alternative (thaumcraft) method for getting copper

[Damoklesz]

As probably most of you know, in the default feed the beast configs copper is set to only spawn in a very specific depth, thus usually requiring an extra effort to get. I think I "came up" with a method, that I haven't seen before, and wanted to share/ask if anyone has done this before.

It's not a crazy creative idea... I'm just using green xychoridite ingots and iron ingots with Thaumcraft.
The recipe is the following:
- 24 green xychoridite ingot give 48 Victus and 48 Metallum
- 12 iron ingot give 96 Metallum
This is 48 Victus and 144 Metallum total, which gives 144 copper nuggets for 240 vis. 144 nuggets make 16 copper ingots.
Essentially I'm turning iron into copper with a 3:4 ratio, and the whole process only costs me some useless xychoridite. I don't dump any flux into the enviroment, although I'm heavily draining the aura.

I have a repower sorting machine setup with 8 different colored output going to 8 transposers over 8 crucibles. The crucibles are connected to an aqueous accumulator via liquiduct.
The only thing I have to do is to press a button for the sorting machine, grab 8 wand of the adepts from a chest nearby, right-click on each of the crucibles with a different wand, and I (will) have 2 stacks of copper. There is no way to automate wand usage on a crucible, right?

Right now I'm trying to handle the nugget collection with wooden golems, but they don't really seem to work out, because they keep suiciding in the crucibles...


EDIT: So after some testing here is how this method stands.
- Right now the only way to automate collecting the nuggets from the crucible is using golems. Transposers and obsidian pipes don't seem to work. This makes the Golemancy thaumcraft research necessary. Golems burning in the crucible is not an issue, because you can use vertical covers, or you can lower the transposer right on top of the crucible, so there is no airspace. The nuggets spawn, and the golems seem to be able to reach them through the blocks without any problems.
- I haven't been able to find a way to automate the wand usage. There IS a wand turtle as of Misc Peripherals 3.1, it can cast the wand at the crucible with the turtle.dig() function, and the Deployer is also able to use the wand, the problem is that neither of them actually produces any result. The crucible empties, you get the sound effect, but no nuggets anywhere. Since both methods fail the same way, my guess is that this is either a bug in Thaumcraft, or it is intentional.
- The third, and greatest problem right now it the recharging of the wands. I haven't found any way of automaticly recharging them, because they don't recharge anywhere but the player inventory, the arcane worktable and the infusion altar. You can't seem to be able to automaticly put a wand into the worktable or the altar, so you have to hold them for while. This makes this whole method very inconvinient if you care about the aura level around your base.

 

[Bibble]

I've never really thought of TC3 transmutation as particularly viable. The vis cost (which is not an easy resource to renew), in addition to the batch limits, and the issues with additional aspects makes it a little unpalatable. Add to that the fact that you only get nuggets, which need further processing to be useful, and the fact that the automation side of TC3 is relatively late game, and I just find that either branch mining at the right level, or quarrying (so getting the entire cross-section) is more useful to me.

 

[Damoklesz]

- batch limits: like I said... 2 stacks of copper ingot at a time for 10-30 seconds of your time. I think that's not bad at all, cosidering the time it takes to do the alternatives.
- additional aspects: there are NO additional aspects
- further processing: the wooden golems can dump the nuggets directly into an autocrafting table (you know, the one that costs 4 wooden gears to make), then you will need a wooden pipe and a redstone engine to power it. If you want to be extra fancy you can use an autarchic gate instead of the redstone engine! And don't forget about the chest at the other end of the wooden pipe! This is the huge processing factory that's required...
- TC3 automation is late game: not really... depends on the order of your research. You only need a standard wooden golem, which only needs the Golemancy research. I got that one almost right after the Unified Thaumic Field Theory, so it's was more like early-mid game for me.


- the vis cost: This is the only real concern. If you have Mystcraft installed, you can just build your copper factory in an age where you don't care about the aura levels. Alternatively you could dump the wands into an Ender Pouch right after you use them, so the wands would drain the aura at the location of the connecting enderchest (I haven't tested yet), and not at your factory.
edit: wands in chests don't recharge... but they do in a thaumcraft craftingtable, so guess what I'm working on right now...

 

[Bibble]

Realistically, it's a matter of preference (as with most things in the game). The big thing with the research is that it's T2, requiring the unified field theory (and a whole load of aspects that aren't easy to make).

To set this up, you need to first set up the cauldrons (which are hazardous for the golems, as you have discovered), then set up the crafting, and get that sorted too, then make the wands and the (presumably) turtles, if you want to automate the process fully (equiavlent to a quarry or tunnel bore.

To be honest, a large size quarry tends to give me all the resources I need until later game, when the tall-thin tunnel bores are possible.

As I said, it's a matter of preference.

 

[Damoklesz]

I did further testing, and edited my original post.
Found 2 ways of saving the golems, so that's not a problem any more. Setting up the crafting is like I said, costs 6 wooden gears and a piston. There is no sorting. You're only making copper ingots. Yes, you have to make the wands, but since you're only using tier2, they are super cheap. 5 shards + a gold nugget each. If you have nothing better, you can get the magic aspect from chiseled sandstone, so that's a stack of sand. If the turtles would/when they will work: they are also very cheap compared to a quarry (or even a mining turtle, since you don't need any diamonds).
Sure, you want some automated mining anyways. This method is not to replace that, but to balance the resources you already have. Typicly most people have way less copper then anything else, so this is an alternative to copper bees, or that tall tunnel bore setup that you mentioned. Setting up an extra quarry when you have everything but copper seems like a waste.

 

[OmegaJasam]

Early on, the copper transmutation recipie was my primary source of the material.

I'm pritty sure you can automate every step save for the wand click with golems too (transposer triggered by the tallow golem stocked by a clay golem, with a wood golem and stone golem handling the conversion to ignots). (I like using golems rather then engine+pipe or turtle. They're simpler in their own way and fun to watch.)

 

[Grydian2]

I used Mellon slices and iron. Created zero extra aspects. Just have to make sure you have the right ratio.

 

[DoctorOr]

I used lava and a centrifuge, just gotta make sure you feed it the right packet size.

 

[slay_mithos]

Don't you need a golem to refuil the water too?
Or do you make it happen an other way?

 

[Grydian2]

I saw EE3 will have the alchemist chest again. Maybe that can be used to collect the nuggets when its out.

 

[Confidential1207]

I saw EE3 will have the alchemist chest again. Maybe that can be used to collect the nuggets when its out.

It is just a reskinned normal chest.

 

[Damoklesz]

I used Mellon slices and iron. Created zero extra aspects. Just have to make sure you have the right ratio.

Green Xychoridite is better, because that also adds 2 metallum each, so you need less iron total.

Don't you need a golem to refuil the water too?
Or do you make it happen an other way?

The crucibles connenct to liquiducts, so a single aqueous accumulator fills all 8 of them pretty much instanty.

 

[Sara Dr In te House]

If you use Iron nuggets (or any nuggets) you only need 8 nuggets saving a little over 1 ingot per transmute.

 

[Grydian2]

I use the Xychoridite for building and melons are renewable and infinite.