5 Perfect Starter Factory Layouts!

The first true factory every player will build is a Starter Factory. This factory usually serves to provide the player with all the basic items they need in order to progress passed the first phase of the Space Elevator. These 5 Starter Factory layouts can be put together either in a run of the mill rectangular factory, or layered vertically when space is an issue. In this guide we will be breaking down step by step these 5 layouts.

Prerequisites

These layouts assume you have access to the following milestones unlocked:

Part Assembly

Logistics Mk.2

Layout #1: Basic Iron Recipes

Requires

Produces 120/min

Produces

Produces 60/min

Produces 20/min

Produces 40/min

Guide

Unless specified, use

Conveyor Belt Mk.1 belts for this layout to reduce costs or if you have the materials, you can use the highest tier belt you have to reduce complexity. (Except for the input, that needs to be a mk. 2 belt)

Step 1: Iron Smelters

• Start by making a 9x5 area.
• Create a manifold system of
  
  Conveyor Splitters, adding 4
  
  Conveyor Splitters with the entrances on the right side, in the columns 2-5 on the 1st row.
• Then add 4
  
  Smelters in the 2nd row just above each
  
  Conveyor Splitter.
• Set the recipe for the
  
  Smelters to
  
  Iron Ingot
• Belt all the
  
  Conveyor Splitters together and the
  
  Conveyor Splitters to the
  
  Smelters.

IMPORTANT

Make sure that the belt between the Splitters in the 4th and 5th columns is a mk.2 belt.

Step 2: Rods & Plates

• Add 1
  
  Conveyor Splitter in front of the first
  
  Smelter on the 2nd column.
• Then in the 4th row, add 5
  
  Constructors. 1 per column.
• Set the recipe for the first 2
  
  Constructors to
  
  Iron Rod.
• Set the recipe for the next 3
  
  Constructors to
  
  Iron Plate.
• Belt all the
  
  Smelters to the
  
  Constructors, except for the first
  
  Smelter, it connects to the
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 3rd row and then the
  
  Conveyor Splitter connects to the first 2
  
  Constructors.

Step 3: Mergers & Splitters

• In the 5th row, add a
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 1st column,
  
  Conveyor Merger facing forward in the 2nd and 3rd column, and a
  
  Conveyor Merger facing left in the 4th column
• Belt all the
  
  Constructors to the
  
  Conveyor Splitter/ 
  
  Conveyor Merger in front of them except the last one, that should go into the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 4th column.
• Connect the
  
  Conveyor Splitter and
  
  Conveyor Merger from the first two columns.
• Connect the 2
  
  Conveyor Mergers in the 3rd and 4th columns.
• Add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the first column of the 6th row facing forward.
• Belt the 2 remaining outputs of the
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 5th row into the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 6th row.

NOTE

The reason we do this, is because the splitter the 5th row will split the iron rods (15/min) from the constructor into 3, giving 5 iron rods/min in each belt. And since we only require 10 rods/min for the screws, we merge 2 of those lines, and the third line is then sent to the merger in the 2nd column.

Step 4: Screws & Storage

• Add a
  
  Constructor in the first column of the 7th row.
• Set the recipe for this
  
  Constructor to
  
  Screw.
• Belt the
  
  Conveyor Merger from row 6 into the
  
  Constructor.
• Add 3
  
  Storage Containers in the 9th row in columns 1-3.
• Belt the
  
  Constructor to the 1st
  
  Storage Container.
• Belt the
  
  Conveyor Merger on the 5th row and 2nd column directly to the 2nd
  
  Storage Container.
• Belt the
  
  Conveyor Merger on the 5th row and 3rd column directly to the 3rd
  
  Storage Container.

Step 5: Power & Input

• All there's left to do now is to connect the power.
• Finally connect your 120/min
  
  Iron Ore belt into the
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 1st row and 5th column.

Layout #2: Basic Copper Recipes

Requires

Produces 120/min

Produces

Produces 60/min

Produces 30/min

Produces 30/min

Guide

Step 1: Copper Smelters

• Start by making a 9x7 area.
• Put down a
  
  Smelter in the 2nd row in the 1st, 3rd, 5th & 7th column for a total of 4.
• Create a manifold system of
  
  Conveyor Splitters, adding 4
  
  Conveyor Splitters aligned with each
  
  Smelter in the 1st row.
• Set all the
  
  Smelters to produce
  
  Copper Ingots.

