to Circuit network and specify work conditions.

Storage

Item Total raw Max stacks Description
Wooden chest
Wood.png
4
16 Basic storage chest.
Iron chest 32 Larger basic chest.
Steel chest 48 Basic chest with maximum capacity of 48 stacks.
Smart-chest.png
Smart chest
48 Large chest connectable to Circuit network.
Provider chest 48 Chest with connection to Logistic network.
Connectable to Circuit network.
Storage chest 48 Chest with connection to Logistic network.
Connectable to Circuit network.
Requester chest 48 Chest with connection to Logistic network.
Connectable to Circuit network.

Further information

Using two sides

Items can fit in onto the transport belt in two separate lines. This is particularly useful when feeding two different items for further processing to avoid overcrowding. Let's have a look at the example. In here we have both coal and iron ore on the same transport belt in two separate lines. The advantage of this setup is that it cannot happen to us that we will have too much of one resource and thus no space on the belt for the other. The inserter can take items from both lines and insert them into the furnace behind it.

Turns

It is guaranteed, that that turns keep the alignment of items. Inner side of the turn moves items at half the speed, meaning turns are likely to be bottlenecks. Using faster belts at the turns is recommended.

Crossings

When belts are crossing, items stay on the side of the belt it came from.