Grinder pit question

[Babbayega]

So, yeah i built a grinder pit. used for salvage and all. but i have tried the stock grinders and eve the Twin grinders. but some items seem to fall between the grinders and not get ground up. mostly small grid parts. since ht grinder pit is part of a base and large grid.

I was looking to see what others have done to try to actually grind up, recover, and pickup all the materials from a ship being ground up.

[Nightwing]

It sounds to me like you're running into an issue where the ships you're breaking down have storage containers with stuff inside. When the containers get ground down, the stuff inside drops out, and the grinders can't pick it up. That's why I design grinder pits with a checkerboard pattern of grinders and collectors.

If the items you're talking about are constructed blocks, then you've got some kind of issue with your game, since the areas where the grinders take effect are such that they don't really have gaps in between them, which should make it impossible for any blocks to get through. Do you have a mod or something that changes the effective range of your grinders?

[Babbayega]

hmm, i could add some collectors in. i thought the default grinder had those built in, the image looks like it. and i have not been emptying the ships. i thought the grinder would pick up everything.

[Babbayega]

its a large base. been adding onto it for a long long while. just blueprint it and take it to a new world once in a while.

I should have started this question with... "my name is baba, and i am a packrat.."... lol

[Nightwing]

The 'collector' in the grinder's 3d model is a representation of the method that it uses to collect the parts that it grinds off. It's purely a visual touch with no actual functionality.

That's why I always do checkerboard grinder pits.

[Babbayega]

well, sounds like its back into the grinder pit.. umm, with a grinder...

[ShadedMJ]

I haven't used grinder pits for a while. Last time they would throw random single blocks out and those had to be collected again.

[Babbayega]

yeah, i think that is part of what i am seeing. as i removed the grinders to try the checkerboard approach, the floor looked like a transformers mosh pit. parts scattered everywhere.

[Buzzard]

In space, one of the things I'd do is the wall of grinder, upright to a LOW gravity field. I'd send things in at a dead-slow velocity into the wall, and anything that the grinders couldn't catch out of the containers would usually end up falling into a pit of collectors.

Now a thought that DOES come to mind is using a piston and rotors to hold up a wall of small-grid grinders at a good slope, with a connector to transfer the loot. Since the grinders are at a slope, any overflow can roll down into collectors.

Now when a grinder finishes breaking down a container, it DOES try to catch all the goodies inside. Of course, this attempt is limited to the grinder's own inventory space. Anything that won't fit in that instant, gets dumped out into the world.

[Sprocket66]

I found it was more efficient for me to use the nanobot build and repair mod. Didn't damage as many parts or launch them into my base. Just paint it a grind color and let it do the work.

Even with a very deep pit I had too many parts in the cracks and too many parts go orbital on me. Died a couple of times cleaning out the parts when I forgot to turn off the grinders.

[Buzzard]

Safety sensors are kind of a must, really. Detect human, grinder group off. It's just easier to restart the system than to hope to recover your stuff.

As for an actual grind pit, there is the Telamont Shipyard Welder mod that has grinder sets, even if the welders are the most used part. The internal storage is about what you'd expect for a large shipyard gantry that deals with megatons of materials. Very little actually drops from this one

[Planewalker]

There is a mod on the workshop that expands the grinder radius for that very reason.

(the nano-mods can be useful too)

I find it a bit funny when people talk about grind in games, as here we have a game where it can actually be funny to grind. xD


Quick ideas:

1. Star Wars type grinding wall

|<..................>|
|<.................||\|==#####| <- piston with landing gear and grinders
|<..................>|
|vAvAvAvAvAv| <- collectors and grinders


2. Grinding Pit with walls and optional lid to keep parts from flying everywhere.

-------------------o <- lid with rotor
|......................|
|......................| <- walls
|......................|
|vAvAvAvAvAv| <- collectors and grinders


3. Funnel with grinders

\......................../
.\....................../
..\..................../
...\vAvAvAvAv/


cheers