4x blue belt buffer with 1.5 hr capacity and circuit to count items\sec on a belt

[Raven X1984]

Hay all, figured I'd drop this here to share in case anyone is interested. It's a blue belt buffer that keeps belts *almost* (I say almost because occationally a belt will only output 39\sec) fully compressed for up to about an hour and a half without input from full storage capacity.

It's also using a circuit I created to output 0\1 if belt capacity drops below a set amount and also tells you how many items passed the belt in the last second (can adjust when the circuit output 1 via the "C" constant combinator). (So if your curious how to count items\sec on a belt may want it just for that). I use it to control the stack inserts (they act as "booster" inserters to pull more off the belt into the buffer if consumption on the belt drops to half)

Roboport is for automatic construction, you can add a second roboport and provider chests if you use logistics network and want the storage to be a part of the lognet.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=937175280

string can be found at.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3KE5JaTc_0AbVFGWGN0Qkh5Q3c/view?usp=sharing

[Emmote]

Must say, I really don't understand the need for buffers?

You'll pretty much always be in one of two states when using them.

1. The production of the items you are buffering outpaces the consumption. In this state the buffer will fill up and then once it has done, it will be no different than just having a very long and very wide belt extension.
   
2. The consumption outpaces the production. In this state the buffer will empty and again, once it's done so, it'll be no different than having a very long and very wide belt extension.

The only time a buffer provides any actual benefit is if your production and/or consumption are constantly fluctuating, which usually isn't the case.

Plus, all those items you're buffering are just sitting in a chest doing nothing. They may aswell be on another set of belts going somewhere else to be used.

[Raven X1984]

I play on trainworld so trucking in resources by train can cause small gaps where there is not enough input resources for my various bases. So it depends on scale, I have an automated construction base that keeps between 2 and 10,000 of items that are used frequently by my bases and me, if too many sub factories need to run at once, it will consume all 8 belts of iron, however most the time it is only consuming about half that. So having the buffer means I can realistically train in resources for just over 1/2 of whats needed to keep the belts fed at peak consuumption and it's covered even if too many of the factories end up firing at once (say I die and it needs to make me a full set of gear, late game that is reallly expensive so I only actually have the base store double my typical loadout. When I die, the construction of a new set of gear will consume about 2 blue belts for a short time, just for the gear. Since I die infrequently there is absolutely no reason for my belts to need to account for that consumption most of the time. DItto for my construction and logistic bot balancer, its rare that one of my bases end up needing more logistic or construction bots but when they misteriously end up disappearing, the fabricators for the line can consume a belts worth of iron.

Using a buffer means my train network can prioritize more important bases for resources (such as my research base that consumes 5 blue iron lines, 3 blue coper lines, 1 yellow stone line, 1 coal line and a bunch of oil constantly. (That dosent even include my rocket base that lognets in space science packs).

Once you start depleting iron patches, you need to train in resources from further and further away meaning there can be a gap in time where the raw materials simply are not present on the belt. A belt buffer like this one gives you breathing room in events where the delivery trains have too far to travel to deliver, or in worst case scenarios where you are working on a big project (nuclear reactor complex, cough cough) and are not paying attention and a resource base becomes depleted taking a big chunk out of a bases input without you knowing it

[Noppius]

Nice buffer Raven, but why on plates? I also use buffering to keep the furnaces running even when demand is higher then the supply (very similar to what you are telling, trains not getting there on time for a peak demand and/or not paying attention to the outposts yield when building a big or complicated setup). But instead of plates, i buffer the raw resources (iron ore, copper ore and coal when i'm not ready for electric furnaces yet). So would your setup also work with resources instead of plates?

[Raven X1984]

The setup can work for anything so long as any one belt is fully the same resource, if the 4 belts are different resources, just remove the balancers at the begining and end of the buffer.

I really should just train in ore to my bases since there are a few items that just uses a raw mined resource, but i personally prefer keeping smelters and miners in the same base and it would be a pain to change my train network to adjust for sending raw vs plates now.(like concrete, I have to spaghetti belt iron ore to whatever is my current running stone base) . Trucking ore wqould mean no more calculating number of smelters for the current mining bases and instead just use the standard amount for the belts needed for the base (yellow=24\red=48\blue=72 assuming no modules):)

[AlexMBrennan]

I play on trainworld so trucking in resources by train can cause small gaps where there is not enough input resources for my various bases

If you use trains then you are already using chests then surely there has to be a better way than a belt buffer (i.e. cargo wagon -> chest -> conveyor -> chest -> conveyor seems a bit silly)

[Fel]

Also, maybe a silly question, why not use loaders?
They do take slightly more space, but for loading and unloading a massive amount of things they tend to be very useful.

[Lothos]

speaker alarms? elaborate please.

[daniel0674]

Originally posted by lothos:

speaker alarms? elaborate please.

You can set the programmable speaker to make a noise when a certain condition is reached, and you can also set it to display a visual notification next to the quickbar with custom text, just like the alert when you're under attack. Then just connect one mining drill to the speaker using red/green wire and set its mode of operation to read the entire ore patch, set the condition in the speaker to alert you when the ore is < a certain value.

[Lothos]

there's no range penalty on the sound?

[daniel0674]

Originally posted by lothos:

there's no range penalty on the sound?

If you enable the Global Playback checkbox in the speaker it will play the sound no matter where you are without any penalties (like the attacked alert works), if you disable it then you can only hear it nearby (like machine sounds).