AE2 Autocrafting Help

[Pritch]

Hello I am having some trouble with AE2 autocrafting and after much searching on the internet I have come here to ask for your help.

What I am trying to accomplish is to have my AE network keep a supply of items (ie keep 10 iron plates).

The way I am trying is to have an ME interface connected to my Metal former with a crafting card set to keep 10 iron plates in it.

Attached to the ME interface is an ME storage bus so that the AE system can read the inventory of the ME Interface.

As soon as I use any of the 10 Iron plates, the system will autocraft the missing iron plates until it reaches a total of 10, however for some reason the Crafting Unit does not detect that these new plates were made and will sit indefinitely waiting for the creation of the plates.

In case I was not clear, System is set up to keep 10 iron plates stocked, if i use 3 the system will autocraft the 3 missing plates but does not detect they have been created.

When I look in the AE system the plates are there, and if I remove the plates from the system and replace the 10 plates the crafting does complete. I am not sure what is wrong. Can anyone tell me how to fix this or suggest an easier way to do it?

Thank You for your help

 

[ratchet freak]

you need to import the iron plates into the system.

AE will not actively seek crafting results instead it assumes that any iron plates coming into the system after exporting the ingredients are the result of the craft.

 

[Henry Link]

This is one of those areas where logistics pipes works better than AE. AE lacks the ability to keep a certain stock. Instead probably your best bet is to use a level emitter pointed to a cyclic assembler (or other external machine). And use the redstone control off of the level emitter to turn the crafting process/machine off. Then use export bus to supply infinite raw materials to your assembler.

 

[Pritch]

you need to import the iron plates into the system.

AE will not actively seek crafting results instead it assumes that any iron plates coming into the system after exporting the ingredients are the result of the craft.

That is what I don't understand though, because once the iron plates are created and I look into the AE system they are there, its just that the crafting CPU does not see them being imported into the system.

 

[Henry Link]

Where are the iron plates physically? Are they still in the unit that crafted them or in chest and the ME system sees them through a storage bus? If so that could be your issue. Some pics of your setup might help.

 

[Pritch]

They are physically inside of the ME interface with a storage bus attached to it, I can post some pictures tomorrow of how it is configured since I am not at home at the moment.

 

[Owen343]

Not sure which episode of Direwolf20's Let's Play season 7, but an all AE2 method can be used. You can "program" an interface to move 10 Iron plates into another interface to act as storage, then if you have a crating card it will replace any missing plates until it has 10. I'll try and find the ep for a practical demonstration.

Edit: After having a think, it wasn't a second interface, it was a storage bus used to see what items were stored in the first interface which like I sad is used to "stock" the long to/hard to craft items.

 

[Henry Link]

They are physically inside of the ME interface with a storage bus attached to it, I can post some pictures tomorrow of how it is configured since I am not at home at the moment.

That is your problem. ME interfaces were not designed to do that for the ME system. They are designed to keep an inventory of items for machines/processes not part of ME to use. Use a level emitter system pointed to external crafting block that redstone controls. Again this is one area that AE is extremely lacking in. They only way I truly found around it was to use computercraft to control the ME network and trigger crafting if stocks of certain items were low.

 

[Cpt_gloval]

You can also put a Storage bus pointed at an interface. Set the # of items you wan, 10 in this case, in the interface then set the a metal former to create the plates on demand.
The Storage bus will let you see the 10 stored plates in the interface and use them. When the interface is short of the 10 you set it will send a request for more to be made restocking the interface.
This is the best way to keep a # of slow to process items on hand.
I usually dedicate a P2Pd face on my controller for 16 interface/storage bus setups for things like Pure crystals, processers, ender io alloys and whatnot.

 

[Pritch]

You can also put a Storage bus pointed at an interface. Set the # of items you wan, 10 in this case, in the interface then set the a metal former to create the plates on demand.
The Storage bus will let you see the 10 stored plates in the interface and use them. When the interface is short of the 10 you set it will send a request for more to be made restocking the interface.
This is the best way to keep a # of slow to process items on hand.
I usually dedicate a P2Pd face on my controller for 16 interface/storage bus setups for things like Pure crystals, processers, ender io alloys and whatnot.

