Factorio production — recipes, crafting speed and bottlenecks
Calculate small base-game production examples at normal quality without bonuses. Check speed, output counts, single belt lanes, inserters and power when ratios fail.
Edition: PC Steam base game (app 427520), standard Freeplay: no Space Age, Quality, Elevated Rails or external mods; normal quality and standard research costs. Enemy, pollution and resource settings are addressed separately
Verification scope: Official stable download 2.0.77 checked on 2026-10-04. Numbers and research prioritize official factorio-data tag 2.0.77. Experimental 2.1, old 1.1 and expansion conditions are separate. No executable or individual save was tested
Sources checked: 2026-10-04
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Align machines and bonuses before calculating
Recipe seconds are base time. Actual output also depends on crafting speed, output count, supply and removal. These calculations use normal quality with no modules, beacons or productivity.
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| Equipment / condition | Value used | Potential misreading |
|---|---|---|
| Stone furnace | Crafting speed 1 | Assumes uninterrupted fuel/materials and output removal |
| Assembling machine 1 | Crafting speed 0.5 | A 5-second recipe takes 10 seconds per cycle |
| Assembling machine 2 | Crafting speed 0.75 | A 5-second recipe takes about 6.67 seconds; counts alone cannot compare tiers |
| Power and materials | Assumed continuously sufficient | Theoretical output excludes starvation, blackouts and full-output downtime |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Unmodified theoretical items/minute = 60 × crafting speed × output per cycle ÷ base recipe seconds. Ratios balance capacity; they do not require every machine to run continuously.
Representative components and per-machine output
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| Product | Checked input → output | Machine / base time | Conditional production example | Bottleneck check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron / copper plate | 1 corresponding ore → 1 plate | Stone furnace / 3.2 seconds | 18.75 per minute per furnace | Fuel, ore and output space |
| Steel plate | 5 iron plates → 1 steel | Stone furnace / 16 seconds | 3.75 steel/minute; consumes 18.75 iron plates/minute | Supply iron plates, not ore |
| Iron gear wheel | 2 iron plates → 1 gear | Assembler 1 / base 0.5 seconds | 60/minute; consumes 120 iron plates/minute | Can feeding sustain 2 plates/second? |
| Copper cable | 1 copper plate → 2 cable | Assembler 1 / base 0.5 seconds | 120/minute; consumes 60 copper plates/minute | Two outputs per cycle also require removal capacity |
| Electronic circuit | 1 iron plate + 3 cable → 1 circuit | Assembler 1 / base 0.5 seconds | 60/minute; consumes 180 cable/minute | Check cable production and inserter input |
| Engine unit | 1 steel + 1 gear + 2 pipes → 1 | Assembler 1 / base 10 seconds | 3/minute | Cannot handcraft; check every ingredient |
| Advanced circuit | 2 circuits + 2 plastic + 4 cable → 1 | Assembler 1 / base 6 seconds | 5/minute | Inspect plastic's oil branch and cable's solid branch separately |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Table times are not actual cycles: assembler 1 doubles base time. Locked recipes require the progression guide's research checks.
Count science output per cycle
Before adding science assemblers, check ingredient branches separately. These examples use assembler 1 without bonuses, continuously powered and able to receive/remove items.
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| Product | Checked input → output | Machine / base time | Conditional production example | Bottleneck check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automation science — red | 1 copper plate + 1 gear → 1 | Assembler 1 / base 5 seconds | 6/minute | Are gears already manufactured from plates? |
| Logistic science — green | 1 inserter + 1 belt → 1 | Assembler 1 / base 6 seconds | 5/minute | Both ingredients must be finished items |
| Chemical science — blue | 2 engines + 3 advanced circuits + 1 sulfur → 2 | Assembler 1 / base 24 seconds | 2.5/minute | Inspect engine, circuit and sulfur branches in turn |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Blue science produces 2 per cycle. Treating it as one every 24 seconds overestimates machine needs. A pack's recipe differs from its research unlock condition.
Original calculation: 30 red science per minute
Choose 30/minute as a hypothetical target and work backward. This is a design example, not a required minimum or recommended completion speed.
- Count this red-science line alone, excluding construction, ammunition and green science.
- Add upstream requirements; include other uses when sharing iron supply.
- Deliver science to labs or available storage; clear output blocking before diagnosing shortage.