Step 2: Wire Constructors

• Add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 3rd row and 2nd column. Make sure the output is facing forward. Proceed to belt the first 2
  
  Smelters to this
  
  Conveyor Merger.
• Add a
  
  Conveyor Splitter in front of the last 2
  
  Smelters on the 3rd row.
• Add 4
  
  Constructors in the 4th row and starting in the 4th column til the 7th.
• Connect the
  
  Conveyor Splitter on the 3rd row and 5th column to the 1st and 2nd
  
  Constructors.
• Connect the
  
  Conveyor Splitter on the 3rd row and 7th column to the 3rd and 4th
  
  Constructors.
• Set all 4
  
  Constructors to produce
  
  Wires.

Step 3: Copper Sheets Constructors

• Add a
  
  Conveyor Splitter on the 4th row and 2nd column aligned with the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 3rd row.
• Put down 3 more
  
  Constructors in the 5th row in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd column. Connect to the
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 4th row.
• Set all 3
  
  Constructors to produce
  
  Copper Sheets.
• Add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 6th row and 2nd column. Make sure the output is facing forward.
• Connect all 3
  
  Constructors to the
  
  Conveyor Merger.

Step 4: Mergers & Cable Constructor

• Add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 5th row and in front of the
  
  Constructor in the 5th column. Connect the
  
  Constructors in the 4th and 5th column to this
  
  Conveyor Merger.
• Add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 5th row and in front of the
  
  Constructor in the 6th column. Connect the
  
  Constructors in the 6th and 7th column to this
  
  Conveyor Merger.
• Add another
  
  Constructor in the 5th row in front of the
  
  Conveyor Merger. Belt the
  
  Conveyor Merger to the
  
  Constructor. Set this
  
  Constructor to produce
  
  Cables.

Step 5: Storage Containers

• Put down a
  
  Storage Container in the 8th row and in the 4th column. Proceed to add another in the 5th and 6th column for a total of 3.
• Belt the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 5th row and 6th column to the 3rd
  
  Storage Container.
• Belt the
  
  Constructor in the 5th column to the 2nd
  
  Storage Container.
• Belt the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 6th column and 2nd row to the 1st
  
  Storage Container.

Step 6: Power

• All there's left to do now is to connect the power.

Layout #3: Concrete

Requires

Produces 120/min

Produces

Produces 40/min

Guide

Step 1: Constructors

• Start by making a 5x3 area.
• Place down a
  
  Constructor in each column of the 2nd row for a total of 3.
• Add a
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 2nd column of the 1st row. Belt the
  
  Conveyor Splitter to all of the 3
  
  Constructors.
• Set
  
  Constructors to produce
  
  Concrete. If you can, I would suggest under-clocking one of them to 10 per minute (approx. 66.6%) instead of 15 per minutes.

Step 2: Storage Container

• Add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 3rd row and in front of the 2nd
  
  Constructor. Belt all
  
  Constructors to this
  
  Conveyor Merger.
• Add a
  
  Storage Container in the 2nd Column and in between the 4th and 5th row. Belt the
  
  Conveyor Merger to the
  
  Storage Container.

Step 3: Power

• All there's left to do now is to connect the power.

Layout #4: Reinforced Iron Plates

Requires

Produces 120/min

Produces

Produces 10/min

Guide

Step 1: Smelters

• Start by making a 13x5 area.
• Put down 4
  
  Smelters on the 2nd row and in the 2nd to 5th column.
• Create a manifold system of
  
  Conveyor Splitters, adding 4
  
  Conveyor Splitters aligned with each
  
  Smelter in the 1st row.
• Belt all of the
  
  Conveyor Splitters together and to the
  
  Smelters. Make sure the belt between the 3rd and 4th
  
  Conveyor Splitter is a
  
  Conveyor Belt Mk.2.
• Set all
  
  Smelters to produce
  
  Iron Ingots.

