introduction
over the last couple of years i published various late- or endgame blueprints. i just wanted a central place to discuss questions and explain some of the things i created. of course i'm open for enhancements, other refinements and points of view.i'm still working on most of the bps, as some still have some (minor) flaws . version history is provided, also a (hopefully) proper description and screens. i may add, delete or correct things within this post without further note (i do not intend to do so). due to character limitations i will not post blueprints, but all are linked (i may link to: factorioprints.com, imgur.com, pastebin.com, kirkmcdonald.github.io, docs.google.com, factorio.com).
for the creation of those blueprints i set myself some limitations/must-haves:
main goals:
- blue belts only
- avoid robots where possible (except construction)
- 8-beaconed assembling rows (10 tiles high)
- tileable
- 'production islands' connected by trains
- vanilla
train station design
first of, i decided to go left hand drive (LHD) as at the time i started making those bps we used LHD. in some cases its easier to put signals but, as you leave a train you pop out on the left side of the train and will not stay in between the tracks. also LHD is way cooler . i wanted train stations which have the same height as a standart 8-beaconed assembler row (=10 tiles) so it would be easy to stack them (best seen in 'The Smelter'). also i used the 2-track design which, in perfect circumstances, could double train throughput (-> forum discussion), in my experiences throughput may be increased by ~40%. as with this system a couple of stations with the same name (un-/ loaded item) may be stacked on top of each other, all stations whose buffers fulfill the storage requirements should turn off. this might be simple to achieve but may lead to a 'no path' error when all stations are deactivated (-> station circuitry).there are 4 and 8 wagon versions. the 8 wagon version uses 4 chests instead of 6 as it was impossible (at least for me) to find a proper belt setup which made it possible to use 2-4 and 2-8 trains. also the belting itself was way easier . the other big difference are the thresholds that are used in the (->station circuitry).
universal stacker
as the name may suggest this stacker works with all the stations in my bps. there are 2 versions: for 2-4 and 2-8 trains. they are supposed to be build below the first train-stop of any production island. they provide an unused track for players use (eg. building trains, fuel supply, playertrain parking spot, whatever...), it can be used by trains to bypass the station too.there are some things those stackers provide aswell:
- 'always active' CC: this one will overwrite the station circuitry and activate all train-stops regardless of their un-/loading thresholds (its off by default).
- set fuel CC: here you can set the desired fuel for all train-stops within the station (preset to 10 nuclear fuel).
- easy extension via 'Universal Stacker Tracks' blueprint (overprint the big electric pole in the red circle)
also make shure that there are only chain-rail-signals between the stacker exits and the station.
station circuitry
as mentioned above i wanted train-stops that deactivate themselves when they can't fill or empty a trainload. this alone may be achieved quite simple, but i wanted it stackable and without the possibility for the 'no path' error. so here is my (maybe overcomplicated) solution:i made a spreadsheet to calculate the buffer thresholds and a little more. i may work on that later on. an offline version can be downloaded at the end of the post.
this circuitry may become obsolete with factorio version 1.1, just read this FFF 361. i'll try to adjust the blueprints if necessary.
loading/unloading buffer chests:
i got this circuitry a long time ago in a multiplayer game. i cannot recall who made this, so credits go to another random factorian!just found an official source at the factorio wiki.
this setting makes shure all chests are at an quite even storage level and incoming trains will always be unloaded with 6 inserters (into the buffer chests). loading and unloading are capable of consuming a full blue belt of items (with stack size >10).
station lane balancer
as the belts and lanes may be consumed uneven i decided to put a 4-belt balancer into the station setup. but this one is kinda special as it also balances lanes (as soon as it backed up a little). i found it ages ago, the only source i have is this picture. it was important to use input balanced versions to consume all 4 (or 8) wagons evenly, the only necessity for the output were 4 compressed belts.The Smelter
link: factorioprintsinspired by this topic: 4x0,833 belts (ore) go in, 4 belts (plates) come out; uses the minimal amount of furnaces per belt.
i don't think i have to explain anything here, otherwise feel free to ask!
Circuit Book (Green/Red/Blue)
link: factorioprintsvarious designs for circuits, everything should be explained in the description. as said above: feel free to ask my anything
The Refinery
link: factorioprintslevel indicator
the 'refinery storage big' has a level indicator which can be adjusted to your needs. before i made this i used displays with coulours which used one combinator per lamp. i wanted something more compact, so here it is:the level indicator consists of 9 lamps (which can be de-/increased without problems) and a handfull of combinators. it can handle any signal (except virtual-signal-blue) and you only need to adjust a single combinator. it uses 4 colours (red-yellow-cyan-green; from low to high)!
Tileable Kovarex
link: factorioprintskovarex enrichment
i dont know why this kind of signalling wasn't posted on the energy subforum, yet. its super simple and kind of module safe. this is for late game only, as stack inserters must be able handle 10 items per swing and enough productivity modules 3 must be provided.the example shows a part of a longer centrifuge chain (just like in the linked bp). it can be modified to be self-feeding, but that would require priming of each centrifuge. using lower tiers of productivity modules or adding them after the centrifuges started working will clog the system eventually. speed modules in the centrifuges are no problem at all.
pros:
- can be infinitely extended in a row
- quite compact
- simple circuitry
- can be used as self feeding standalone centrifuge
- needs t3 productivity modules in centrifuges before usage (workaround: no or speed modules)
- if used as self feeding standalone each centrifuge it will need priming first
- may be problematic with blackouts (i'm not shure)
- stack inserters must be able to handle 10 items
The Reactor
link: factorioprintsits making was inspired by this creation. but it didn't work as i hoped. so i fiddled around and made 4-reactor tiles which can output true 640MW, most tileable reactors won't manage that (due to limited water, steam or heatpipe throughput).
reactor control
every reactor tile (4 reactors) has two large steam buffers (left and right). each buffer is big enough to store enough steam to go from zero to full energy consumption without power drops. as it is tileable each segment has its own 'intelligent' reactor control. it uses 3 combinators per 2 reactors. this system might be edited to work for smaller stand-alone setups using 2 combinators for the whole reactor.i used a combinator for each reactor to make it failsave. tileable setups are a little different than stand-alone setups which should work with 2 combinators.
45sps/2700spm All Science Book
link: factorioprintsbelt mixer
nothing really special, i just like to show of this onemodule production
in case you need a potent, tileable module production.final thoughts
example setup
this is a suggestion for one of the science bps:1x labs
1x science production
3-4 'all my circuits'
refinery:
1x sulfur/lube/acid
5x plastic
1x batteries
4x rocket fuel
smelter:
9x iron plates
15x copper plates
10x steel plates
3x stone bricks
tl;dr
the promised offline spreadsheet:like i said in the introduction:
please feel free to ask questions or let me know what can be made easier/better. it may take some time for me to answer, but i will try my best.
you made it this far... thank you very much for reading. im looking forward for criticism and glorification.
the factory must grow...
english is not my first language, so please excuse clunky expressions or other mistakes. if something isn't clear, wrong or can be misunderstood, please let me know.