Conveyors, Receptacles and Automation

[Bael]

Can someone please explain how the smart compactors work? I can find anything relevant, and don't see how to get stuff off the conveyors, as the receptacles only take 100kg, which is nothing.

[Kabrute]

set their priority lower than a compactor with the same permissions in the same space.

[Bael]

11 minutes ago, Kabrute said:

set their priority lower than a compactor with the same permissions in the same space.

Does that mean that the dupes will come along and transfer the items? Or does the conveyor belt somehow prioritise? If the former, then might as well use standard storage, surely?

[Risu]

Smart compactors generate a useless logic signal while the storage is full.
Receptacles are effectively the same as storage lockers but they are hooked to conveyor rails.

Items are only transferred to other storages if the priority is higher than the storage it is currently in.
 

[MythN7]

ive been looking for hours online and this is the only thing i can find about this storage device for my issue.

I can get the sweeper to load the belt, and the belt moves the junk to the receptacle, but I cannot figure out how to link it to any other storage type.

the smart storage when I but it beside the receptacle seems to do nothing diff than the normal one, the only thing that seems to fill it is the dups manually. 

i did see a pic online of someone using another sweeper to unload, is this what you have to do?

[PhailRaptor]

9 minutes ago, MythN7 said:

the smart storage when I but it beside the receptacle seems to do nothing diff than the normal one, the only thing that seems to fill it is the dups manually. 

i did see a pic online of someone using another sweeper to unload, is this what you have to do?

Those are your options.  Dupe labor, or an auto-sweeper.

Realistically, I don't see much of a purpose for the Smart Storage.  The only scenario I can see it being really beneficial is to accumulate a certain quantity of Refined Metal, and then stop production so you don't blow through all the Raw Metal.  But the only way that can be done effectively is if the Smart Storage is right near the Granulator/Refinery in order to connect them easily (or rather, the power shutoff connected to the Granulator/Refinery?).

[MythN7]

Just now, PhailRaptor said:

Those are your options.  Dupe labor, or an auto-sweeper.

Realistically, I don't see much of a purpose for the Smart Storage.  The only scenario I can see it being really beneficial is to accumulate a certain quantity of Refined Metal, and then stop production so you don't blow through all the Raw Metal.  But the only way that can be done effectively is if the Smart Storage is right near the Granulator/Refinery in order to connect them easily (or rather, the power shutoff connected to the Granulator/Refinery?).

so the idea is when the storage is full, it toggles the logic state, so if you plug the storage into the machine, it will turn off?

[PhailRaptor]

2 minutes ago, MythN7 said:

so the idea is when the storage is full, it toggles the logic state, so if you plug the storage into the machine, it will turn off?

That is the idea behind them, yes.  Using the volume in the storage to trigger Logic signals to control machinery.  It's not related to the Conveyors at all.

[MythN7]

Just now, PhailRaptor said:

That is the idea behind them, yes.  Using the volume in the storage to trigger Logic signals to control machinery.  It's not related to the Conveyors at all.

ok, thanks, i could see this being helpful on controlling when your stoves stop allowing more food to be cooked for sure then.

[PhailRaptor]

2 minutes ago, MythN7 said:

ok, thanks, i could see this being helpful on controlling when your stoves stop allowing more food to be cooked for sure then.

Well, you would use a Fridge for that, which now also generates Logic signals.  But yea, on the right track there!

[JonnyMonroe]

It's a bit of a specific case bur when I was moving ice on a rail in order to ensure it didn't melt I had to buffer it first so it only got loaded in 20kg packs (sometimes 20g packs would melt out and leave puddles) I achieved this by loading it into a buffer smart compactor set to 20kg and hooking the output to an unloading sweeper with a buffer filter, and tl from there to the loading arm with a NOT gate. A setup like this can make sure your conveyors always run in 20kg packets but like I said, that's a very specific use case. In theory you could get the same result with a weight plate but I found weight plates don't register items that are created directly on top of them (such as freezing water on them).

