To automate a chain, answer three questions: where ingredients are stored, which machine performs the recipe, and who collects the result. Research and construction alone do not create a flow of materials.
Manual workbenches and automatic lines
The Forge, Mechanical Workbench, Chemistry Workbench, Weaving Workbench, Electrical Workbench, Sealing Chamber and Smelting Furnace use manual crafting. Open the panel, choose a recipe and craft; these workbenches do not accept routes or produce by themselves.
The Assembler and Vehicle Workshop offer DIRECT CRAFT and AUTOMATIC LINE. On an automatic line, select a recipe, supply local inputs, and check pause and priority settings. The Vehicle Workshop requires a supplied electrical connection of 4 EU/s in both modes.
Calculate whole batches
At the Forge, 1 Copper plate + 1 Tin → 2 Industrial tubes. To obtain five tubes, run three batches: consume three of each ingredient, produce six tubes, and keep one extra. This rounding matters when preparing a construction bill.
Open the Industrial tube entry to inspect its recipe and use the wiki calculator. Separate ingredients from the fuel, power and transport needed to sustain operation. The basic Furnace supplies heat; current smelting belongs to its dedicated R2 station.
Get one route working before multiplying it
- Prepare a source stock and a compatible destination, such as a Depot or an automatic machine’s local input.
- Open the task menu and create a route with a source, destination and resource filter.
- Assign a Delivery Robot and verify access at both ends. For Delivery Drones, also check energy supply and availability.
- Watch an entire delivery. If nothing moves, check stock, filter, transfer port, path and destination capacity in that order.
Air transport is active
L3 unlocks the Airship, Vehicle Workshop, Airship Port, Delivery Drone and Electromagnetic Road. The port belongs to current progression.
The Airship can store solid resources and serve as a route endpoint. For travel, keep the destination port’s docking space clear. After moving the Airship, inspect routes attached to its previous position: removed or incompatible endpoints invalidate routes.
Source notes
Assets/SteamPunkColony/Scripts/Gameplay/CraftingCatalog.cs:114— Industrial tube recipe;:326— manual workbenches.Assets/SteamPunkColony/Scripts/Gameplay/BlockHelpCatalog.cs:202— production modes.Assets/SteamPunkColony/Scripts/Gameplay/ElectricityRuntime.cs:267— Vehicle Workshop demand.Assets/SteamPunkColony/Scripts/Gameplay/TaskAreas.cs:646— endpoint and port validation.Assets/SteamPunkColony/Scripts/Gameplay/TechTree.cs:582— L3;Assets/SteamPunkColony/Scripts/Gameplay/AdvancedInfrastructureRuntime.cs:304— travel and route review.