Step 2: Iron Plates Constructors

• Add a
  
  Conveyor Splitter in front of the 1st
  
  Smelter in the 3rd row.
• Proceed to add a
  
  Constructor in the 4th row in each column for a total of 5.
• Connect the
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 4th row to the first 2
  
  Constructors. Set these to create
  
  Iron Rods.
• Belt the 2nd, 3rd and 4th
  
  Smelter directly to the
  
  Constructors in the same column. Set these 3
  
  Constructors to create
  
  Iron Plates.

Step 3: Screws Constructors

• Add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 5th row in front of the 2nd
  
  Constructor. Connect the first 2
  
  Constructors to this
  
  Conveyor Merger.
• Proceed to add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 5th row and in front of the 4th
  
  Constructor. Connect the last 3
  
  Constructors to this
  
  Conveyor Merger.
• Add a
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 6th row and 2nd column. Belt the
  
  Conveyor Merger to the
  
  Conveyor Splitter.
• Put down 3 more
  
  Constructors in the 7th row in the first 3 columns. Set them to produce
  
  Screws.
• Belt the
  
  Conveyor Splitter to these 3
  
  Constructors.

Step 4: Assemblers

• Add a
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 8th row and 2nd column.
• Add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 8th row and in the 1st and 3rd column. Make sure the outputs are facing forward.
• Connect the
  
  Constructors to the
  
  Conveyor Mergers and
  
  Conveyor Splitters directly in front of them.
• Connect the
  
  Conveyor Splitter to both
  
  Conveyor Mergers.
• Put down an
  
  Assembler in the 10th row lining it up to the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 1st column. Add another
  
  Assembler beside the 1st one and lining it up to the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 3rd column.
• Proceed to Belt the
  
  Conveyor Mergers to the
  
  Assemblers.
• Add a
  
  Conveyor Splitter directly on top of the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 6th row and 3rd column. Making sure the
  
  Conveyor Splitter entrance is coming from the right.
• Add another
  
  Conveyor Splitter directly on top of the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 6th row and 1st column. Belt the two
  
  Conveyor Splitters together.
• Proceed to Belt the
  
  Conveyor Splitter to the
  
  Assemblers.
• Belt from the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 4th column and 3rd row to two notches from the middle of the 6th row. Then connect the Belt to the
  
  Conveyor Splitter on top of the
  
  Conveyor Merger by curving the belt.
• Set the
  
  Assemblers to the
  
  Iron Plate Recipe.

Step 5: Storage Container

• Proceed to add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 2nd column and 11th row. Merge the 2
  
  Assemblers together by connecting them to the
  
  Conveyor Merger.
• Add a
  
  Storage Container in the 2nd row and in the middle of the 12th and 13th row.
• Belt the
  
  Conveyor Merger to the
  
  Storage Container.

Step 6: Power

• All there's left to do now is to set up the power.

Layout #5: Rotors

Requires

Produces 120/min

Produces

Produces 10/min

Guide

Step 1: Smelters

• Start by making a 13x9 area.
• Add 4
  
  Smelters in the 2nd row starting in the 2nd column. Skipping a column in between
  
  Smelters. You should have one on the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th column.
• Create a manifold system of
  
  Conveyor Splitters, adding 4
  
  Conveyor Splitters aligned with each
  
  Smelter in the 1st row.
• Proceed to belt the
  
  Conveyor Splitters together and to the
  
  Smelters.
• Set all
  
  Smelters to produce
  
  Iron Ingot.
• Add another
  
  Conveyor Splitter in front of all the
  
  Smelters in the 3rd row. Belt the
  
  Smelters to the
  
  Conveyor Splitters.

Step 2: Iron Rod Constructors

• Put down 8
  
  Constructors in the 4th row starting on the 1st column.
• Proceed to belt the
  
  Conveyor Splitters to the
  
  Constructors. Each
  
  Conveyor Splitter on the 3rd row will be connected to 2
  
  Constructors.
• Set all
  
  Constructors to produce
  
  Iron Rods.

