What kind of factory setup do you have?

[<SCRIPTKITTY>]

Having just got off starmade I had a thought,
"Daym my factory is utter crap!"
I've got the basic concept on how it's supposed to work but I just don't know the best way to organize everything I guess.

So I was wonder what kind of setups do some of you guys have? Perhaps if you care to give a little detail so I can learn how to better mine?

May your framerate be high and your temperatures low, thanks.

 

[Tunk]

Dump boxes -> sorting buffer.
Ores -> cap refinery.
Asteroid stone -> rainbow factory.
Parts -> part boxes.
Terrain -> rubbish boxes.

3 main factories (basic, standard, advanced) for general processing with 2500+ enhancers each and a capsule refinery with 2500+.
A central box pulls mesh/composite from the refinery, the factories pull from it.
Another box at the refinery pulls and sorts caps, caps must be withdrawn manually to avoid 'accidentally using all my caps on rubbish' and encourage batch processing.
Build block and exposed enhancers allow quick re-assigning of enhancers for large batch jobs.

When not busy the basic factory produces grey hull, which is then pulled off to the basic hull rainbow factory.
Everything else is produced manually on demand as required.

 

[Edymnion]

Primary Inbox
Everything gets dumped here when I come in from outside. Ore, rock, pirate booty, everything. All of my storage containers are linked to it as well to automatically pull what they store from it. Capsule refinery is set to pull from it.

Secondary Sorting Box
Is set to pull refined mats from the capsule refinery, and from the tertiary sorting boxes on the factories. Primary Inbox then pulls all from this.

Tertiary Sorting Boxes
Each line of factories has one of these to pull everything in them back out for when factories pull too many mats.

I then have a row of each factory (Basic, Standard, Advanced) linked so that each higher grade factory can pull from all of the factories below it. Each individual factory also pulls from the main storage containers.

I then have 4 different sets of factories set up with differing numbers of enhancers on each set. One is a 1x factory line that makes individual blocks. One is a 10x, another is 100x, and the last one is 1000x (has 999 enhancers on it) to churn things out a thousand at a time for things like power and armor.

With this setup, I can unload everything from the day's haul into one box, and it all self-sorts into storage. I can also go to any factory and just have it start making anything I want without having to worry about where the materials required are, it will pull whatever it needs from wherever it needs it. And when everything is done, the entire system cleans up after itself and stores everything back away in it's proper place for easy access next time.

 

[papachabre]

Thanks for starting this thread - it made me realize that I need to make a better factory so I don't spend all of my time crafting manually. I've already got a few ideas, and I think I'll pull some from this thread.

I'll start with a dump box like I think most people do. It'll sort out anything that's not craftable to a storage room, and the ores/shards/astroid blocks/salvage will go to my factory.

When not busy the basic factory produces grey hull, which is then pulled off to the basic hull rainbow factory.

I like this idea a lot and I hadn't considered it until now because I didn't realize that asteroid blocks are only good for making paint. I'd like to make a grid of actuation modules, one for each color and level of armor (9 colors x 3 armor levels including crystal = 27 modules), and a factory linked to each so that when you press one it begins making the desired armor. They'll all be linked to the box that contains colored hull, and that box will be accessible to the user so you can pull any kind of hull you want out or you can turn it into armor. I'm thinking it'll make 100 blocks per cycle and ideally it'd make all 5 sections but that's gonna take a ton of factories and enhancers which could be messy but it might not be bad...I have to think about that some more. When you've got enough of what you need you hit the module again to halt production.

I then have 4 different sets of factories set up with differing numbers of enhancers on each set. One is a 1x factory line that makes individual blocks. One is a 10x, another is 100x, and the last one is 1000x (has 999 enhancers on it) to churn things out a thousand at a time for things like power and armor.

I had this idea right before I read this post, but I didn't think of making a x1000 factory (just 1, 10 and 100). I bet that'd come in handy too. It might also be cool to use timers and buttons to allow the user to only produce 1, 10, 100 or 1000 with a single press, so that you can press it and move along without worrying about accidentally using up all your capsules.

And of course everything will be labeled with display modules. This is mostly conceptual so far so if anyone sees an issue please let me know.

 

[Edymnion]

It might also be cool to use timers and buttons to allow the user to only produce 1, 10, 100 or 1000 with a single press, so that you can press it and move along without worrying about accidentally using up all your capsules.

Sadly, cannot be done. Factories cannot be connected to logic. You have to turn them on and off manually.

And of course everything will be labeled with display modules.

You should see my storage room. There's gotta be nearly 50 crates in there, each with it's own display monitor with names.

