Inserters won't pick up

[Panduh]

I'm just starting to play this game and enjoying it, when I try to make some inserters pick up say for example a copper plate from a asembly line and transfer it to a furnace. It won't work, same thing with inserters picking stuff up in a chest. The product will be in the box but the inserter wont move it. There is electricty to all of them, if you respond thank you for your help.
Update: Fixed it I needed to remove the product from the machine amd place it into a box with an inserter

[Volodus]

Inserter could be already holding something else that doesn't go to destination
Destination could be already full (inserters don't fill to max capacity)
Or they are not rotated corectly

[Speedbird]

Press alt and you can see which direction they'll pick up from. They only pick up items from one side. Then use R to rotate them properly.

[Fel]

If you are a new player, I guess I will point out the obvious first.

When you are placing an inserter (or mousing over one), you can see a yellow flat line segment and a yellow arrow, the line segment is where the inserter picks things from, the arrow is where it drops it.


The only reasons for inserters not to pick things up even if they have power is when they don't have a place to drop it or if their hand is already full.

One thing to note is that most machines (including research labs) only accept twice the amount of ingredients needed, and if there are at least twice the amount of crafted items in the result box it will also stop putting ingredients.

The only exceptions are liquid-based crafting and furnaces.

[Medgineer]

First. Copper plate cannot be smelted further in a furnace, so inserter stays stationary.

Second: You could place 1 stack of every ingame item in 1 chest and the inserter will only transfer (from this chest)into a machine, the ingredients for the item being produced in the machine. (Iron plate cannot be inserted into a machine making copper wire as copper wire only needs copper plate)

Looking at each machine when yoou have selected an item to be made will show you what ingrediens need to be inserted, so only provide the machine with those items.

I don't know how novice you are, so I hope this info is not too obvious for you.

And the correct orientation of inserters etc helps.
ALT shows what your factory is doing.

[Panduh]

Originally posted by Volodus:

Inserter could be already holding something else that doesn't go to destination
Destination could be already full (inserters don't fill to max capacity)
Or they are not rotated corectly

1. Its just one product from a box or asembly line trying to go into the next destination. (I forget the name of the thing that is better than the furnace)
2. Destination is not full
3. Maybe this, I don't know too much about rotating the right way. I tried putting two inserters on each side of the asembly line but they still wont work.

[Panduh]

Originally posted by Battleboy43 ✅:

Press alt and you can see which direction they'll pick up from. They only pick up items from one side. Then use R to rotate them properly.

Thank you for the Alt tip.

[Panduh]

Originally posted by Medgineer:

First. Copper plate cannot be smelted further in a furnace, so inserter stays stationary.

Second: You could place 1 stack of every ingame item in 1 chest and the inserter will only transfer (from this chest)into a machine, the ingredients for the item being produced in the machine. (Iron plate cannot be inserted into a machine making copper wire as copper wire only needs copper plate)

Looking at each machine when yoou have selected an item to be made will show you what ingrediens need to be inserted, so only provide the machine with those items.

I don't know how novice you are, so I hope this info is not too obvious for you.

And the correct orientation of inserters etc helps.
ALT shows what your factory is doing.

1. sorry I get mixed up with things but I hope you understand what I mean. I ment trying to turn the copper plate into ( I think its called copper wire). I dont know the name of the device that is better than the furnance. Oh I think its called asembly production 1 or 2, something like that.
2. I tried doing the chest thing but some of them work and others dont.
3. I got the game last night

[Panduh]

Originally posted by Fel:

If you are a new player, I guess I will point out the obvious first.

When you are placing an inserter (or mousing over one), you can see a yellow flat line segment and a yellow arrow, the line segment is where the inserter picks things from, the arrow is where it drops it.


The only reasons for inserters not to pick things up even if they have power is when they don't have a place to drop it or if their hand is already full.

One thing to note is that most machines (including research labs) only accept twice the amount of ingredients needed, and if there are at least twice the amount of crafted items in the result box it will also stop putting ingredients.

The only exceptions are liquid-based crafting and furnaces.

1. Yes I know that thank you.
2. Why would the hand be full if there is a place to put them? I want to transfer a copper plate to make copper wire. But it just backs up on the asembly line and not pick up.
3. Wow I didn't know that thank you. Can you explain more about that, so I will try to make an example. If I want to make product C, adding product A and B will get C. Are you saying that on some machines I would need 50 A's for every 25 B's in order to make Product C. Sorry if that is confusing I just cant think of something from the game. Do you know anything else about the machines only accepting twice the amount?

[Ramond]

If your assembly machine creates object C which requires 2 times A and 3 times B, then the inserter will NOT insert more of A if there is already 4 times A in the machine, and not insert more B if there is 6 times B in the machine. This is in order to prevent the "early" machines in a resource lane to eat up all the resources when it's not necessary, but to still have a buffer to be able to constantly produce.

Additionally, if the finished product C is not removed from the machine, the machine will also stop producing after a few instances.

[Tossi]

Did you set the assembly machine to make copper wire?

[Panduh]

Originally posted by Tossi:

Did you set the assembly machine to make copper wire?

I wanted to make batteries, so I made a line from copper ore to plate to wire to batteries. From ore to plate is fine, but when I try to get it to the wire it wont put the plate into the machine.

[Ramond]

Afaik batteries require copper plates, not wires. Are you sure you got the right ingredients?

[Ensign Ependable]

You need to left click on the asembler and tell it to make copper wires

[Tossi]

That is why I am asking if you set it to make copper wire. Unlike furnaces assemblers need to be told what to make.

[Fel]

Originally posted by I'm A Bucket Of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥:

1. Yes I know that thank you.
2. Why would the hand be full if there is a place to put them? I want to transfer a copper plate to make copper wire. But it just backs up on the asembly line and not pick up.
3. Wow I didn't know that thank you. Can you explain more about that, so I will try to make an example. If I want to make product C, adding product A and B will get C. Are you saying that on some machines I would need 50 A's for every 25 B's in order to make Product C. Sorry if that is confusing I just cant think of something from the game. Do you know anything else about the machines only accepting twice the amount?

You might want to post a screen shot of your setup, as it's the easiest way for us to be able to help you (if possible with the interface of the machine crafting the wires opened too), by default F12 takes a screen shot in any steam game.

For 3, I'm not sure I even understand correctly what you mean, most recipes are just up to 5 of the same ingredient at most.

Let's say your recipe is 1 iron wheel and 1 copper plate making 1 red science.
If your assembling machine has 2 iron wheels (twice the amount it needs) or more in it, inserters will not put more until it falls under that (because it's not needed), but you can manually put a whole stack if you want.
If the output slot has more than 2 red science vials (twice the amount it produces in one go), the inserters will stop putting both iron wheel and copper plates, but the building itself will continue to work with whatever ingredients it has, which means that if you manually put a whole stack of each, it will continue to work until it either has no more ingredients or the output is a full stack.