Automating pouring of metals?

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BetX

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I was wondering how to automate tinkers' smeltery. I've half way automated it. I put hoppers under each of my basins and casting tables. So when I MANUALLY click to pour the liquid in, it will go to the hopper after it cools. My question is, How do we automate the pouring? I've tried putting blocks over it, then Redstone with a lever, but that did not work at all? Can anyone tell me step by step how to automate the pouring process, so that it does it on its own! Here's a picture of what I have now: http://prntscr.com/g8zir4

ALSO, The mod pack I am playing is SKYFACTORY 3.
 
Last edited:

Henry Link

Popular Member
Dec 23, 2012
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Remove the drains and replace them with some type of fluid pipe/device. I typically use Ender IO conduits. But anything that transports liquids will work.
 

Inaeo

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
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I'm fond of having a dedicated basin for each base metal (since I don't want alloys in my automation anyway), then using filtered pipes/conduits to pour into them. This way, there is little to no leftovers in my Smeltery, as any fluid is placed in the correct basin waiting for enough to make a block. I've even done it with casting tables once, to export ingots rather than blocks, but I used blacklist filters on conduits rather than hoppers to make sure I didn't remove the cast.

Note that if you're using a single Smeltery, alloying can happen occasionally by accident. Having two Smelteries can divide the workload and eliminate the possibility by keeping those metals separate.

Edit:. You could also use a timer if some sort to keep pulsing redstone signal to the drains. Botania has an hourglass that works quite well, but anything with a redstone clock should work.
 

ShneekeyTheLost

Too Much Free Time
Dec 8, 2012
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Drains need a redstone pulse to operate, not a steady redstone signal. Try a Redstone Clock for a primitive means of automating a drain, or use either Hardened Fluiduct or Pressurized Fluid Conduit or something similar that can be automated more readily.
 

Hambeau

Over-Achiever
Jul 24, 2013
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I'm working on a system that uses the Tinkers' Construct Tank... It's made from the same materials as the Smelter except you use a Tank Controller (see book)... I also just smelt cobble into seared stone for the walls. You can build it to the same maximum size as a Smelter, 11x11x11 IIRC, and it allows multiple liquids like metals to be stored without mixing.

I'm working out a piping/filtering system using the tank to store all the various tiers of Canola Oil and cycle them through a processing area for power. This was my original goal when I started mulling the design over in my head.
I'm sure a system could be designed to selectively filter just the specific metals needed for a selected alloy back to the Smelter to make said alloy. You could probably use one of the computer mods to build a menu where you select the individual metal or alloy you want and the number of ingots/nuggets/blocks and it will calculate and pump the required metals for your needs.

I also plan on playing with the TC Oven... It processes multiple items at a time as well as multiple item types.
 
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BetX

Guest
I was wondering how to automate tinkers' smeltery. I've half way automated it. I put hoppers under each of my basins and casting tables. So when I MANUALLY click to pour the liquid in, it will go to the hopper after it cools. My question is, How do we automate the pouring? I've tried putting blocks over it, then Redstone with a lever, but that did not work at all? Can anyone tell me step by step how to automate the pouring process, so that it does it on its own! Here's a picture of what I have now: http://prntscr.com/g8zir4
Ok,I will look into it right now.
 
B

BetX

Guest
I was wondering how to automate tinkers' smeltery. I've half way automated it. I put hoppers under each of my basins and casting tables. So when I MANUALLY click to pour the liquid in, it will go to the hopper after it cools. My question is, How do we automate the pouring? I've tried putting blocks over it, then Redstone with a lever, but that did not work at all? Can anyone tell me step by step how to automate the pouring process, so that it does it on its own! Here's a picture of what I have now: http://prntscr.com/g8zir4
Ok, Wow so many people replied! I'm going try everything listed above, thank you so much for help guys. I would thank each one of you individually, but that would possibly be spam.
 
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MacAisling

Popular Member
Apr 25, 2013
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Kearneysville, West Virginia
I don't know what mods are in SF3, or how they have been altered from defaults. Fluid pipes work, but most types of pipes hold some volume in themselves and pipe systems can get jammed up sometimes. My favorite pipes are enderIO conduits. ExUtil has a redstone clock, but it takes up a full block plus lever to turn it off and pulses every second at a set rate. The Bibliocraft clock can be set to redstone pulse mode with a variable timer, but the fastest setting is still kind of slow. Then there are a few mods that let you miniaturize redstone circuits, the latest and greatest of which is Super Circuit Maker. These should all have a circuit that you can set the frequency of the pulses in seconds or ticks.

Note that all systems I've seen can get jammed up by less than ingot volumes or fluids that won't pour in particular casts.

This is my current Smeltery set-up:
20901501_10211954830059451_2399847477432868265_o.jpg
 
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notgodsarmy666

Guest
I did use a comparitor from the hopper (only one hopper and many item conduits because only hoppers cause massive lag ... but anything transporting items will do) which then feed all drains with a redstone signal over a redstone conduit ... I bootstrapped it by a button on a facade.
I also pumped in raw material with a conduit into the smeltery ...
 

