One conveyor belt lines use for multiple ore

[Eurobertics]

Hi @all,

maybe this was asked before, but I didn't found any posts relating My question.

Here we go:
How do I use one conveyor belt line for multiple transportations like for ore.

My current setup:
I have multiple ore veins wich are far away from eachother, so I build a "main" conveyor belt line to some ore smeltes.
This line is feeded with some smaller lines from the ore veins.

Works great as long as there is one ore on the belt. When the smaller lines feeding the main line, it seems that always one ore has priority (maybe that one wich is first at the beld cross-road). The ores does not get balanced to the main line.

Tried it with logistic hoppers to balance the the transfer to the main belt without no success (hopper are done by FIFO ?).

What I want to archive is that the ores are getting balanced to the smelters (iron, tin, iron, tin... something like this, actually this is iron, iron, iron, tin, iron iron...)

Hope someone understand My issue... :-)

Many thanks in advance
Eurobertics

[Demerzel]

There is a Zipper merger machine. Use it to merge two conveyor line.
However In my opinion it's better to build new lines with basic conveyors and then upgrade it to better conveyor.

[VladK02]

for multiple ores on one line, honestly use teleporters if you can. you need a few turbines and some t3 batteries and lasers, but this is the only way to quickly bring stuff up without delay. And if there is no delay, you will not have traffic jams, and no imbalances.

[rickaavv]

Or use tubes, i have 4 tier 1 branches coming up one main tube to 5 smelters and 3 tier 2 branches coming up one main tube to 4 smelters system keeps up pretty good running enhanced and basic drill motors.

[Ryac]

Honestly you're still better off building a single line for each ore type unless you plan on smelting underground (which is supposed to get nerfed). The current transportation methods are to easily saturated.

[eltsoldier]

when you get to minecarts u can mass feed all ores into one mega storage facility and have all the ores get mass smelted and mass sorted rather easily until then i just used one conveyer for each ore line besides gold/titanium/nickel since there just so far down >.> and when you barely get to those its quite a resource drain just making one pipe chain to home

also this stuff takes quite a few organic rocks >.>

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=649177899
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=649178004

[[SQ]Noname]

I understand the question, and I assume you just want to achieve an even rate of bar production.

To achieve that, sooner or later you will have to merge the different conveyor lines into a hopper. But from what I saw so far there is no telling what a conveyor or a smelter will pull from the hopper next.

For example I have two different ores on separate belts feeding into a hopper, sometimes the output belt will have a nice 50:50 ratio, then randomly it switches to just pulling one type from the hopper. Similarly with the smelter, sometimes it will just keep smelting one type although there are three or four different ore types arriving at its input hopper - but it just keeps refilling with the one ore type the smelter keeps pulling. The only way I found so far to get an even bar production is to temporarily interrupt some conveyors and/or empty the hoppers or manually feed the smelter.

To me the question boils down to this: What is the logic with which ore is pulled from hoppers when there are multiple types in it? Maybe the devs can comment on that?

[Lions_Den]

I don't know the logic of hoppers but you can use the advanced filter to output from a storage hopper only one type of ore and another output set to not that type of bar. You just do that for each of the ore types and anything else that comes through you send on to do anything else with. That way each smelter or smelter system only smelts one type of bar.

[Eurobertics]

Thank you all for all the tips and thoughts will try that.

@[SQ]Noname: Yes it would be great if one of the devs could say something about that, or implement an easier logic about merging belts.

@eltsoldier Thanks for the detailed explaination with screens.

