Mid/Late Game Furnace Layout

This guide shows layout for ore refining, using electric furnace, emitters, and speed and energy modules.
I saw this layout in the forum, and optimise it further, sharing it here for those looking for a good endgame layout.

Please feel free to ask any questions.

The Mid/Late Game Furnace Layout Introduction

From mid-end game, once you get the electric furnace unlocked, you can start laying it this way, leaving two spaces in the middle for emitters. Emitters are for end game, where space may or may not be an issue, but you just want to optimise your assets to the best of their ability before making another set of furnaces.

Without further ado, I present to you the endgame furnace layout, complete with emitters. Further elaboration below.


The first emitter, is laid with slight adjustment of one square to the left or right, allowing an overlap of 8 furnaces, starting with 2x Energy 3 module, following by the second emitter next to the first, with 1x Energy 3 and 1x Speed 3 module,

To sum it up,

First Emitter - 2x Energy 3
Second Emitter- 1x Energy 3, 1x Speed 3
Third Emitter - *Follow first emitter*
Fourth Emitter - *Follow second emitter*


Calculations,

Starting from the fourth furnace with the effect of 4 emitters
(Assuming you're not laying emitters at the side to maximise the 8 furnace emitter coverage)

-50% energy (First Emitter) +10% energy +25% speed (Second Emitter)
-50% energy (Third Emitter) +10% energy +25% speed (Fourth Emitter)

= -80% energy (0.18 pollution) + 50% speed

For even more speed, you can put one energy 3 and one speed 3 module each but its not encouraged as end game, every building contributes to your carbon footprint, you will want to reduce as much power usage and at the same time boost your structures as much as possible.

Layout Building (Mid/Late Game)

Note that this layout will only work best with resource pile generation at its maximum, with or without mods. Depending on how plentiful or scarce your resource is, you will have to adjust the furnace layout accordingly.

With calculations set aside, let's move on to building the layout itself. Once electric furnace is unlocked, you can start the layout immediately. Be sure to give ample space, when I say ample space, I mean lots and lots of it.

How much space will you relatively need? Using an assembling machine as a guide, mark out with the shift key (assuming you're not using drones yet), you will want at least a length of 40 furnaces for the end game. But this is only important for those who plays on max resource generation.


I know there are even longer furnace layouts, where it gets to 80 over furnaces a side, honestly I say that is not neccesary, with the usage of emitters, space is drastically reduced to half. Also considering the output of express belts, 40 furnaces a side with the 2x energy3 and 1x energy3 1x speed3 emitters layout is the best for one express belt, anything more may result in underusage.

Optimisations

As you know inserters only drop objects at the far side of the belt, you will want to include belt optimisations so that both near and far side (or left and right side) will be used, assuming you have a 40 furnace long layout, you will want to include it around the 20th furnace. So that furnaces closest to the exit doesn't get blocked by the output generated by those behind. This is imporant, as it will result in underusage of the front furnaces.



How to incorporate the resource into your main bus?

As resource production gets heavier and messier, you will want to include a secondary bus line for the output, an example will be below. Note the gap between the main bus line and the furnaces, this allows for a secondary bus to be directed into the main bus as well.

FAQ

Why should I use the layout?

As you proceed to endgame, space is not the issue, energy consumption is, every building contributes to your carbon footprint, while pollution is inevitable, energy usage is not. Be it you're a solar or steam power user, you will still face the same issue, either space or coal. Energy optimisation reduces the issue of space and coal for every aspiring megabase which thrives on solar and/or steam.

Why don't you add modules in furnaces?

Long answer yes, only unless you have plenty of resources to spare. I still highly reccomend not, modules are best used in emitters, with an 8 furnace coverage, taking into account emitters halve the effect of modules, emitters help to maximise the output of modules when placed in the right position, in this case 8 furnaces, it quadruples the usefulness of the module.

1 module x 0.5 emitter effect x 8 furnaces = 4 modules worth

Shouldn't the endgame layout be logistics robot and inserters only, no belts?

Honestly, I have not reach the point where my resources pile so much that I need robots to work the system. While the robots help to reduce space even more by removing the need to place belts, however a substantial amount of roboports and electricity will be needed to sustain the furnace logistics network where the robots amount to hundreds and thousands, thus contradicting the point of having boosted and max energy reduction furnaces.

[Veklim]

I must agree with MisterSpock here, if you set up a smelter array where each furnace has 8 beacons in range and you fill them all with speed modules (put prod modules in the 2 furnace slots for maximum output per ore) then you can fully load a blue belt with approx.12.5 furnaces only (I use 7 per side if I want a full blue belt). Power and pollution is waaaaay up per furnace as a result, but the relatively tiny space required for such a setup means you can place it that much further from the edges of your factory, I find it a better approach than miles of smelter lines taking up space. An intermediate approach uses 4 beacons per smelter and makes it possible to put smelters on each side of the belt, requiring 10-12 furnaces per side for a full blue belt with much less pollution and power use. Still better than 40+ in a long line.

[MisterSpock]

"For even more speed, you can put one energy 3 and one speed 3 module each but its not encouraged as end game, every building contributes to your carbon footprint, you will want to reduce as much power usage and at the same time boost your structures as much as possible."

carbon blueprint if your using solar power only^^.

I personally would suggest to use ONLY speed moduls. Its not a plus in spaceusage otherwise.

[Lisiralei]

A) using underground belts on the output allows full compressment of the belt with inserters.
B) Using 2 outputs and then merging into 1 is pointless, the merging bottleneck will deterime outpout. easy solution is to work out amount of furnaces you need to fully compress a side of a belt and then place that much in a row on one side and same amount on another of one output line, then you do whatever.

[IAN]

Sure, if you replace the input belt, with 2 different types of materials on each side of the belt.

[FyreFlynt]

Will this setup be okay with bobs mods?

[IAN]

Yes :)

[pchalic1000]

emitters = beacons right

[IAN]

If you mean the row between iron furnaces, then yeah I missed that.

[Fixitt]

You're missing the second row of beacons on all those smelters as well as the productivity modules which is what makes speed modules worth using.

[MOXzy]

Whatever you say