Factory-Making Question.

[Cowpet]

Hi guys,

I am having some trouble with a factory I am making in FTB Unleashed. Basically, the idea is to have a chest that sends ore blocks to a macerator and coal to a coal generator AND a furnace; the macerated dusts then go to another chest, which is in turn connected to the furnace. The ingots are taken from the furnace (and half of the iron ingots are re-smelted into refined iron) and sent to another chest. Copper and rubber is then removed from the chest and sent to an autocrafting table to make copper wire.

That's the idea. The problem is that: a) the coal is removed from the furnace as soon as it gets there
And b) The dusts just jump out of my wooden pipe for some reason when they
reach the furnace, so I am just left with a pile of dusts on the floor.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

PS. I am also at a loss as to what to make in my factory. I am only using it to make copper wire as a stopgap and testing method until I work out what I actually want to make with it. So, what do you guys suggest? I have always wanted to make a factory in FTB, but now I just don't know what to use it for.

 

[mushroom taco]

I see you are from tekkit classic. Welcome to the feed the beast forums.

First, throw all that you just said down the drain. I'm going to show you better ways of this.

For your macerator setup, rip it out and replace it with some thermal expansion pulverizers.
Now you will probably see some colors squares on the sides of it. Those are outputs and inputs. They are configurable inside the machines GUI.
Now build yourself some powered furnaces, equal to the number of pulverizers you have. Place them to where a blue square of the furnace is touching an orange square of a pulverizer. You now have an automatic macerating and smelting station.
For item transportation, I highly highly highly highly highly recommend applied energistics. It looks stupid at first, but there are thing that are frickin awesome for item transport and storage in that mod. Here's a link to the wiki:
http://ae-mod.info/
If you can't grasp that (it does look pretty complicated at first, but I assure you it is fairly simple), try logistics pipes, and again, it is very complicated, I don't even know how to use it right yet.
Or for simpler item transport you could go the old fashioned way with buildcraft pipes, mfr conveyor belts, or assembly line conveyor belts (assembly line isn't in the pack, but... The models are so pretty!).
And to store it all, again, look at applied energistics. It offers mass storage and best of all you can look at ALL YOUR ITEMS in one spot. It even has a search function. No more digging around in various chests for you.
Applied energistics never ceases to amaze me. You HAVE to try it.

 

[Riuga]

It looks stupid at first,

Only applies to rv10+ (pun intended). rv9 was the golden age for AE in terms of aesthetics. I miss the old colored cable models oh gawd D: Covered Cables do not effectively simulate it at all.

As for smelting, pop a powered furnace next to the pulverizer, and configure its input to face the output of the pulv, output to a chest.

 

[JesterSig]

I agree you should switch to a pulverizer. The input/output gui provides a lot of flexibility and you sometimes get lucky with secondary products depending on what you put into the machine.

While AE is an awesome mod you could also check out logistics pipes. Logistics pipes isn't much more expensive than AE, and I feel it's superior in terms of sorting and item routing. The best part is AE and logistics pipes work really well together so you can use the best parts of both mods.

 

[zorn]

Hi guys,

I am having some trouble with a factory I am making in FTB Unleashed. Basically, the idea is to have a chest that sends ore blocks to a macerator and coal to a coal generator AND a furnace; the macerated dusts then go to another chest, which is in turn connected to the furnace. The ingots are taken from the furnace (and half of the iron ingots are re-smelted into refined iron) and sent to another chest. Copper and rubber is then removed from the chest and sent to an autocrafting table to make copper wire.

That's the idea. The problem is that: a) the coal is removed from the furnace as soon as it gets there
And b) The dusts just jump out of my wooden pipe for some reason when they
reach the furnace, so I am just left with a pile of dusts on the floor.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

PS. I am also at a loss as to what to make in my factory. I am only using it to make copper wire as a stopgap and testing method until I work out what I actually want to make with it. So, what do you guys suggest? I have always wanted to make a factory in FTB, but now I just don't know what to use it for.

Unfortunately there arent a lot of items that require a ton of resources in ftb, like the solar panels mod that gives you hv solars, requiring thousands of ingots per panel. Applied energistics becomes the 'factory' crafting machine for most people. Using autocrafting tables is a a challenge, but fun. xycraft fabricators make it much easier (they pull items from chests that are next to them automatically).

As for your ore processing, can you provide a screenshot? its been awhile since i tried to automate a macerator without AE, you should be putting a pipe into the top of it to send ores in, then a pipe out the back for dusts coming out. Then to send to an electric furnace, you have the dusts going in the top and out the back. Are the dusts popping out of the pipe after the furnace fills up, or on the very first dust that tries to go into the furnace? If its the first dust, then you have the input pipe going to the wrong side of the machine. If it does it after filling up, then you are overflowing the machine, and have run into one of the first challenges of automating ore processing. You could make another furnace to smelt faster than the macerator can pump out dusts, or loop your pipes back around so that overflowing dusts get routed back to the pipe they started from.