[Supraluminal]

Smart compactors (and fridges) would be extremely useful for all kinds of logistics purposes if only they worked at all reliably. Something about the way the game handles storage near max capacity means that containers routinely don't get filled all the way up, so you end up with compactors sitting at 19999/20000kg, never sending a logic signal.

[MythN7]

2 hours ago, JonnyMonroe said:

It's a bit of a specific case bur when I was moving ice on a rail in order to ensure it didn't melt I had to buffer it first so it only got loaded in 20kg packs (sometimes 20g packs would melt out and leave puddles) I achieved this by loading it into a buffer smart compactor set to 20kg and hooking the output to an unloading sweeper with a buffer filter, and tl from there to the loading arm with a NOT gate. A setup like this can make sure your conveyors always run in 20kg packets but like I said, that's a very specific use case. In theory you could get the same result with a weight plate but I found weight plates don't register items that are created directly on top of them (such as freezing water on them).

Wait so your saying what ever is in the track is kinda like in stasis?

Ice wont melt?

Could this mean that things like slime or bleach stone or polluted dirt wont puff out in the air along the ride?

[goboking]

On 2/11/2018 at 7:11 AM, Risu said:

Smart compactors generate a useless logic signal while the storage is full.

I presume you mean useless as in "it's bugged", not as "there are no practical uses for it"?

[PhailRaptor]

7 hours ago, goboking said:

I presume you mean useless as in "it's bugged", not as "there are no practical uses for it"?

I think it's both, honestly.

As Supraluminal pointed out, there has always been an issue with Compactors where they will rarely fill completely, always being short that last 1 kg (might be less, rounding issues?).  Because they never truly reach "full", they struggle to actually put out the Logic signal correctly.

As I pointed out farther up, the use case for using those Logic signals is extremely limited.  Shutting off a Granulator/Refinery when you have a certain amount of Refined Metal, to prevent you from using up all of your Raw Metal by triggering a Power Shutoff.  Doing the same thing to an Electric Grill when a Fridge is full.  And...  that's kind of it.  What else would you use it for?

[goboking]

4 hours ago, PhailRaptor said:

As I pointed out farther up, the use case for using those Logic signals is extremely limited.  Shutting off a Granulator/Refinery when you have a certain amount of Refined Metal, to prevent you from using up all of your Raw Metal by triggering a Power Shutoff.  Doing the same thing to an Electric Grill when a Fridge is full.  And...  that's kind of it.  What else would you use it for?

I've got one controlling my plastics manufacturing so I won't continue to produce the stuff when I've got a sizable cache squirreled away.  This cuts back on heat production and power consumption as the entire system (several pumps, oil refinery, polymer press, and auto sweepers) goes dormant until I need to top off again.

[Supraluminal]

13 hours ago, PhailRaptor said:

As I pointed out farther up, the use case for using those Logic signals is extremely limited.  Shutting off a Granulator/Refinery when you have a certain amount of Refined Metal, to prevent you from using up all of your Raw Metal by triggering a Power Shutoff.  Doing the same thing to an Electric Grill when a Fridge is full.  And...  that's kind of it.  What else would you use it for?

I'm using them as a key element of an automated material handling system (warehousing/distribution). Or at least trying to; the fact that they don't reliably work is a huge pain in my butt.

But the idea is, use conveyors to supply a selected set of building materials (mostly iron ore and granite) from a central warehouse to a distributed set of small supply depots so that dupes never have to run far to get what they need to build things. The smart compactors are supposed to be the sensor that determines when a supply depot has enough of a material. Once the compactor is full it sends a signal back to the warehouse to stop shipping that material.

And there are probably a zillion other uses. The fun thing about games that provide a lot of granular tools to do one or two simple things is that the tools can then be combined in so many ways. Then you get to be continually surprised by the crazy stuff other players come up with!