The Mechanical Press is a foundational Create machine. It applies pressing recipes to items directly below it and forms many early metal sheets and compacted materials.
Operation
- Supply rotation through its shaft connection.
- Place a Depot or moving Belt below the Press for single items or continuous lines.
- A Basin enables compacting/packing recipes that combine multiple inputs.
Production use
- Metal sheet production is often the first permanent workshop line.
- Because faster rotation improves throughput while increasing demand, it is a good first machine for learning stress planning.
Typical uses
- Press single items on a Depot for simple manual feeding.
- Mount the press over a belt for repeated processing.
- Use a Basin when the recipe is a compacting operation rather than direct pressing.
Factory integration
- A press line is an excellent early production module because players immediately see input, movement, action and output.
- Feed pressed parts onward into storage, trade stock or more complicated assemblies.
Production-line design
- Every process has an input position, an operation condition and an output path.
- Buffering at depots, vaults or chests prevents one slow stage from freezing the whole line.
Recipe verification
- Use the recipe viewer to confirm steps and required heat or fluids.
- Use Ponder to see how the machine expects items to be presented.
Pressing lines
The press is often the first Create machine that makes automation tangible. Items wait on a depot or pass under it on a belt; the working head descends; the output can immediately move to storage or another process.
Use a depot for experimentation and low-volume work. Use belts and filtered output when producing supplies repeatedly. Where the recipe uses a basin, leave enough access to supply ingredients and remove the compacted result.
Processing as modules
A processing cell should make four things obvious: its input, its required condition, its operation and its output. For example, a press needs items placed under its working head; a basin process needs ingredients, powered operation and sometimes heat.
Once one cell is reliable, repeat or connect cells using belts, chutes, funnels, arms and storage. Modular processing lines are easier to upgrade, supply by train and sell from a player market.
Throughput and storage
Higher speed is useful only when every downstream stage can accept the results. When a line stalls, the apparent failure may be a full output inventory rather than the machine that stopped moving.