Automating mining heads

[Himulaya]

So I went through a lot to make everything automated, but if I want to use plasma mining heads for 100% efficiency, I need to replace them very often since they only have 2000 yield each. This means going down all the way to the lower mines just to replace the head every few minutes... Is there a way to automate this? Or at least load several heads at once to save on trips?

[kim]

Storage hopper ("remove only" mode) with heads placed near the ore extractor. Heads will replace automatically.

[Gourin]

I'd say a Chain of (Basic) Matter Movers with a "Remove only"-LogisticsHopper at the Ore Extractor. I'm just about to build it myself.

[Gangnam Style]

Originally posted by kim:

Storage hopper ("remove only" mode) with heads placed next to the ore extractor. Heads will replace automatically.

FIFY.

Unless I've been making it harder on myself and it would be so much easier to position if that's the case.

[MrCheeks]

Automating head delivery is one of the things I have a love/hate relationship with in this game.

The methodology is fairly simple; automate crafting and then deliver heads to a storage hopper attached to each ore extractor; simple, right?

Methods:
Conveyors - won't work past cold caverns and you will have a ton of heads in transit all the time; really easy to make the connections though.

Pipes - No cold cavern issues but you still have the massive amount in transit issue

Matter Movers - The method of choice for nearly everyone that tackles a delivery project. At any given time you only have 1 head stored in each MM and you can space them 64m apart. The challenge is powering them.

I run a two part system throughout my base/mines. In the main shaft I have repeating pods of LETs, PSBs, and MMs; MMs sitting on top of the PSB aimed down, LETs chaining power. On each mine level I have power and extractors almost always sitting at +3m above the floor and MMs delivering at +4m. This makes it easy to chain them together and split out to multiple extractors. Use only logistics hoppers to further limit the amount in transit at any time.

This is one of the most challenging projects and a there is a real sense of accomplishment when you are done.

Here is a shot of my downward transit:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=671794181

And two views of splitting heads out to ore extractors from a main line

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=695537141

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=695537131

[whiter2501]

Ah, someone else that made a setup almost like my own. Thou I don't use mine carts, seemed so slow to me even with a lot of carts. But maybe I will give it a try again in my new world.

[MrCheeks]

Originally posted by whiter2501:

Ah, someone else that made a setup almost like my own. Thou I don't use mine carts, seemed so slow to me even with a lot of carts. But maybe I will give it a try again in my new world.

I judge my minecart setup by how many bars are in the storage units attached to the smelters. As long as there is a cart in every loading station and no bars in the storage attached you know that the smelter is the factor limiting flow. Then it just becomes horizontal scaling as you add more extractors, smelters, and carts. The throughput is far greater/cheaper than pipes once you scale up the amount of carts.

The first shot is from a time prior to cargo lifts, I had a single minecart run that went from -600 to -25 where my mass storage was.

[epgeek]

I finished this project myself just last night using mk1 matter movers and logistics hoppers. I did choose to cheat a little and stick 10 in a hopper on the crystal, and I will do the same when I set up a new biomass (still have 5k in inventory), but all seven ores have automated delivery now. I was pretty happy when I reached the bottom two ores even though a couple mine levels turned out really ugly with heads needing to go three directions.

Then I discovered that I did not even remotely anticipate the amount of energy it would take to keep up head production (and I'm only running tubes right now - one line per ore), nor how their production would affect threat level.... At least I now have enough massive eyes to last the rest of the game!

[Peacock]

i would recommend going with cutter heads gradually.

Step

1) Create fill a box of steel cutter heads. This is you initial setup
2) Once you unlock plasma cutter heads, you can create them on site. Fill a box on site with stell cutter heads and transform them locally to plasma cutter heads
3) This step is only if you play on hardest difficulty (and your ressources are low). Make a track from top to bottom, (tubes for cold part). You then have to calculate carefully how much power to send to your plasma on top, so you dont create too many plasma cutter heads. Seriously avoid this if not on GREG.
4) Setup matter movers with logistic hoppers to send plasma cutter heads. A bit annoying to setup, but once it runs you have no idea how happy you will be.

[Oldlock]

I found that using Falcor Mk II's are the easiest way to transport my plasma heads to my extractors. This will work for everything down to the Toxic Cave and I think 64 meters radius from the beacon. The only issue I find is that occasionally one of my Faclor Mk I's will pick one up, but you can just re-route those back to the original hopper for pickup.

[Himulaya]

Originally posted by Oldlock:

I found that using Falcor Mk II's are the easiest way to transport my plasma heads to my extractors. This will work for everything down to the Toxic Cave and I think 64 meters radius from the beacon. The only issue I find is that occasionally one of my Faclor Mk I's will pick one up, but you can just re-route those back to the original hopper for pickup.

Hmm, haven't tried the Falcors yet, that might work. Will check it out.

[epgeek]

I thought falcors only worked above ground?

[DustBust]

Find a massive ore deposit, no point in keeping it stocked with the highest quality heads lol. Could take a few minutes but its worth the search.

[DustBust]

I only use them in the beginning when I am trying to secure current deposits to the max, after that, generic heads.

[Mr. Bill]

Originally posted by Oldlock:

I found that using Falcor Mk II's are the easiest way to transport my plasma heads to my extractors. This will work for everything down to the Toxic Cave and I think 64 meters radius from the beacon. The only issue I find is that occasionally one of my Faclor Mk I's will pick one up, but you can just re-route those back to the original hopper for pickup.

This used to work really well--Probably still does except that Falcors might not navigate as well underground as they used to. The problem I always had was the recieving mechanism. The Hoper next to the drill HAS to be remove only, so the logistics falcor can't go on it, It also can't connect directly to a conveyer. Also a conveyer won't transfer to a remove-only conveyer directly.

This means that every single drill looked like:

falcor--logicstics hopper--conveyer--logicstics hopper (remove only)--drill

This is a) annoying to set up and B) wastes 3 plasma heads per setup for the extra hopper and conveyer.

I'm thinking DJ has "Fixed" the falcors so that they don't go that far underground anymore, so the complaint is probably moot now. They used to find all my drills everywhere! (At least down to CC)

[Wariat117]

Originally posted by Mr. Bill:

This used to work really well--Probably still does except that Falcors might not navigate as well underground as they used to.

this thread is from 2016

there is mod for this to counter the "falcor fix" ;D
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1270688235&searchtext=durable
with 50m durability 1 head is enough for whole vein