Problem with belts not being full on one side

[jamesc70]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=956595902

As seen above, my EC output belts are always backed up on one side, but not the other. I've tried numerous splitter setups, but nothing seems to work, so I end up with about 1/3rd of the EC assemblers not contributing because there is no space to output, even though I need them to fill the belt after a splitter.

I thought one splitter at the end of the two lanes would automatically fill the belt after it, but it doesn't; if the incoming belt has only side full, the output after the splitter only outputs to that side.

Should I just redesign my EC setup, without having two lanes like I do? It was done this way to have those beacons there. Or is there a fix?

[Harry]

You need a belt balancer for that. You find plenty of setups on the internet and in one of the steam guides: "Factorio: How to Build a Main Bus" from KatherineOfTheSky.

For your problem is is enough to feed one output belt into one splitter and then merge those two outputs by sideloading on to another belt.

[Killcreek2]

There was a recent similar discussion about belt / lane balancing, with some good tips & links: http://steamcommunity.com/app/427520/discussions/0/2333276539590801113/

I tend to lane-balance when supplying onto, or feeding items off the main bus. Much easier to lane-balance 1 or 2 belts at a time than try to do the same on the main bus [for 4 to 16 belts].

Here are 2 designs that I use frequently [found online]:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=956644588

[GMC]

Originally posted by jamesc70:

Or is there a fix?

There probably isn't anything which needs to be fixed. The fact that one side is backed up suggests that the available production exceeds consumption (this assumes that you aren't using an underground belt to split off one side of the belt).

Inserters prefer to take from the far side of a belt, but they'll take from the near side if the far side is empty. This tends to result in the two sides becoming unbalanced, but only when there's excess supply.

Changing the setup so that the sides are balanced would just result in a different set of assemblers being idle, i.e. those at the "downstream" end of the row would be idle rather than those on one side.

[Hexafish]

Originally posted by Killcreek2:

There was a recent similar discussion about belt / lane balancing, with some good tips & links: http://steamcommunity.com/app/427520/discussions/0/2333276539590801113/

I tend to lane-balance when supplying onto, or feeding items off the main bus. Much easier to lane-balance 1 or 2 belts at a time than try to do the same on the main bus [for 4 to 16 belts].

Here are 2 designs that I use frequently [found online]:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=956644588

Mining prod 133 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

[Ruges]

You dont need a belt balancer for what your trying to accomplish there. You need an overflow valve:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=863231453
When one lane fills up it sends its contents down the empty lane.

Belt balancers a good when trying to send equal amounts of stuff down two or more lanes.

[Roxor128]

Originally posted by Killcreek2:

Here are 2 designs that I use frequently [found online]:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=956644588

Those kinds of designs seem like they just should not work. I know they do, but they don't look like it. It really bugs me, and I'm really not sure why.

[Emmote]

Originally posted by Roxor128:

Those kinds of designs seem like they just should not work. I know they do, but they don't look like it. It really bugs me, and I'm really not sure why.

You mean the side-loading onto undergrounds? Some people like to think it's a bug, but it's definitely intended behaviour.

[Denadan]

cose it utilize "hidden" ability of underground belts get items only from one line. anyway this setups save order of items on it(for example if you have two different resource in different line of belt) without this limitations balancers much simpler:
https://wiki.factorio.com/Balancers#Input_Unbalanced.2C_Output_Balanced

[Harry]

Originally posted by Emmote:

Originally posted by Roxor128:

Those kinds of designs seem like they just should not work. I know they do, but they don't look like it. It really bugs me, and I'm really not sure why.

You mean the side-loading onto undergrounds? Some people like to think it's a bug, but it's definitely intended behaviour.

Software developer: I don't create bugs. I create features!

In this regard, we maybe will never know if the behaviour was intended or if it was created accidently and just left^^. Nevertheless I find it strange to look at whenever I see setups which use underground entries like that. The animation of the running belt, and that the belt entities don't join, just gives me the uncanny valley feeling.

[impetus_maximus]

Roxor here is one without the underground hack.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=947052904
both of these are good replacements for the 'classic' single splitter balancer.

[Schlumpf3]

Try this:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=959394629

The left site works only with more items on the left side of the belt. The right side work with items on both sides of the belt.

[brian_va]

there is a hacked splitter mod, at least for .14 there was, that balanced on both sides of the belt instead of keeping the sides as they are as normal splitters do. it was fairly resource heavy, so not really ups friendly, unless that was fixed of course.

[GMC]

Originally posted by Schlumpf3:

Try this:

Those balance the output, so that there are equal amounts of items on each side of the belt.

The OP was looking for something which balances the input, so that an equal number of items are taken from each side of the input belt even if items are only being taken from one side of the output belt.

But balancing the input side rarely matters in practice (and probably doesn't in this case). It's usually an artefact of excess production capacity (inserters prefer to take from the far side of a belt, but will take from the near side if there is nothing on the far side).

The first thing to do when fixing a problem is to check that you do actually have a problem, i.e. confirm that something somewhere is idle because it doesn't have enough ingredients. And if that is the case, the second thing to do is to determine whether the lack of ingredients is because you don't have the resources, or because you have them but can't transport them fast enough; those two cases have entirely different solutions.

[impetus_maximus]

Originally posted by Schlumpf3:

Try this:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=959394629

The left site works only with more items on the left side of the belt. The right side work with items on both sides of the belt.

that (the one on the right) is the 'classic' balancer i was talking about. people need to stop suggesting it as it is flawed. it won't feed evenly from both sides, if one of the the sides on the exit is being consumed.
example[forums.factorio.com]

[Harry]

It is not flawed! It depends on what you want to achieve. Normally I want the belt behind the balancer to be balanced and not the "consumption" of items on the input side. So the balancer on the right is enough to do that.

On the other hand I have a 8 belt balancer, which "consumes" the items of the input side evenly, at the start of my main bus lanes where I unload the trains. This prevents that trains have to wait because they are unloaded unevenly. There you need a balancer like the one on the left.