Thermal Expansion machines are easier to automate in this way than Industrial Craft machines, but you can upgrade the macerator and electric furnace to run faster. A pulverizer and a powered furnace or induction smelter will only ever run at one speed. Faster electric furnaces and macerators draw more power, which bring on new challenges too. You can easily get an electric furnace to draw more power than a fully powered Quarry, so it forces you to add more infrastructure. Which is fun.

 

[Omicron]

Just an idea, guys: instead of telling him to forget everything he's worked up for himself, try and help him understand why his current solution is not working, and encourage him to understand and learn how things work. If nobody ever tells him about ISided inventories and pipe overflow, he'll keep running into issues with many other mods as well - including Applied Energistics. And if all he does is copy other people's builds blindly, he won't have half the fun he could have. Kudos to zorn for giving it a shot.

 

[mushroom taco]

Only applies to rv10+ (pun intended). rv9 was the golden age for AE in terms of aesthetics. I miss the old colored cable models oh gawd D: Covered Cables do not effectively simulate it at all.

As for smelting, pop a powered furnace next to the pulverizer, and configure its input to face the output of the pulv, output to a chest.

I was referring to functionality not aesthetics

 

[namiasdf]

Just an idea, guys: instead of telling him to forget everything he's worked up for himself, try and help him understand why his current solution is not working, and encourage him to understand and learn how things work. If nobody ever tells him about ISided inventories and pipe overflow, he'll keep running into issues with many other mods as well - including Applied Energistics. And if all he does is copy other people's builds blindly, he won't have half the fun he could have. Kudos to zorn for giving it a shot.

 

[tobiashunter]

Hi guys,

I am having some trouble with a factory I am making in FTB Unleashed. Basically, the idea is to have a chest that sends ore blocks to a macerator and coal to a coal generator AND a furnace; the macerated dusts then go to another chest, which is in turn connected to the furnace. The ingots are taken from the furnace (and half of the iron ingots are re-smelted into refined iron) and sent to another chest. Copper and rubber is then removed from the chest and sent to an autocrafting table to make copper wire.

That's the idea. The problem is that: a) the coal is removed from the furnace as soon as it gets there
And b) The dusts just jump out of my wooden pipe for some reason when they
reach the furnace, so I am just left with a pile of dusts on the floor.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

PS. I am also at a loss as to what to make in my factory. I am only using it to make copper wire as a stopgap and testing method until I work out what I actually want to make with it. So, what do you guys suggest? I have always wanted to make a factory in FTB, but now I just don't know what to use it for.

a) I would recommend, since you already have a power network, using an Electric Furnace so you no longer have to worry about the coal issue. I would use an Insertion Pipe(s) (I believe Thermal Expansion has one) with a feedback loop on your generator(s) so you don't lose any coal.

b) If I am reading it correctly, you are using a wooden transport pipe to connect to the furnace for putting items IN? That's your problem, Wooden Transport is ONLY for removal of items. Once again, I recommend an Insertion pipe w/ feedback loop. Also, make sure you're always putting in items from the top and removing from either the side or below (I've always used below).

(As others have recommended Thermal Expansion is a lot more 'factory friendly' but both methods are 100% workable).

 

[SatanicSanta]

I see you are from tekkit classic. Welcome to the feed the beast forums.

First, throw all that you just said down the drain. I'm going to show you better ways of this.

For your macerator setup, rip it out and replace it with some thermal expansion pulverizers.

He obviously has an EU system set up, so why would he replace it with a TE pulverzer?

For item transportation, I highly highly highly highly highly recommend applied energistics. It looks stupid at first, but there are thing that are frickin awesome for item transport and storage in that mod.

AE is super expensive, and by the OP it seems like he is very early game since he is using coal for his power and furnace. AE is also a little ridiculous for small distance transportation.

And to store it all, again, look at applied energistics. It offers mass storage and best of all you can look at ALL YOUR ITEMS in one spot. It even has a search function. No more digging around in various chests for you.
Applied energistics never ceases to amaze me. You HAVE to try it.

And as for this, AE systems take ages to set up, especially if you have never used the mod before. Also, Diamond/Crystal/Obsidian Chests are fine for item storage, they hold a ton of stuff, and as long as you have it sorted to 5-25 chests you don't have to do much rummaging. Factorization has some neat item storage, it's a little absurd with the amount of items in FTB, but I've seen some massive set ups using Routers, barrels, etc.

