How do you set up the advanced production so it doesn't break if a resource runs out temporarily?

[EmberStar]

I was wondering how to set up the production buildings that take two and three different resources so that they don't break down and jam if one of the resources drops to zero for a while. The big one would be diodes and LEDs, since those both depend heavily on glass and with only the desert and jungle islands glass is really hard to get in large amounts.

For the "two resource" one, I ended up sending two ants to tend it on separate, parallel loops. One for each resource. Then trying to figure out how to arrange the dispensers and gates so that it doesn't completely break when one of them turns Old, and to keep them from running off and throwing resources into the emergency Trash bin outside the combiners. But that won't work for the building that needs three items, unless I somehow set it up to constantly be tended by four ants at all times.

I would appreciate suggestions for how to set this up.

[Edgewalker]

I don't know if I have the optimal solution, but I have one that works 100% of the time and wastes nothing. The trick is to make sure they can put down what they can't use, then pick it back up when they do. This setup requires smart dispensers.

My example uses 2 resources, but the pattern is the same for three. You set up the following using gates, let's call the resources A and B to make C.

Pick up A and take it to factory.
At factory:
If you still have A, it means factory didn't need it, so put it into a stockpile for A.
Get B and take it to factory.
If you are still carrying B, it means factory didn't need it, so put it into a stockpile for B.
If you are carrying nothing, then the factory needs something but we don't know what - so go to a divider and alternate between A and B as above. One WILL work eventually as at least one of each becomes available. This loop will hold indefinitely if A or B runs out, and the ant will keep trying until the missing one becomes available.
If you have product C, put it in stockpile C
Start over.

I can make a video if that's hard to follow. This also works for things like diodes that take 2 of A and 1 of B.

The other method is to just use more ants, making each responsible for one resource, and this is also waste-free in terms of resources, and way simpler for paths, but you double/triple/quadruple the number of needed ants.

Edit: You HAVE to use smart dispensers because they'll take from the nearest stockpile, which will be the one you are using to hold the resource the factory didn't need. Make sure you assign specifically what each one can hold IN ADVANCE.

Also, there is a scenario with waste, but it's very rare. If the ant somehow dies while waiting in the STOP position for the factory, the resource being made will pop out onto the ground when there's a new ant.

[EmberStar]

The last one seems like the easiest to deal with, and something I've tried using for early game smelters - have the fresh ant input into the system so that the first hauling trail it touches is the one at the production building. IE, for a smelter the greatest efficiency once it's running is to have them drop in just before the dispenser, then use the divider / counter gates to send them to the smelters. But before I get Old Gates, or for something with a *really* long production time like Iron Plates, the ant might die at their post. If the next ant gets dropped in at the divider first, hopefully one will eventually go past all the spots where stuff got dropped before getting on the return path to the dispenser.

Thank you for the reply. I think I can see a way to use that with the little resource flingers, too. They'll only work if the target stockpile is already "keyed" to a resource, and they're smaller than the stockpiles. The ant can just run past two or three of them as needed, without needing to do something complicated with alternate paths or carry gates. In fact since they have pretty decent range, it seems like multiple factories could share the same "oops" stockpiles. So for LEDs, the ant could just run in a loop, with the correct dispenser just before each pad and a flinger just after.

[EmberStar]

It's less space efficient, but there's also a way to do that without smart dispensers - just put two dispensers in a row, with the one from the "oops" stockpile first. If something runs out, the ant will just keep picking up and replacing the same item. As long as you have the resource flingers, it would even work with multiple buildings at once - worst case would be all the ants in that section picking up the same handful of items over and over until the shortage clears up.

[EmberStar]

It's also very helpful to know that Smart Dispensers would pull from the closest stockpile first. I was wondering how to manage things like the energy recharge piles for Pod Workers so that the Smart Dispensers don't pillage their "food" supplies unexpectedly. And that I can't depend just on Smart Dispensers to keep something like the Recyclers from filling up and jamming unless the Recycle stations are right next to the smelter arrays.

[Opium]

Yeah factories are the most annoying (with the three seperate inputs). I have a loop going around it: at each point, i have a dispenser: if i didn't pick up anything it just loops around endlessly. Then i try feed it to factory... if im still carrying something then i dump it to storage (or a slinger to storage)... Same on all three inputs. Just one ant per factory.

The facilities... yeah just try, then dump in storage... I use splitter paths so like if its two items just a simple split. If it's two and one item then split two and one... so when there's plenty of materials it works fine. Its really inefficient when you have to go in to "trial and error" mode. Having said that I hardly bother with that design, depending on the urgency. Eventually works itself out when ants leave lol

Its also really annoying when an ant gets stuck waiting on another ant sitting waiting for product to build... I could encorporate counter gates but yeah... with no blueprints then all design decisions are bsaed on care factor :D What is really really annoying is how if there are two paths going to a facility or a grinder or whatever and one ant waiting for product to build, a second ant on a second path will ALSO wait...