Step 3: Mergers

• Add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 5th row and lining up with the 1st
  
  Constructor. Making sure the output is facing forward.
• Proceed to add
  
  Conveyor Mergers in the 5th row in front of the 2nd and 3rd
  
  Constructor. For these 2, make sure the output is facing to the left.
• In front of the 4th
  
  Constructor, put down a
  
  Conveyor Splitter.
• Proceed to belt all of the
  
  Constructors to the
  
  Conveyor Mergers and
  
  Conveyor Splitter and in between.
• In front of the 5th, 6th and 7th
  
  Constructor, put down a
  
  Conveyor Merger making sure the output is facing to the right.
• Put down the last
  
  Conveyor Merger in front of the 8th
  
  Constructor with the output facing forward.
• Connect all of the
  
  Conveyor Mergers and
  
  Constructors together.
• Proceed to connect the
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 4th column to the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 5th column twice. One directly and one curving into the 6th row. (see screenshot below)

NOTE

The reason we are doing this is because we want 50 total rods on the left side and 70 total rods on the right side.

Step 4: Splitters & Screw Constructors

• Add 6
  
  Conveyor Splitters in the 6th row. All entrances will be coming in front the right except for the last one which the
  
  Conveyor Splitter will be coming in from the bottom.
• Belt all of the
  
  Conveyor Splitters together. Making sure the last
  
  Conveyor Splitter connecting to the
  
  Conveyor Merger is using a
  
  Conveyor Belt Mk.2 belt.
• Proceed to add 7
  
  Constructors in the 7th row starting on the 2nd column. Belt all of the
  
  Conveyor Splitters to the
  
  Constructors. The first 2
  
  Constructors will be connecting to the same
  
  Conveyor Splitter. Set all of them to produce
  
  Screws.
• Note: if you have access to under-clocking, the last
  
  Constructor should be set to 10 screws per minute so 25% speed.

Step 5: Splitters & Mergers

• In the 8th column, add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in front of the 2nd
  
  Constructor. Belt the first 2
  
  Constructors into this
  
  Conveyor Merger.
• In front of the 3rd
  
  Constructor, add a
  
  Conveyor Splitter.
• In front of the 4th
  
  Constructor, add a
  
  Conveyor Merger making sure it's facing forward.
• Belt the 3rd
  
  Constructor to the
  
  Conveyor Splitter and the
  
  Conveyor Splitter to the
  
  Conveyor Mergers next to it.
• Belt the 4th and 5th
  
  Constructors to the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 5th column.
• Put down a
  
  Conveyor Merger in front of the 6th
  
  Constructor. Belt the 6th and 7th
  
  Constructors to this
  
  Conveyor Merger.

NOTE

This will give you 2 lines of 100 screws and one line of 50 screws.

Step 6: Assemblers

• We will now put down 3
  
  Assemblers.
• 1st
  
  Assembler: The bottom of the
  
  Assembler should be past the middle way of the 9th row and the 1st conveyor hole of the
  
  Assembler lines up with the 1st
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 3rd Column.
• 2nd
  
  Assembler: Put down the 2nd one beside the 1st making sure the 2nd conveyor hole is lined up with the 3rd
  
  Conveyor Merger.
• 3rd
  
  Assembler: Add the last
  
  Assembler beside the first two and making sure the 2nd conveyor hole is lined up with the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 7th column.
• Belt the
  
  Conveyor Mergers to the
  
  Assemblers.
• Proceed to add a
  
  Conveyor Splitter on top of each
  
  Conveyor Merger and making sure the entrance is on the left side for each one. Belt the
  
  Conveyor Splitters together and into the
  
  Assemblers.
• Belt the
  
  Conveyor Merger in the 5th row and 1st column with the 1st
  
  Conveyor Splitter in the 8th row. You will need to stop the belt 2 notches below the middle of the 8th row in order to be able to curve it into the
  
  Conveyor Splitter.
• Set all
  
  Assemblers to generate
  
  Rotors. If you have access to under-clocking, the 3rd one should be set to 50%.

Step 7: Storage Container

• Add a
  
  Conveyor Merger in front of the 2nd
  
  Assembler and making sure the output is on the right side.
• Put down another
  
  Conveyor Merger in front of the 3rd
  
  Assembler and output on the right side as well.
• Belt the first 2
  
  Assemblers to the 1st
  
  Conveyor Merger and the 3rd
  
  Assembler to the 2nd
  
  Conveyor Merger. Proceed to belt the 2
  
  Conveyor Mergers together.
• Proceed to add a
  
  Storage Container in the 7th column and belt the last
  
  Conveyor Merger into it.

Step 8: Power

• All there's left to do now is set up the power.