Inaeo

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
2,158
-3
0
I'm working on a system that uses the Tinkers' Construct Tank... It's made from the same materials as the Smelter except you use a Tank Controller (see book)... I also just smelt cobble into seared stone for the walls. You can build it to the same maximum size as a Smelter, 11x11x11 IIRC, and it allows multiple liquids like metals to be stored without mixing.

I'm working out a piping/filtering system using the tank to store all the various tiers of Canola Oil and cycle them through a processing area for power. This was my original goal when I started mulling the design over in my head.
I'm sure a system could be designed to selectively filter just the specific metals needed for a selected alloy back to the Smelter to make said alloy. You could probably use one of the computer mods to build a menu where you select the individual metal or alloy you want and the number of ingots/nuggets/blocks and it will calculate and pump the required metals for your needs.

I also plan on playing with the TC Oven... It processes multiple items at a time as well as multiple item types.

I imagine it would be possible to set up AE Level Emitters (or similar) on filtered drains to allow pouring only when stock is low. The same could also be used to send materials to a Smeltery for alloying, if one was so inclined. The only hang-up I foresee is that the Level Emitters would produce a steady signal, which would only trigger the drain once. I'm sure there are ways to work around it, but no need to further derail things. Actually sounds like a fun little project.

I'm curious now if the RS fluid storage system (or equivalent) will read the contents of a Tinker's Tank correctly, if at all. I once tried to use the RFTools Fluid Monitor to read it, but I never managed to get it to work (I was using a single fluid in the tank at the time).
 

Cpt_gloval

Well-Known Member
Oct 20, 2013
490
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In the DW20 1.1o pack I played with RS and it's fluid storage system doing alloys.
Had tanks of liquid metels and used the system to output the requited amount into a smeltry with repeaters to sent a pulse to the drain so alloying had time to occur.
Ended up being a gigantic "machine" do do something the enderio smeltry does but it was cool.
 

KingTriaxx

Forum Addict
Jul 27, 2013
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I tend to use the Immersive Engineering Pump, because it only moves fluid, and only needs a redstone signal to operate. Or you can eject to pipes to move large amounts, which is how I make Tinker's Clear Glass.
 
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notgodsarmy666

Guest
I tend to use the Immersive Engineering Pump, because it only moves fluid, and only needs a redstone signal to operate. Or you can eject to pipes to move large amounts, which is how I make Tinker's Clear Glass.
Not in the version I use ... there it uses RF as well ... (or am I stupid again)
 

KingTriaxx

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Jul 27, 2013
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If you're pulling fluid from an inventory, then it should only require the redstone signal. Only when it's pumping from blocks in the world should it require power. Though I believe if it's got power, it'll pump from inventories. I've got several of them running in Beyond and 1.7.
 
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notgodsarmy666

Guest
If you're pulling fluid from an inventory, then it should only require the redstone signal. Only when it's pumping from blocks in the world should it require power. Though I believe if it's got power, it'll pump from inventories. I've got several of them running in Beyond and 1.7.
But when I do that ... especially in SF3 there are much better pipes with much better throughput. Ender IO ones become quite cheap quite soon (I only say chickens ... source of almost everything) and they do "only" liquids as well ... the have different channels so you can use the same pipe for different stuff and if need be you can run item and ot redstone signal pipes in same block ... and on top of that you can hide the whole stuff and make it blast resistent (with hardened facades ... not wither proofed ... but I think it can take a charged creeper)
 

KingTriaxx

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Jul 27, 2013
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Unless there's a reason, I prefer exposed piping myself.

On the other hand, last I knew, IE pipes worked the same as Ender Fluid conduits, though without the ability to filter them. It relies on the machines it's connecting to only being able to take certain fluids, instead of the pipe being able to output only certain ones.

As for the other, I tend to build in such a way that they won't risk being blown up by creepers of any flavor.
 
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MoonNStarz

Guest
I was wondering how to automate tinkers' smeltery. I've half way automated it. I put hoppers under each of my basins and casting tables. So when I MANUALLY click to pour the liquid in, it will go to the hopper after it cools. My question is, How do we automate the pouring? I've tried putting blocks over it, then Redstone with a lever, but that did not work at all? Can anyone tell me step by step how to automate the pouring process, so that it does it on its own! Here's a picture of what I have now: http://prntscr.com/g8zir4

ALSO, The mod pack I am playing is SKYFACTORY 3.
I havent played skyfactory 3 yet but i stumbled upon liquid transfer nodes with Extra Utilities.
 

Reddis

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
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Redstone clock with a lever to automate the pouring of liquids. Transfer pipes / nodes under your casting table / basin to pull ingots / blocks.
 
C

crate

Guest
are there a kind of emerald liquid pipe that let you choose which liquid to remove?
 

Reddis

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
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I'm sure about the pipe, but I know if you click on a specific liquid inside of the smeltery it will move it to the bottom for extraction. I've been playing modded MC for over 5 years and just learned that last month!