auto pilers only piling 2

[Azythromycin]

2 before and 2 after with PLENTY of raw materials going in... what am i doing incorrect?

[Omniconda]

they only pile 2 items if you want it to be a 4 stack add another piler

[pat]

My stations are automatically quad piling, but this is how you'd set it up.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2859261320

[Bob11]

Originally posted by pat:

My stations are automatically quad piling, but this is how you'd set it up.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2859261320

Thats interesting... isnt there a research option that allows PLS + ILS stations to deliver prestacked stuff?

[aphfid]

yes, but pilers are available sooner

[matke587]

Originally posted by Bob11:

Originally posted by pat:

My stations are automatically quad piling, but this is how you'd set it up.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2859261320

Thats interesting... isnt there a research option that allows PLS + ILS stations to deliver prestacked stuff?

Yes there is, end game with white cubes. The pilers allow some access to this before that point... And you can use pilers to stack up production items on there way to the next process.

I find going from a mark 3 belt, piler, mark 2 belt, piler, mark 1 belt works well. Especially if you can get enough products onto the Mk3 belt to cause a slight backlog. I normally do that pre a spray coater, just to get the most from my accelerants! 1 spray used on 8 items at the same time!

[Rekal]

Originally posted by matke587:

I find going from a mark 3 belt, piler, mark 2 belt, piler, mark 1 belt works well. Especially if you can get enough products onto the Mk3 belt to cause a slight backlog. I normally do that pre a spray coater, just to get the most from my accelerants! 1 spray used on 8 items at the same time!

Downside to using the mk1 belts to force stacking is even stacked 4 high you can only have 24/s throughput. A mk2 belt stacked 4 high can only handle 48/s so mixing two mk3 belts into it is going to limit throughput as well.

It's better to keep mk3 from piler #1 to piler #2, and just use mk2 belts to force the stacking to 4 high after the second piler. No need to combine belts in between, the piler #2 will accept the gaps on the mk3 belts at full speed and still stack to 4 high. That keeps your individual belt throughput at 30/s, and then you can combine four of those setups onto a mk3 belt if you actually need 120/s on a single belt.

Though it just seems overkill before you even have white science going. The only time I use the piler is for fractionation. Before white science I set the input up like this:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2859318329
The total loop pictured has twenty fractionators on it with a piler between each and a feed belt input after each piler to fill any gaps. This maintains 120/s through all twenty fractionators so they each output on average 1.2/s, so a total of 24/s return which means a 24/s input. Less than a full belt, no need to go crazy mixing multiple belts together. The two initial pilers only ever place 4 stacks onto the feed belt which is all you need. It takes a few minutes to saturate the process loop and the feed belt with only 30/s input, but it does the trick and maintains it perfectly.

As far as the spray coating goes, I jumped into sandbox to check out if you really could get savings because I was curious. Built a setup with both arrangements and the proliferator usage measured by a traffic monitors showed no difference. Unfortunately you use the same amount stacked or unstacked. The usage is based purely on the item throughput.

[aphfid]

Originally posted by Rekal:

Originally posted by matke587:

As far as the spray coating goes, I jumped into sandbox to check out if you really could get savings because I was curious. Built a setup with both arrangements and the proliferator usage measured by a traffic monitors showed no difference. Unfortunately you use the same amount stacked or unstacked. The usage is based purely on the item throughput.

lol - yep I set up a similar test - and got the same result. One spray per item regardless of stacking. Mine was simpler tho - I put a single blue proliferator in a spray machine, and checked my spray machine was primed with exactly 60 sprays. I put 40 items in a box, fed them through pilers so they were stacked 2/4 high (lag between stacks being fed from box results in some not stacking). After 40 stacked items were proliferated, I checked the spray machine and exactly 40 sprays had been used. It was a fun thought while it lasted.

[Phishfood]

is the belt actually full when it goes in to the 2nd piler?

The way to set it up on a single belt is like this:
MK3 belt > piler > MK2 belt > piler > MK1 belt

that should give you 1440 items per minute on the MK1 belt

[Rekal]

Originally posted by Phishfood:

is the belt actually full when it goes in to the 2nd piler?

The way to set it up on a single belt is like this:
MK3 belt > piler > MK2 belt > piler > MK1 belt

that should give you 1440 items per minute on the MK1 belt

No, in the setup pictured above the mk3 belt between the pilers is double stacked with an empty space between each item. Which is what you'd expect from a single piler, but as long as you have a mk2 belt exiting the 2nd piler it will stack everything properly 4 high even with the gaps. The output on the mk2 belt will look like it is stuttering with irregular gaps but every item will be stacked 4 high, so you have the full 1800 items per minute (30/s from the mk3 belt) on the mk2 belt. Perfect for feeding the fractionators.

The reason this works even with the gaps is that the mk2 belt backs up the piler. The piler cannot output 30/s double stack onto the 12/s mk2 belt because that would only be 24/s so it is delayed and allows the next double stack to enter which it stacks up to 4 and away you go.

30/s stacked 4 high is 7.5 stacks per second, on a belt moving 12/s is why the gaps look irregular or stuttering on the mk2 belt at full speed.

[Phishfood]

Originally posted by Rekal:

No, in the setup pictured above the mk3 belt between the pilers is double stacked with an empty space between each item.

I was speaking to OP. If they wanted max throughput of 7200 using all MK3 belts then your way is one of the solutions.

It also works in my setup on a single belt if they needed less throughput. My point is there cannot be gaps in the belt in order to trigger stacking.

[LorDC]

Originally posted by Azythromycin:

2 before and 2 after with PLENTY of raw materials going in... what am i doing incorrect?

You are using pilers. That's the problem.
Seriously, don't use them.

[Legacy]

Originally posted by LorDC:

Originally posted by Azythromycin:

2 before and 2 after with PLENTY of raw materials going in... what am i doing incorrect?

You are using pilers. That's the problem.
Seriously, don't use them.

Yeah, I never really saw the point of pilers outside of a few VERY specific circumstances. Outside of *maybe* stuff like Deut fuel rods or Casimir Crystals that use a stupid amount of one ingredient, all piling does is save a bit of space...which is kinda pointless when you have an entire galaxy of space to work with.

[aphfid]

I used to think pilers were useless, but since the size was reduced, I'm finding them totally awesome for large blueprints making stuff from raw. I feel they add a lot more flexibility and reduce the complexity of the blueprints. My blueprints also look much nicer and less like something I vomited out.

[Phishfood]

the other problem I can think of is one of them might be rotated incorrectly and/or one of them doesn't have power.