If I understand you correct, this is how I have it set up. The only problem is it doesn't work. It will craft the plates on demand, but even with a storage bus on the interface the AE system does not detect that the plates have entered the system and so it never finishes the craft. I can see the plates in the AE system so I know the storage bus is working.

 

[Someone Else 37]

There is some misunderstanding here.

In order for AE to recognize that a crafting operation has completed, the items must physically pass through the network and into ME storage- either a storage disk in a drive or ME chest, or a storage bus on an ordinary chest. If the items are inserted into an ME interface and just sit there because that's what the Interface is configured to store, they will just sit there. They were never actually pushed into the network, so the ME system will not recognize that they have finished crafting.

The most common (and most compact) way in AE2 to have an ME system stock up to a few stacks of items is what you seem to be trying to do. Configure your network to be able to autocraft whatever item- iron plates, in this case- in the normal way, with a programmed Interface with the recipe pattern. Then, place a Storage Bus and a panel Interface somewhere else in the network, facing each other and isolated from any other machines. Give the Interface a crafting card and configure it to stock whatever items you like- in this case, ten iron plates.

If you wanted to stock more than eight stacks of an item, then you could do it the AE1 way: with an export bus configured to always craft the desired items and push them into an Interface in the same network, and a Level Emitter to turn the export bus off when there's enough of the item. But, in your case, since ten iron plates will fit in a single Interface, the above method will work and is more compact and uses one less channel.

It sounds to me like you're trying to save on an Interface by using a single full-block Interface for two purposes: returning the crafted plates to the ME system and also holding on to your stock of plates. It doesn't work, as you have seen; and using an additional, totally separate Interface elsewhere in the network will fix it.

 

[Pritch]

There is some misunderstanding here.

In order for AE to recognize that a crafting operation has completed, the items must physically pass through the network and into ME storage- either a storage disk in a drive or ME chest, or a storage bus on an ordinary chest. If the items are inserted into an ME interface and just sit there because that's what the Interface is configured to store, they will just sit there. They were never actually pushed into the network, so the ME system will not recognize that they have finished crafting.

The most common (and most compact) way in AE2 to have an ME system stock up to a few stacks of items is what you seem to be trying to do. Configure your network to be able to autocraft whatever item- iron plates, in this case- in the normal way, with a programmed Interface with the recipe pattern. Then, place a Storage Bus and a panel Interface somewhere else in the network, facing each other and isolated from any other machines. Give the Interface a crafting card and configure it to stock whatever items you like- in this case, ten iron plates.

If you wanted to stock more than eight stacks of an item, then you could do it the AE1 way: with an export bus configured to always craft the desired items and push them into an Interface in the same network, and a Level Emitter to turn the export bus off when there's enough of the item. But, in your case, since ten iron plates will fit in a single Interface, the above method will work and is more compact and uses one less channel.

It sounds to me like you're trying to save on an Interface by using a single full-block Interface for two purposes: returning the crafted plates to the ME system and also holding on to your stock of plates. It doesn't work, as you have seen; and using an additional, totally separate Interface elsewhere in the network will fix it.

I was not trying to save on interfaces but I Think I finally understand why its not working, the interface is how the plates would normally re-enter the ME network, so once the plates are crafted, they enter the interface and stay there instead of actually entering the ME network. So if a have a separate interface with a storage bus and a crafting card then the plates would get crafted, then enter the ME network and then reside in the second interface with the storage bus on it.

Thank you for your help.

 

[Cpt_gloval]

Thank you Someone else 37.
This is what I was trying to describe but apparently did a poor job.

 

[Pritch]

Thank you Someone else 37.
This is what I was trying to describe but apparently did a poor job.

Its ok, after i re-read your reply i understand you now, I just didn't know I needed a second interface. Thanks for your help too though, Much appreciated!