 

[papachabre]

Sadly, cannot be done. Factories cannot be connected to logic. You have to turn them on and off manually.

NOOOOOO!! Well that just ruins my plans. I can't make my armor factory either. Why can't things just work the way I expect them to?

 

[Valck]

Sadly, cannot be done. Factories cannot be connected to logic. You have to turn them on and off manually.

That would be news to me, and my factories agree.

 

[lilheartless]

Sadly, cannot be done. Factories cannot be connected to logic. You have to turn them on and off manually.

You should see my storage room. There's gotta be nearly 50 crates in there, each with it's own display monitor with names.

pretty sure this is wrong as i have all of my factories hooked up to activation modules as of 5 or 6 days ago i think you should take another look at that

wow ninja'd by valck on my first post by like 8 seconds "long sigh"

 

[papachabre]

That would be news to me, and my factories agree.

Well that's good news. I will continue my scheming throughout the day so that when I get home later I can start building.

wow ninja'd by valck on my first post by like 8 seconds "long sigh"

Aww man - signed up for a forum to set a record straight only to be rendered redundant lol! But hey since you're here you can join in other discussions!

 

[Edymnion]

And of course everything will be labeled with display modules.

pretty sure this is wrong as i have all of my factories hooked up to activation modules as of 5 or 6 days ago i think you should take another look at that"

Huh, well that would be good news if it got changed and I just never noticed!

 

[plusnine]

some people will tell you they love their one-factory, 10k enhancer set up. some people want the "i can make every block, but only 1 at a time" jobbers. there is a third option which allows you power efficiency, flexibility and ease of use if you're willing to take the time to design the contraption. personally, i like to factory in build mode. i try to build something that essentially operates like a computer console might, with everything accessible. the answer to making a great factory is STORAGE FILTERS, STORAGE FILTERS, STORAGE FILTERS.

submitted for your approval, here are what i consider to be the main components to an effective starmade industrial options:

1. a resource draw with convenient drop-off system for mining ships
2. a flexible factory console that canwith programmable enhancer bays that allow for blocks to be made quickly, in the desired amount and with the minimum of waste and overproduction. the entire factory should be able to be operable from build mode without moving or changing the sight-line.
   
3. a self-sorting storage array and material reclamation system that eliminates the necessity of handling of any industrial materials entirely.

1) resource draw and refinery:

Spoiler: Resource Draw & Refinery

• the button at left turns on the refinery and reclamation units.
  
• the color-coded chests are for ore and crystal-based capsules.
  
• each of these storage units is wired to every other factory in the system, which keeps all leftover capsules from strained factories cleaned back out and ready for another draw attempt.
• the chest below the capsules refinery is the "drop chest", which intakes raw mining materials from drop chests from miners outside the base for easy drop-off.
• mesh and crystal go into the chest next door. this chest is also set to reclaim from strained factories.

2) Main Console

Spoiler: Main Console

• the enhancer bays above allow for quick re-allocation to any needed recipe strength. each bay represents 100, 200 or 300 blocks each, which allows for re-apportionment into starmade's typical 1:2:3:6 recipe ratios. there are also several 1000 block arrays not shown because they're on the back wall.
• the bottom-left lines of factories are wired in a heirarchy for armor chains or shaping jobs:
  • grey hull (1)
    
  • painted basic (1)
    
  • cut basic (1) OR ingot/crystal (6)
    
  • standard armor (1)
    
  • standard armor cut (1)
    
  • advanced/crystal armor (1)
    
  • advanced/crystal armor cut (1)
• "cleaner" chest: the middle button can be used to turn off every factory in the system, and reclaims all produced items (but not manufacturing recipe items, leaving them behind for the reclamation system). hitting this button a second time sorts all items currently in the chest into the appropriate storage container on the right wall (see next image). the red / orange / green indicator lights display the current status of the storage operation (red = turning off factories, yellow = reclaiming / sorting items, green = ready)
• the next factories are free-form factories useful for making anything in the game.
• lastly there's a paint "drip" factory, which stays on all the time. this factory cleans out any pigment blocks from the capsule refinery, makes paint at 15-20 per tick all the time while the sector is loaded, so there's always plenty on hand. the basic factories are all wired to this draw so paint never needs to be touched or moved at all when making hull.

3) Self-Sorting Item Storage Array

Spoiler: Item Storage Array

• items are sorted into chests. each chest is wired to the "cleaner" chest (see above), and eachother. items can be used, placed wherever, and a single press of the "factory off / sort" button searches the entire system and returns mis-filed blocks to the proper container, eliminating the hunt-and-peck for what you want.
• shipyard modules can be easily wired to such an array to allow for convenient factory-to-production supply lining.