Great response, nice community. Thx. :-)

[vyew]

I have a similar setup to you and have tried (and failed!) with several different methods. Now I've decided that as the main conveyer gets more and more saturated, I "move up" a merging system:

1) Side conveyer directly feeds into main conveyer
2) Side conveyer and main conveyer feed into a Storage Hopper with "double loaded" output (this maximizes the hopper unloading rate)

Looks like this (H is Storage Hopper, V is the side conveyer, >>^ is the "double load":

......\/
>>>H>>>
.......>>^


3) Zipper Merges
4) Increase smelting throughput (hopefully freeing up backlogs in the main conveyer)
5) Build a 2nd main conveyer line


One thing I would note is that since Zipper Merges require 25 Conveyer Belts, if you have to use more than 2 or 3 of them you might as well just build a 2nd main conveyer. Alternatively, you can smelt ores into bars directly from the excavator. Since the smelting ratio is 4 ores:1 bar (or 8:1 on Scarce) you cut the load on your main conveyer to 1/4. The only problem is routing power; PTGs lose efficiency with every meter below -25m.

In terms of balancing the ores to your smelters, I honestly wouldn't bother because it is easier and faster to just dump all the ores to your smelters, and then sort the bars after.

[[SQ]Noname]

Originally posted by vyew:

In terms of balancing the ores to your smelters, I honestly wouldn't bother because it is easier and faster to just dump all the ores to your smelters, and then sort the bars after.

I would do that, if it would work. The problem is, it doesn't. Every now and then a conveyor line will simply lock up and not deliver ore anymore until manual intervention.

[vyew]

Originally posted by SQNoname:

Originally posted by vyew:

In terms of balancing the ores to your smelters, I honestly wouldn't bother because it is easier and faster to just dump all the ores to your smelters, and then sort the bars after.

I would do that, if it would work. The problem is, it doesn't. Every now and then a conveyor line will simply lock up and not deliver ore anymore until manual intervention.

Assuming no obvious issues like running out of smelter output storage, how are you currently splitting your main conveyer across the smelters? Hoppers? Turntables?

Currently I feed the main conveyer into a hopper with 3 outputs, each feeding one Mk3 Forced Induction smelter, but previously I had up to 8 Mk2 Forced Induction smelters with the same splitting pattern.

Current Mk3 Forced Induction setup (this is one smelting "unit"):
(V: Main line, H: Storage Hoppers, S: Smelters)

V
V
V.......>>>HSH
H>>>H>>HSH
.........>>>HSH


Previous Mk2 Forced Induction setup with multiple "units":

V
V
V......>>>HSH
H>>>H>>HSH
V.......>>>HSH
V......>>>HSH
H>>>H>>HSH
V.......>>>HSH
V......>>>HSH
H>>>H>>HSH

[Eurobertics]

I think I get the Idea of using hoppers for My setup.

Thanks @vyew. :-)

[[SQ]Noname]

Originally posted by vyew:

Assuming no obvious issues like running out of smelter output storage, how are you currently splitting your main conveyer across the smelters? Hoppers? Turntables

First of all I only have one smelter...but that's not the problem, it starts well before that. My setup is

>>>>>>>V
>>>>>>>H>>>>>>>>

When I clear out the Hopper, unblock both input conveyors at the same time, it will output a 50:50 ratio of both ores in the beginning, then after a while randomly switch to only one ore and not go back.

[vyew]

Originally posted by SQNoname:

Originally posted by vyew:

Assuming no obvious issues like running out of smelter output storage, how are you currently splitting your main conveyer across the smelters? Hoppers? Turntables

First of all I only have one smelter...but that's not the problem, it starts well before that. My setup is

>>>>>>>V
>>>>>>>H>>>>>>>>

When I clear out the Hopper, unblock both input conveyors at the same time, it will output a 50:50 ratio of both ores in the beginning, then after a while randomly switch to only one ore and not go back.

Ah ok I understand :) I've found that it's impossible to avoid that without a Zipper Merge if the output conveyer is totally saturated. If you only have 1 Smelter, research Basic Miner Upgrades II and get Mk2 Forced Induction onto your smelter ASAP to try and relieve the backlog.

Originally posted by Eurobertics:

I think I get the Idea of using hoppers for My setup.

Thanks @vyew. :-)

You're welcome :)

[[SQ]Noname]

Okay, I got it - thanks.