Automated Diamond farm - Crusher (Mek) or Rock Crusher (RC)?

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Siigari

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2013
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Portland, Oregon
Hey all o/ So I just made my first Rock Crusher! :D It's a fun machine but gods, is it slow xD

I thought I could run 9 cobble in and get 9 gravel output simultaneously but now I see the error of my thinking. So, I'm wondering if a Mekanism Crusher is going to be superior for this task?

Basically my system is this:

Obtain gravel
Obtain flint
+
Obtain cobble (Igneous Extruder)
Obtain obsidian (Igneous Extruder)

Then

Pulverize/macerate coal (Macerator)
Craft coal ball (still figuring this out)
Compress coal ball (Compressor)
Compress coal chunk (Compressor)
Get diamond

So that's the process. I'm sort of leaning towards the Mek crushers since I can run a couple of them in parallel and they seem to be relatively quick, but I know nothing! Also, I'm not sure what to use to craft the coal balls. So getting a few tips from you guys is fantastic. :)
 

PierceSG

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Jul 29, 2019
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You can upgrade your Mekanism Crusher by making the Basic/Advanced/Elite Factories.

They can handle up to 3/5/7 items simultaneously. And can be upgraded with 8 speed and energy upgrades,.

IMO, a lot faster than RailCraft's Rock Crusher. I have not found any rivals yet. Maybe IC2's Macerator with overclockers? But I don't use IC2 and IIRC, they make sand out of cobble in stead of gravel?
Sent from my GT-N8020 using Tapatalk
 

malicious_bloke

Over-Achiever
Jul 28, 2013
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Ummm, getting gravel from cobble?

If you use an IC2 macerator you get sand from cobble. The pulverizer gives gravel as a byproduct (but also mainly sand).
It's been a while since I used any Mekanism machines but i'm pretty sure the crusher also turns cobble into sand.

Rock crusher does the thing (and gives you the flint you're really after as a byproduct), or you can pulverize lots of netherrack (which is seriously easy to come by if you can get into the nether and go postal with a hammer).

As for automated crafting of coal balls, the auto workbench from buildcraft is the simplest (if slightly slow) solution, or you could use Applied Energistics, an export bus with coal balls feeding into a compressor. Set the export bus to always craft and it'll make them out of the ingredients before feeding them into the next stage automatically :)
 

PierceSG

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Jul 29, 2019
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I can confirm that Mekanism's Crusher crushes cobblestone into gravel and then gravel into sand.
I just tested it. :)
Also. sending gravel through the purification chamber gets you flint.
4 flints crushed in the crusher gets you 1 gunpowder.

As for the crafting of coal balls, you could also give Thermal Expansion 3's Cyclic Assembler a try.

IIRC, it takes 2 RF per craft. But it crafts really really fast. You do not need to apply redstone signal to it but like the rest of the TE3 machinery, you can set the redstone signal to ignore, low or high. Also, configurable input and output direction. :)
 
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Siigari

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2013
370
168
68
Portland, Oregon
Yeah I have got stuff configured now, just gotta get coal generation handled. Think I'm gonna use a Molecular Transformer with a tree farm for automating wood to charcoal to coal.
 

Not_Steve

Over-Achiever
Oct 11, 2013
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Yeah I have got stuff configured now, just gotta get coal generation handled. Think I'm gonna use a Molecular Transformer with a tree farm for automating wood to charcoal to coal.
Wither skelly farm :)
 

Siigari

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2013
370
168
68
Portland, Oregon
I need some help!

I have my two Cyclic Assemblers taking in Flint/Coal Dust and the other is Compressed Coal Ball and Obsidian. Since Flint and Obsidian are being made at a much more rapid pace than the others, how can I get the Cyclic Assembler from filling their inventories with just Flint and Obsidian?

Thanks!

Here's a pic of my configuration.

wxqBT8l.png
 

YX33A

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
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Ugh I was just about to start recording then the rain comes. It's going to rain for like 20 minutes ._.
In game or real life?
If in game, countless solutions exist for you, my friend. If in real life, sucks to be you. It's been raining here all day and will all day tomorrow as well.
 
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YX33A

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Jul 29, 2019
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Not sure why you're using Obsidian instead of Clay Bricks, but OK, works I guess. The advanced solars is a smart move, I admit. Sorta expensive, but still smart.

Honestly, though, the whole thing could be cut into power and a charcoal system if you added MineChem.
 

YX33A

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
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...instead of obsidian. You can use bricks(aka clay bricks, smelt 4 clay balls to get enough bricks to make the block form), or iron blocks(if you aren't hard-up on iron, or just plain ol' need those diamonds).