Is this even feasible?

[Virgoddess]

I've been playing with this for literally 4 hours and I just can't get it to work right. So maybe it can't.

I have an RP sorting machine, hooked up to a pneumatic tube split - one goes to a filter hooked up to a pulverizer. One is to another filter, which then goes to routers. I have three walls of barrels with stuff - all have a starting inv, none are full.

All my routers have the speed and bandwith upgrades.

My pneumatic tube connected to the pulverizer is painted pink. All the ores are labeled pink within the sorting machine.

At the end of all my barrels and routers is a chest for overflow.

Every wall break/bend, I have another sorting machine (though, this is probably overkill and completely unnecessary). And yes, all the barrels are connected.

My issue is:

The ores won't head towards the pink row - even though I thought that was always their priority. The filter also won't do anything with ores once they are cooked into ingots.

If I happen to put two stacks of something in my sorting chest, one always spits out into the overflow chest. I thought that was what the filter was for......

I'm probably missing something incredibly stupid. It wouldn't surprise me. I'm happy to post screens if I didn't explain it properly.

This is seriously making me insane, so if anyone can help - I'd appreciate it. A lot.

 

[Guswut]

Please post screenshots, although it sounds very similar to the system I was working on before I installed the Logistics Pipes mod (currently a fork of the main build), which has simplified my storage system whilst also giving me the ability to remotely request things into an ender chest from any dimension/location. If you have control of the server (single player, you host the server and can make your users update), I would seriously suggest Logistics Pipes.

But some screenshots would help. Thanks!

 

[slay_mithos]

You could try coloring the "non ore" route, and giving that color to "default" in the sorting machine.

Just so you know though, filters are not meant to serve as buffers, so that might be your problem.
I assume you wanted to use a relay instead, as those act as a buffer, maybe coupled with a filter if you really need to filter your ores to specific machines.

I hope that helps.

 

[Blastedsura]

Colored and uncolored items always go to the closest inventory. If your filter which goes to the routers is closer or at the same distance than the filter that goes to the pulverizer, items will not go the way you want.
From what you described, I would say that both filters are equidistant from the sorting machine, so when you put 2 stacks of items, it will split them evenly at the cross section, which results in 1 of the stacks ending in the overflow chest.

As stated above, coloring the pipe which leads to the routers and making that the default color on the sorting machine will also solve your problem

 

[purplefantum]

To solve your other problem, i'm pretty sure Thermal expansion machines will automatically pump out items, but only into a Buildcraft pipe, so you need a chest or buffer there to tranfer them into pneumatic tubes again.

Two other things to mention, never insert into the bottom of a barrel, and always use pneumatic tubes. All other ways are buggy as hell.

 

[Virgoddess]

You could try coloring the "non ore" route, and giving that color to "default" in the sorting machine.

Just so you know though, filters are not meant to serve as buffers, so that might be your problem.
I assume you wanted to use a relay instead, as those act as a buffer, maybe coupled with a filter if you really need to filter your ores to specific machines.

I hope that helps.

I could kiss you - if that wasn't inappropriate and awkward.

The relays worked beautifully - thank you!

Still have a few more quirks to figure out - thanks for all the tips guys <3

 

[Domicilius]

Another option is to use a restraint tube. Unsure of the name, but its pneumatic tubing + iron bar. It basically makes it so items will only go down that route if there is nothing else available by simulating a 5000 block distance. The reason this works is that items in a tube network ALWAYS go into the NEAREST inventory they can go into. This means that if your items are not going down the pink route, it probably means your ore processing is further away than your barrels/routers, so they are going to storage first. Putting a restraint tube opposite your ore processing (so the sorting machine tube leads to a fork, to the left ore processing, to the right restraint tube) means that all items that are marked for processing go left, everything else goes right.