 

[StormWing0]

Yep factories can be hooked up to logic for the on and off parts but they have their own internal timers that change depending on what they are making so it might be a little tricky to setup right.


As for my factory setup it depends on the station or planet but mostly enough of each factory type (Basic, Standard, Advanced) to make any functional item I'd need, 1 storage box for each factory, but the factories can pull from all if needed, and refining raws and scrap off to the side.

 

[Valck]

I have a small workshop for the daily needs of my shipyard, I'm reluctant to call it a "factory".

The furnace, rolling mill, and forge are refinery, basic, and standard factory blocks respectively with 99 enhancers each, to produce batches of 100 items at a time. They are hooked to a central storage system, but have input and output trays for immediate access and quality control. All of them can be powered on and off individually (including the mill's and forge's animation, of course), and there's also a central emergency kill switch.

The smaller machines are basic, standard and enhanced blocks with four enhancers to produce small runs of five items each; finally there's a workbench with individual factory blocks.

A bridge crane runs the whole length of the workshop, the trolley can traverse over the full width, and can "lift" loads docked to its rail "magnet".
[DOUBLEPOST=1441246101,1441245431][/DOUBLEPOST]

wow ninja'd by valck on my first post by like 8 seconds "long sigh"

Here, have a heart ; )
Welcome!
[DOUBLEPOST=1441246236][/DOUBLEPOST]

Huh, well that would be good news if it got changed and I just never noticed!

I've had those factories up and running, controlled by logic, for about a year IIRC, maybe even longer...

 

[ilec]

Okay this might get a little complicated:
My dump boxes are set up to use the passive logic output of storage to activate my filter system - when my dump box is empty a timer runs to allow my filters time to finish then shuts them down.

I can "order up" blocks of advanced armour by using logic to set a counter and type of armour(s), I then can hit another logic switch to start the production run. The production run is forced to wait to sync with the storage pull cycle via a storage clock. I have a storage block that pulls the requirements to run one cycle out of central to prevent over use (stop the storage and you effectively stop the factory chains). when the counter has counted the set number the logic turns the whole lot off. I have dedicated factory chains for each armour type with enhancers kept in appropriate scale so that there are no delays or wastage inside the chain.

I have a separate set of logic that I use in a similar manner to build all the blocks I need for my production drones and PD turrets - set the counter to how many drones I want and the counter and storage clocks make sure that I get exact multiples of all the blocks needed.

The real pain of the latter system is that if I change a design it is a fairly large job to upgrade my drone factory to make exact multiples.

in short:
- Storage passive logic is great for managing your inputs (especially if you automate your refineries)
- Logic counters are a really useful tool to prevent production overruns
- Storage Clocks are really useful to ensure your factory syncs with the storage pulls and to make timers that are exact multiples of factory production times.

PS I tried doing up diagrams of my logic and factory connections and they are a mess - I'll have to retry now I have the time and the flip-flop block is out - but don't hold your breath

 

[<SCRIPTKITTY>]

some people will tell you they love their one-factory, 10k enhancer set up. some people want the "i can make every block, but only 1 at a time" jobbers. there is a third option which allows you power efficiency, flexibility and ease of use if you're willing to take the time to design the contraption. personally, i like to factory in build mode. i try to build something that essentially operates like a computer console might, with everything accessible. the answer to making a great factory is STORAGE FILTERS, STORAGE FILTERS, STORAGE FILTERS.

submitted for your approval, here are what i consider to be the main components to an effective starmade industrial options:

1. a resource draw with convenient drop-off system for mining ships
2. a flexible factory console that canwith programmable enhancer bays that allow for blocks to be made quickly, in the desired amount and with the minimum of waste and overproduction. the entire factory should be able to be operable from build mode without moving or changing the sight-line.
   
3. a self-sorting storage array and material reclamation system that eliminates the necessity of handling of any industrial materials entirely.

1) resource draw and refinery:

Spoiler: Resource Draw & Refinery

• the button at left turns on the refinery and reclamation units.
  
• the color-coded chests are for ore and crystal-based capsules.
  
• each of these storage units is wired to every other factory in the system, which keeps all leftover capsules from strained factories cleaned back out and ready for another draw attempt.
• the chest below the capsules refinery is the "drop chest", which intakes raw mining materials from drop chests from miners outside the base for easy drop-off.
• mesh and crystal go into the chest next door. this chest is also set to reclaim from strained factories.

