Lock the drawers with the drawer key. It wont put any items into blank spots if the drawers are locked. Then just manulaly add the new items to the drawers as they come in (and you dont have to unlock to add to a blank spot).
Nah, I had already thought of that. That is the contingency plan. I think the way I just realized will work, though. As long as the EU sorting pipes treat each drawer controller as a chest, which I believe they will. With a breadth-first upgrade on the transfer node, it *should* completely automate it the way I want. All I should have to do is set up 1 item from each mod to go into each cluster, then set up a set of shelves in the back without the sorting pipe for the overflow, any time I get a new item associated with any of the mods in any cluster, it should automatically find a place in the appropriate section.
It'll be like this (top-down view):
Code:
XXXXXX XXCXX XXCXX XXX
X | | X
C----S---M-----M-----C
X | | X
XXXXXX XXCXX XXCXX XXX
S = Source chest (Ender Chest) - put anything in here
C = Controller, the entry point for each section
M = Mod Sorting pipe
- and | = EU item pipes
X = Storage Drawers
The section on the left Would have all of my most common (locked) items, the sections on the sides can be themed based on mods, then a catch-all section in the back.
It's actually a really efficient and simple design. I think it'll work.
edit: Think I'd have to move the connection from the front to the back directly before running into the mod sorters, but still, close enough.