Using AE to keep a carpenter stocked

[zilvarwolf]

I asked this question in the Simple Question thread, and while it took me a bit of time to work it out, I have a solution.

you could use a export bus on relays and then go to regulators, i think you can connect the export bus directly to the regulator =]. If there is any better way let me know ;D

My method calls for an ME Interface, a piece of dark cable, computercraft, and some piping. A redpower sequencer would probably work as well.

Lay down the ME Interface and connect it to the network with a piece of dark cable. Run some piping to your carpenter from the ME Interface. I used a redstone energy cell set to high control to power the wooden pipe, but an autarchic gate would work as well..just have to modify the timing.

Configure the carpenter with the recipe you're interested in so that items don't spew, and configure the ME Interface to export however many items you want. For my example, I have it set to hold 3 stacks of jungle wood, a stack of pollen, a stack of royal jelly, and two stacks of beeswax (obviously making alveary blocks).

Finally, set down a computer and run one redstone from the back to the dark cable, and one from the right side to a block next to the redstone energy cell. This simple startup program keeps it stocked.

while true do
  redstone.setOutput("back",true)
  sleep(3)
  redstone.setOutput("back",false)
  sleep(1)
  redstone.setOutput("right",true)
  sleep(3)
  redstone.setOutput("right",false)
  sleep(1800)
end

The program activates the redstone in the back for 3 seconds, which activates the dark cable and gives the ME Interface plenty of time to stock up, then it turns off the dark cable again by fliipping the redstone off. After a one second delay (which is probably not needed), the right side lights up and turns on the redstone energy cell, which empties the ME Interface in nothing flat. Turn it back off after a few seconds to not waste power, and the carpenter fills up. Finally, wait for 20 minutes and repeat. My testing indicated that a carpenter powered by 75 MJ/t should take about 15 minutes to process a stack of scented panels. The 20 minute delay is intended to prevent overlap and overflow in case I have more stuff running on the same shared line and the carpenter slows down.

 

[Heliomance]

Alternatively, you could load the recipe into the carpenter, put the recipe onto an ME pattern provider, and put it in an interface adjacent to the carpenter. Then attach an ME Export Bus pointing to the Interface (or any other interface), set it to "Craft only", and tell it to export the scented panels, or whatever you want it to craft. That will make it continuously craft scented panels for as long as you have materials in your network. If you want it to keep you stocked at a certain number, you can use an ME Level Emitter pointed at the export bus.

 

[Juanitierno]

Helio, i didnt understand your solution, the exporter is the oone that puts items outside the network...
Does the interface somehow provide the carpenter?

ive used a redpower sorting machine in auto mode taking appropriate amounts of resources from an interface.

 

[netmc]

You could also rig the export bus to operate once per pulse, and place the necessary components and quantities in the export bus. Have a gate emit a redstone signal when the inventory is empty. Each time the carpenter is empty, the gate will turn on, telling the export bus to send the recipe amount into the carpenter, then the gate turns off ready for the next item.

You may need two gates and red pipe wire to get the signal up.to the export bus.

 

[Siro]

Helio, i didnt understand your solution, the exporter is the oone that puts items outside the network...
Does the interface somehow provide the carpenter?

ive used a redpower sorting machine in auto mode taking appropriate amounts of resources from an interface.

If you make the carpenter's recipe in a pattern encoder (including the output), you can put that recipe in the processing bar on an interface and then it becomes craftable at the me terminal (excepting that you'll also need to preload the pattern in the carpenter and constantly supply honey). However, I've personally not had a lot of luck with this when it involves machines that do anything remotely complex (like carpenters). For panels, I just export to 4 different routers that then insert into specific slots. There's probably better ways of doing it, but this is the first one that worked for me and I've been too busy building alvearies to try other stuff since then.

 

[zilvarwolf]

Alternatively, you could load the recipe into the carpenter, put the recipe onto an ME pattern provider, and put it in an interface adjacent to the carpenter. Then attach an ME Export Bus pointing to the Interface (or any other interface), set it to "Craft only", and tell it to export the scented panels, or whatever you want it to craft. That will make it continuously craft scented panels for as long as you have materials in your network. If you want it to keep you stocked at a certain number, you can use an ME Level Emitter pointed at the export bus.

I need to think about this. I thought about a pattern provider, but I couldn't think of a good way to make it work automatically without requesting 500000 alveary blocks (which would probably time out and drop off the crafting list on its own).

Worth playing with. If that works, it's a lot more compact than my solution [DOUBLEPOST=1369150102][/DOUBLEPOST]

You could also rig the export bus to operate once per pulse, and place the necessary components and quantities in the export bus. Have a gate emit a redstone signal when the inventory is empty. Each time the carpenter is empty, the gate will turn on, telling the export bus to send the recipe amount into the carpenter, then the gate turns off ready for the next item.

You may need two gates and red pipe wire to get the signal up.to the export bus.

I tried something like this and I couldn't get it to work without multiple export buses. What I found is that it sent as many of the first item on the interface as it could until the system ran out of that item, before it moved on to the next. (ie, if it's setup to export jungle wood, beeswax, and then jelly, it would send nothing but jungle wood until the system ran completely out of wood). The reason I used the me interface instead was it stocks everything requested and holds onto it in an internal inventory that I could pump out of.

And I was trying to avoid redpower.