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| Stage | Calculation | Decision in this example |
|---|---|---|
| Assembler 1 for red science | 6/minute each; 30 ÷ 6 = 5 | Capacity from 5 red-science assemblers |
| Gear supply | 30 gears/minute for 30 red science | One gear assembler 1 produces 60/minute, leaving spare capacity |
| Iron plate supply | 2 plates per gear; 30 × 2 = 60 | Reserve 60 plates/minute separately from other uses |
| Copper plate supply | 1 copper plate per red science; 30 × 1 = 30 | Reserve 30 copper plates/minute |
| Matching green output | 5/minute each; 30 ÷ 5 = 6 | 5 red and 6 green assemblers; green ingredients still need separate supply |
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A gear machine idle roughly half the time still meets this red-science example. Spare capacity is not a fault. If research stops, science output fills and theoretical continuous rates cease.
Original calculation: 3 cable assemblers to 2 circuit assemblers
Same machine tier, no modules or other bonuses. Calculate conditions for two circuit assembler 1s at full speed.
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| Process | Theoretical rate | Supply / removal check |
|---|---|---|
| 2 circuit assemblers | 60 × 2 = 120/minute | Requires 120 iron plates and 360 cable/minute |
| 3 cable assemblers | 120 × 3 = 360/minute | Consumes 180 copper plates/minute; matches demand |
| Shared materials | Materials diverted elsewhere are unavailable | Are circuit and construction lines competing for cable? |
| Effective connection throughput | Correct machine ratios can still be limited by inserters | If input empties, consider faster/multiple arms. Direct insertion still needs transport capacity |
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“3:2” describes only cable/circuit processing capacity. One ordinary arm does not guarantee full speed. Recalculate if only one side changes to assembler 2.
Calculating one yellow-belt lane
A normal-quality yellow belt without item stacking carries 15 items/second across both lanes. If ore and fuel occupy separate lanes, count ore against only one lane.
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| Assumption | Result | Condition to establish |
|---|---|---|
| Both yellow-belt lanes | 15/second = 900/minute | Both fully supplied with the same material |
| One lane for iron ore | 7.5/second = 450/minute | Do not count the coal lane toward ore capacity |
| 24 stone furnaces smelting iron | 24 × 18.75 = 450 plates/minute | 450 ore/minute, enough fuel and plate-output room |
| Only one output lane is blocked | The empty opposite lane is not automatically used | Check the inserter's drop lane and downstream receiver |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Extending to 48 furnaces and both yellow-belt lanes requires 900 ore/minute plus separate fuel. Do not use miner-count tables without aligning ore type, remaining patch, productivity and resource-consumption modifiers.
When actual output misses the ratio
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| Symptom | Upstream / downstream display | Try | Setting / version difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inputs frequently empty | The preceding belt is thin too | Check upstream production and other branch consumption | Check mining productivity and remaining ore too |
| Full belt but empty input | Inserters cannot move enough | After direction/filter/power checks, improve arms or connections | Capacity research and belt placement change effective throughput |
| Finished-product slot fills | Output belt/chest full | Run the receiver or provide appropriate storage | No-demand stoppages are normal |
| Every stage slows together | Network Satisfaction insufficient | Restore fuel supply and generation | Inspect only the relevant network if grids are split |
| Only fluid recipes stop | Ports, fluid or recipe do not match | Use a compatible assembler, select the recipe and check ports/fluid | Assembler 1 cannot use fluids |
| Another line starves after expansion | The shared belt thins after its split | Recalculate total consumption and increase material supply | Splitters do not create more material |
| Ratios change after replacing machines | Only some crafting speeds changed | Compare speed × output ÷ time, not counts alone | Align tier, quality, modules and beacons |
No matching entries in this table. Shorten the query or clear it to restore all entries.
Oil processing requires space in every output as well as input supply. Return to the appropriate midgame progression panel for concrete steps.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a 5-second recipe take longer?
Divide base time by crafting speed: assembler 1 at 0.5 takes 10 seconds without bonuses. Starvation, power shortages and full outputs add delays.
Why do materials remain before inserters despite correct ratios?
Machine ratios calculate processing capacity. Check arms' direction, power, filters and throughput, plus receiver slots. Belt stock alone does not establish delivery.
Should every surplus be eliminated?
Excess capacity or temporary stock is not automatically failure. Waiting with enough finished output can be normal. Separate starvation from lack of demand.
Do equal machine counts preserve ratios after upgrades?
Uniform scaling differs from speeding only one side. Normal assembler 1 runs at 0.5 and assembler 2 at 0.75; recalculate when replacing only some.