Funnels are belt and inventory interfaces; Tunnels cover belt lanes and organise item distribution. Andesite variants handle basic flow, while brass-tier tools support finer filtering and control.
Uses
- Extract items from inventories onto belts or insert belt items into inventories.
- Filter products so each item reaches the correct storage or process.
- Distribute a feed across lanes or consolidate outputs.
Common mistake
- An unfiltered branch may silently divert ingredients intended for another machine. Add filters before scaling throughput.
Flow design
- Give materials one clear route from input storage to processing and from output to storage or dispatch.
- Filters prevent the most expensive failures once multiple goods share a line.
Multiplayer design
- Expose labelled inputs and outputs so other players can restock or diagnose shared factories.
- Avoid building systems that require one owner to explain every hidden route.
Making item flow legible
Create logistics is most rewarding when goods can be watched moving through a working site. Separate raw-material intake from finished-goods dispatch, label shared buffers and provide overflow storage before a popular factory fills its belts.
Filtering becomes essential as soon as two goods use the same route. A wrongly routed valuable component is not merely inconvenient in a shared economy; it can halt production and confuse the shop that expected delivery.
Warehouse thinking
A warehouse beside a station can bridge player commerce and industrial automation: bulk goods arrive, get processed or repacked and move onward to shops or new building projects.