 

[Darknesschaos]

My answer to this is golems!
Use 1-2 smart clay golems to keep the carpenter inventory stocked with a certain amount of x,y,z. I have a marked ME interface nearby which keeps a stock of the needed materials that the golems can grab. I also have an import bus taking from the carpenter as my golems cant seem to do that. Easy.

 

[Loufmier]

why not just setup an export bus, filter items you wanna keep stocked in carpenter, and block the rest of carpenters inventory?

clay golems also good

 

[Trunks9809]

I had an ME Interface set up to put the materials to make an apiary craftable via ME network. I never progressed as far as alvearies, but I don't see why the same wouldn't work for it. Just encode the pattern, stick it in the interface and have a wooden pipe\filter shuttle the exported items into the carpenter. You'll need to pre-configure the carpenter for whatever you want to build, too. Then you can extract the finished product via import bus.

 

[Darknesschaos]

why not just setup an export bus, filter items you wanna keep stocked in carpenter, and block the rest of carpenters inventory?

clay golems also good

The problem is when you run out of one type of material the export bus will happily fill up that spot with something else. This requires you to manually un-jam it each time.

 

[Loufmier]

The problem is when you run out of one type of material the export bus will happily fill up that spot with something else. This requires you to manually un-jam it each time.

if that`s the case use clay golems, or rp managers

 

[DoctorOr]

Turtle, yes, the rest of that contraption, no

With miscperipherals, the turtle can fill specific slots. Loading from a ME interface, it can keep a full stack of each item and will not flood the inventory if you run out of an item.

Routers would work similarly, but you would need four.

Personally, I just used an emerald pipe.

 

[Siro]

Turtle, yes, the rest of that contraption, no

With miscperipherals, the turtle can fill specific slots. Loading from a ME interface, it can keep a full stack of each item and will not flood the inventory if you run out of an item.

Routers would work similarly, but you would need four.

Personally, I just used an emerald pipe.

Turtles! Of course. Ah bees and turtles, what can't you do? I need to get more into computer craft. Four routers is a lot to dedicate to one machine that I've no intention of scaling up.

 

[Hydra]

Why so complex?

I have a carpenter set up with the scented panelling recipe and an exporter simply pushing wax, wood, jelly and pollen in. The rest of the storage I've filled with cobble. The carpenter gets filled faster than it uses the resources so there's always enough. I have the level emitter on the ME import bus.

 

[AlanEsh]

Why so complex?
I have a carpenter set up with the scented panelling recipe and an exporter simply pushing wax, wood, jelly and pollen in. The rest of the storage I've filled with cobble. The carpenter gets filled faster than it uses the resources so there's always enough. I have the level emitter on the ME import bus.

This is how I make steel (if I understand you correctly). I'm using Export Buses to push coal and iron into the blast furnaces keeping both stocked at 64, and my level emitter turns on/off the ME Import Buses that are pulling the steel out of the furnaces. Basically the blast furnaces are jammed full on both ends and replenish when i pull enough steel from my network to turn the emitter on. Seems this would work for a carpenter...?

 

[Heliomance]

I need to think about this. I thought about a pattern provider, but I couldn't think of a good way to make it work automatically without requesting 500000 alveary blocks (which would probably time out and drop off the crafting list on its own).

Worth playing with. If that works, it's a lot more compact than my solution

Yeah, export bus set to always craft and pointed at an interface will constantly keep crafting jobs active. It's easily the best way to do it.

 

[Hydra]

This is how I make steel (if I understand you correctly). I'm using Export Buses to push coal and iron into the blast furnaces keeping both stocked at 64, and my level emitter turns on/off the ME Import Buses that are pulling the steel out of the furnaces. Basically the blast furnaces are jammed full on both ends and replenish when i pull enough steel from my network to turn the emitter on. Seems this would work for a carpenter...?

Yup, it does.

 

[Equitime77]

Alternatively, you could load the recipe into the carpenter, put the recipe onto an ME pattern provider, and put it in an interface adjacent to the carpenter. Then attach an ME Export Bus pointing to the Interface (or any other interface), set it to "Craft only", and tell it to export the scented panels, or whatever you want it to craft. That will make it continuously craft scented panels for as long as you have materials in your network. If you want it to keep you stocked at a certain number, you can use an ME Level Emitter pointed at the export bus.

I put my precision export bus to an autocrafting table with some cases to make the alveary blocks. Works fine now. Thanks so much for solving this for me. If only Id worked this out before

 

[P46EY]

Dependant on what you want the carpenter to make and how many you need just use dark cable on the export bus and place a level emitter nearby. I used that system to auto craft impregnated sticks for frames for bees. You get an excess of sticks every crafting cycle but these are eventually used up before the next cycle kicks in.

 

[malicious_bloke]

Dependant on what you want the carpenter to make and how many you need just use dark cable on the export bus and place a level emitter nearby. I used that system to auto craft impregnated sticks for frames for bees. You get an excess of sticks every crafting cycle but these are eventually used up before the next cycle kicks in.

This gets ludicrous after a while. I have 5 alvearies with a bunch of frame housings on each. Each housing has an export bus set to always craft impregnated frames. My carpenter has the impregnated stick recipe and a limitless supply of seed oil. I go to bed, come back the next day and the system has chewed through 11 thousand logs to keep up with the demand.

I think i need another tree farm