2) Main Console

Spoiler: Main Console

• the enhancer bays above allow for quick re-allocation to any needed recipe strength. each bay represents 100, 200 or 300 blocks each, which allows for re-apportionment into starmade's typical 1:2:3:6 recipe ratios. there are also several 1000 block arrays not shown because they're on the back wall.
• the bottom-left lines of factories are wired in a heirarchy for armor chains or shaping jobs:
  • grey hull (1)
    
  • painted basic (1)
    
  • cut basic (1) OR ingot/crystal (6)
    
  • standard armor (1)
    
  • standard armor cut (1)
    
  • advanced/crystal armor (1)
    
  • advanced/crystal armor cut (1)
• "cleaner" chest: the middle button can be used to turn off every factory in the system, and reclaims all produced items (but not manufacturing recipe items, leaving them behind for the reclamation system). hitting this button a second time sorts all items currently in the chest into the appropriate storage container on the right wall (see next image). the red / orange / green indicator lights display the current status of the storage operation (red = turning off factories, yellow = reclaiming / sorting items, green = ready)
• the next factories are free-form factories useful for making anything in the game.
• lastly there's a paint "drip" factory, which stays on all the time. this factory cleans out any pigment blocks from the capsule refinery, makes paint at 15-20 per tick all the time while the sector is loaded, so there's always plenty on hand. the basic factories are all wired to this draw so paint never needs to be touched or moved at all when making hull.

3) Self-Sorting Item Storage Array

Spoiler: Item Storage Array

• items are sorted into chests. each chest is wired to the "cleaner" chest (see above), and eachother. items can be used, placed wherever, and a single press of the "factory off / sort" button searches the entire system and returns mis-filed blocks to the proper container, eliminating the hunt-and-peck for what you want.
• shipyard modules can be easily wired to such an array to allow for convenient factory-to-production supply lining.

HOLLY CRAP, it is now my goal to build something like this. thanks!
[DOUBLEPOST=1441512942,1441512843][/DOUBLEPOST]

I have a small workshop for the daily needs of my shipyard, I'm reluctant to call it a "factory".

The furnace, rolling mill, and forge are refinery, basic, and standard factory blocks respectively with 99 enhancers each, to produce batches of 100 items at a time. They are hooked to a central storage system, but have input and output trays for immediate access and quality control. All of them can be powered on and off individually (including the mill's and forge's animation, of course), and there's also a central emergency kill switch.

The smaller machines are basic, standard and enhanced blocks with four enhancers to produce small runs of five items each; finally there's a workbench with individual factory blocks.

A bridge crane runs the whole length of the workshop, the trolley can traverse over the full width, and can "lift" loads docked to its rail "magnet".
[DOUBLEPOST=1441246101,1441245431][/DOUBLEPOST]
Here, have a heart ; )
Welcome!
[DOUBLEPOST=1441246236][/DOUBLEPOST]
I've had those factories up and running, controlled by logic, for about a year IIRC, maybe even longer...

This one I pure beauty, I wish I was as good at interior decoration as this. Will probably be using this for inspiration. Thanks!

How exactly is logic used in factories? It's even news to me but it sounds really useful. Is there a way to make sure only a certain amount is taken from basic hull to make standared and so on?

 

[plusnine]

How exactly is logic used in factories? It's even news to me but it sounds really useful. Is there a way to make sure only a certain amount is taken from basic hull to make standared and so on?

personally, i do not. i have what i want to make or i need to go mining and i leave it at that.

there's a couple important things to know:

• factories tick twice for every storage pull. if you're dispensing to factories using storage as throttle, make sure you account for this to keep things running smoothly!
• using storage filters as a throttle will essentially specialize a factory, so it's not a great thing to rely on being there for anything you want to act as a flexible, programmable factory.

 

[papachabre]

How exactly is logic used in factories? It's even news to me but it sounds really useful. Is there a way to make sure only a certain amount is taken from basic hull to make standared and so on?

I made a post recently in the Logic forum about making factories and refineries auto start/stop. Here's the link. So that's one use.

As someone pointed out different recipes have different timers, so it's tough to make timers turn off your factories after a certain number of items are made unless you have a factory that is dedicated to one item. In your example though it seems possible - if you have an armor factory and you want it to make a certain number of standard armor blocks every time you push a button, you could use timers.

 

[timethatswasted]

I always advise against factories that auto pull from storage since there is no way to stop production after a certain quantity is met....

The last thing you want is to start making say... shipyard computers, on a MP server... then have your game crash... and come back to find 20,000 shipyard computers... and your millions of Thrans Ore totally gone.

 

[Valck]

This one I pure beauty, I wish I was as good at interior decoration as this. Will probably be using this for inspiration. Thanks!

You're too kind. I'm happy if somebody can find something to be inspired by, that's why I posted it here.