That's the idea. The problem is that: a) the coal is removed from the furnace as soon as it gets there
And b) The dusts just jump out of my wooden pipe for some reason when they
reach the furnace, so I am just left with a pile of dusts on the floor.

a) To me it sounds like you have your output pipe (assuming you are using BC pipes) on the bottom, which is input for fuel, I think. I've never automated a vanilla furnace so I could be wrong about this, but I think it is the same as an E-Furnace.
b) When the dusts pop out it could either mean that there is no room in the furnace, or that you have the pipe on the wrong side of the furnace.

PS. I am also at a loss as to what to make in my factory. I am only using it to make copper wire as a stopgap and testing method until I work out what I actually want to make with it. So, what do you guys suggest? I have always wanted to make a factory in FTB, but now I just don't know what to use it for.

You could have an Iridium factory? Though without GT that's a little dumb. Circuits, batteries, tools, etc. Just think of something you would see a store centered around, namely, electronics.

I agree you should switch to a pulverizer. The input/output gui provides a lot of flexibility and you sometimes get lucky with secondary products depending on what you put into the machine.

Why would the OP want to remove his Macerator/Furnace set up for something slightly better in output, but weirder in input. Also, this doesn't answer his question in anyway.

Oh, here's a reason he should use IC2 machines over TE machines for his factory. He is making an industrialized factory. Factories have sounds. IC2 machines have sounds, while TE does not. His factory would sound quite lame for what it could look like without sounds, unless it had crazy pipe networks, but without GT that isn't necessary.

b) If I am reading it correctly, you are using a wooden transport pipe to connect to the furnace for putting items IN? That's your problem, Wooden Transport is ONLY for removal of items.

Actually you are wrong. If you have this set up, a wooden pipe can input and output
M = Macerator, = and || = wooden pipe, F = Furnace

M=||
___F

This is done using 3 blocks, one macerator, one pipe, and one furnace. If you place the Macerator, then the pipe, then the furnace, the pipe will choose the Macerator to output with, and it will directly input into a furnace. It is actually a surprisingly good set up, especially if you have one of those clusters for each ore.

Edit: I think this also needs to be said, Wooden pipes cannot ONLY input, or ONLY move items from one stone/cobble/iron/etc pipe to another, they must always have something to output. Also, I recommend using gates instead of an engine, mainly for lag purposes. But then again, they can look pretty cool in a massive factory.

 

[tobiashunter]

Actually you are wrong. If you have this set up, a wooden pipe can input and output
M = Macerator, = and || = wooden pipe, F = Furnace

M=||
___F

This is done using 3 blocks, one macerator, one pipe, and one furnace. If you place the Macerator, then the pipe, then the furnace, the pipe will choose the Macerator to output with, and it will directly input into a furnace. It is actually a surprisingly good set up, especially if you have one of those clusters for each ore.

Edit: I think this also needs to be said, Wooden pipes cannot ONLY input, or ONLY move items from one stone/cobble/iron/etc pipe to another, they must always have something to output. Also, I recommend using gates instead of an engine, mainly for lag purposes. But then again, they can look pretty cool in a massive factory.

Ah, I haven't used standard wooden pipes in awhile. I just tested a few things in my single player world, and I am indeed incorrect on wooden pipes. Regardless of their setup, they can still insert items (I just tested Chest ->(powered) Wooden Pipe -> multiple pipes -> wooden pipe -> furnace and it inserted perfectly fine). Which means he would need to make sure that Pipe is coming in from the top and (ideally) use an insertion pipe w/ feedback loop to minimize overflow problems.

 

[SatanicSanta]

(I just tested Chest ->(powered) Wooden Pipe -> multiple pipes -> wooden pipe -> furnace and it inserted perfectly fine).

Hmm... I coud've sworn that when they are used to input, like a stone or insertion pipe would the items would turn around. They did at least in 1.4 on my Matter Fab.

 

[tobiashunter]

Hmm... I coud've sworn that when they are used to input, like a stone or insertion pipe would the items would turn around. They did at least in 1.4 on my Matter Fab.

I just did the setup I explained in my Unleashed 1.1.4 single-player game and it worked. Mayhaps, if it was something that wasn't a basic furnace it wouldn't work? (I only tested just a basic furnace)

 

[SatanicSanta]

I just did the setup I explained in my Unleashed 1.1.4 single-player game and it worked. Mayhaps, if it was something that wasn't a basic furnace it wouldn't work? (I only tested just a basic furnace)

That require extra work in the code that I doubt would be implemented.

 

[Omicron]

Items turn around instead of spilling if they have an alternate path to go to (not including the one they came from). Which pipe you use or which machine it is connected to is irrelevant.

 

[SatanicSanta]

Items turn around instead of spilling if they have an alternate path to go to (not including the one they came from).

Ah, thanks for clearing that up.