How to deal with clogged belts

[jamesc70]

The problem is furnaces not being able to place plates on a belt because the belt is clogged. Same with assemblers/etc. I want my things working all the time.

This is what I've come up with so far :

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=743632396

All the belts that receive plates are linked to a decider that turns on the side inserters when more than 10 steel plates are in the furnace output belt area. So if there are too many plates on the belt, the side inserters take some off. It works pretty good, only I think it will be hard to do on a large scale.

How do you deal with clogged belts?

[NimrodAbsolution⁧⁧98]

Originally posted by jamesc70:

How do you deal with clogged belts?

Increase consumption
Clogged belts aren't really a bad thing, unless your base is designed badly, so I normally just don't care

[IsopropylPod]

Originally posted by jamesc70:

The problem is furnaces not being able to place plates on a belt because the belt is clogged. Same with assemblers/etc. I want my things working all the time.

This is what I've come up with so far :

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=743632396

All the belts that receive plates are linked to a decider that turns on the side inserters when more than 10 steel plates are in the furnace output belt area. So if there are too many plates on the belt, the side inserters take some off. It works pretty good, only I think it will be hard to do on a large scale.

How do you deal with clogged belts?

i dont, this entire set up is stupid. unless you have the belt overflow mod it dose not matter, hell, its kinda is a good thing.

[ExavierMacbeth]

Thats a little overkill :P
Just use a simple buffer chest. Stick a steel chest with a fast inserter at the end of the furnace output belt to gether everything, then inserters & a belt behind it (Either 2 inserters on either side to merge the belt for full contents or a splitter merge system to fill both sides) before it runs to your factory.

If your not consuming all the plates then the extras just build up inside the buffer chest until your ready to use them.

Personally I use the Warehousing mod because it gives me a 3x3 & 6x6 warehouse (massive box) to use as a furnace imput/output buffer. Lets me put morei nserters outside it lol

[The Chaotic Coder]

You don't really need the decider combinator -- you can just wire the belts directly to the inserters and give the inserters the condition to operate if the belt has more than X items on it.

You also don't REALLY need the circuit network at all. What it seems like you're trying to do is make a buffer, so the furnaces will continue operating even though you're not using the iron plates. You could do this by having the blue inserters always on, putting everything in the chests, and then have 2 more inserters taking the plates out of the chests and putting them back onto belts:

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[IsopropylPod]

Originally posted by ExavierMacbeth:

Thats a little overkill :P
Just use a simple buffer chest. Stick a steel chest with a fast inserter at the end of the furnace output belt to gether everything, then inserters & a belt behind it (Either 2 inserters on either side to merge the belt for full contents or a splitter merge system to fill both sides) before it runs to your factory.

If your not consuming all the plates then the extras just build up inside the buffer chest until your ready to use them.

Personally I use the Warehousing mod because it gives me a 3x3 & 6x6 warehouse (massive box) to use as a furnace imput/output buffer. Lets me put morei nserters outside it lol

thats horrible for through put. you should be useing a
I = inserter B = belt C = chest D = blank

DCICD
DIDID
BBBBB

[jamesc70]

Using a buffer chest causes backups too. If the belt system is too fast and the inserters can't handle it, if the chest fills. You could split the belt line a bunch of times with splitters and have multiple inserters and multiple chests, but... no.

My plan is to only start filling chests when the main line is backed up and preventing the furnaces from inserting new plates. I get the benefit of neverending plate production from every furnace, having uninterupted A to B iron plate delivery, and not wasting energy powering furnaces that can't make more items because they can't unload what they made.

I'm going to work on it, but I think this will be default for my plate production lines.

[6000 Chipmunks]

Originally posted by jamesc70:

Using a buffer chest causes backups too. If the belt system is too fast and the inserters can't handle it, if the chest fills. You could split the belt line a bunch of times with splitters and have multiple inserters and multiple chests, but... no.

My plan is to only start filling chests when the main line is backed up and preventing the furnaces from inserting new plates. I get the benefit of neverending plate production from every furnace, having uninterupted A to B iron plate delivery, and not wasting energy powering furnaces that can't make more items because they can't unload what they made.

I'm going to work on it, but I think this will be default for my plate production lines.

Do fully loaded furnaces still use power/fuel if they are not doing anything atm?

[avante]

you do realize that when a furnace fills its internal buffer it shuts down right?

[NimrodAbsolution⁧⁧98]

Originally posted by avante:

you do realize that when a furnace fills its internal buffer it shuts down right?

How is that an issue?
It means you're not consuming any/enough, which means you don't need to produce any/that much

[KatherineOfSky]

@Otter, electric furnaces will use some power (the Drain) when shut down, but stone & steel furnaces will not use up any fuel.

@James: each furnace already has an internal buffer system. When your belts back up, it means you are producing enough to satisfy demand. If the internal buffers fill, then the furnaces will shut themselves off automatically.

You really don't need any wiring, circuits, etc. Your setup is waaaaay overkill for what you need. When you get to end-game, and have 8 columns of 72 furnaces, all that wiring will seem like a bad dream!

[Syfusion]

If you hate the belt being clogged then put something on the end consuming the resource :P

[jamesc70]

I know furnaces will stack inside and then shut down. I know it's 'perfect' to have so much consumption that it never clogs.

However, after a large addition to ore smelting operations, it takes a while before I build enough that will consume available production. All that time, I'd like to have excess brought to chests in my main area and around my roboports instead of having idle producers.

It's not a lot of work either, and I doubt I'll ever have 576 furnaces...

[AlexMBrennan]

When I need a buffer I just build a buffer tbh
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=743943195

[brian_va]

dump from the furnace into a chest, then onto a belt.

[Warlord]

Multiple people have said the simplest way: Never have a belt going directly from your furnaces to the production line. Have inserters place into chests lined up on each side of a belt. Then another inserter on the other side of the chest placing onto a belt behind it. Merge these lines, and you have a great buffer system.

It will constantly build up plates in the chests, if you have a lull in consumption. If you are suddenly consuming more plates than you are making, the buffer system (if full) can actually empty itself faster than it fills, maintining your max speed.

Originally posted by jchardin64:

You also don't REALLY need the circuit network at all. What it seems like you're trying to do is make a buffer, so the furnaces will continue operating even though you're not using the iron plates. You could do this by having the blue inserters always on, putting everything in the chests, and then have 2 more inserters taking the plates out of the chests and putting them back onto belts:

........[] -> ||
........^......||
=====.....======
........v......||
........[] -> ||