Semi-automatic Vault-Tec Lunchbox Loot Farming

A guide to a semi-automatic loot farm from lunchboxes!

Introduction

Hey there everyone!
Last week I was finally trying to get into making a factory with the Contraptions DLC, and I stumbled onto something.
Having set up a builder to make lunchboxes and run them towards sorters and storing the loot and the lunchboxes itself, I tried finding a machine that broke down the lunchboxes to components, but couldn't find them. I saw there was a mod for it, but I'm not big on playing with mods.
After learning that I found out that the lunchboxes "refill" themselves having been through enough machines and-/or lifts.
So yeah, I then redirected a conveyor belt to make the lunchboxes fall on the conveyor belt right after the Builder machine.

My setup

Here is my setup.
Tips are always welcome!

I place my steel in the green steamer trunk, which gets transported to the builder to make lunchboxes.

Which then gets transported along a conveyor belt, where I hit them with either a melee weapon or pistol. You actually see where the boxes fall in the picture.

Here it gets sorted first on Steel components, which filters:

• Table knife
  
• Dinner fork
  
• Table spoon
  These items contains Steel and I use them to make new lunchboxes.
  The second sorter filters out Vault-Tec Lunchboxes, so this way it will be seperate from the loot it contained.
  
  Left: lift for non-steel loot.
  Middle-left: lift for lunchboxes. Make sure to have at around 20 lunchboxes always in the lift, otherwise the lunchboxes have to make another round through the system.
  Middle-right: lift for when I have too much lunchboxes in the system --> it gets transported to a storage.
  Right: storage for items that contain Steel.
  
  This is the second floor, where non-steel loot will go to another lift and the lunchboxes go towards a storage, to then be sucked out of by a hopper.
  
  The lunchboxes will be placed on the conveyor belt and be dropped on the conveyor belt seen before, where I hit them.
  
  This is where I further sort my loot. Most times I only got:
  
• Plastic fork
  
• Plastic knife
  
• Plastic spoon
  
• Chalk
  
• baseball
  
• Nuka-Cola
  
• Bubblegum
  
• Noodle cup
  
• Gum drops
  
• Dandy Boy Apples
  
• Pen
  
• Pencil
  Maybe it's because I have low luck to not receive other items, but we'll see!
  

Tips?

This is my first guide ever on Steam, so tips are welcome!

As of my setup I also ask for tips.
Do you guys maybe know a way to fully automate this loot farm?

Thanks a lot for reading! See ya!

[Wolfram Müller]

great and all but very confusing :)

[Kameraden]

@Bear To be honest. The workshop DLC is only useful for crafting things that are hard to get. Like specific ammo types and such. Making money? You're better off Building like 5-8 Water Purifiers at Sanctuary and getting 100-150 bottles of water per day which is thousands of caps per day with no work what so ever. You can do this at a number of other settlements as well which have good water access. YOu never ever have to worry about caps ever again.

[Bear]

Are you farming this for money? Because i've seen this before and he was trying to do this for profit. I've never really understood it.

[TrippedAndFell]

thanks I'm planning to get this DLC soon on my xbox and I was trying to find something to do with the factory stuff, it won't let me rate this guide cause I don't own it on pc.

[RealOfficialTurf]

Static turrets: They also stop after 10 shots and needs to be repaired. Even a spinning blade does not break the lunchbox. Enter sneak/crouch mode and use ripper so you don't have to hold the mouse button.

[Bruce]

Yeah, but the problem is that they can't be redirected to shoot on one point, plus that they will only shoot on enemies

[Incredible Turtle]

maybe try a automatic gun? i don't think they require much power and they shoot a bit