Plastanium Conveyor

## Purpose

### Description

Transports items forward in batches. Accepts items at the back, and unloads them in three directions at the front. Requires multiple loading and unloading points for peak throughput.

## General

### Build Cost

1  Graphite
1  Silicon
1  Plastanium

## Research

### Research Cost

80  Graphite
80  Silicon
80  Plastanium

The **Plastanium Conveyor** is a transport block on Serpulo that breaks from traditional Conveyors by moving items in condensed batches, allowing for enhanced throughput without moving faster. To facilitate this, it has several unique rules.

## Segments

No single Plastanium Conveyor can function on its own; it must be connected to at least one other Plastanium Conveyor. Each tile of a line of Plastanium Conveyors will be one of three types referred to here as "segments", with a marking to differentiate their function based on what they are connected to. A batch occupies as much space as one whole segment.

### Starting Segments

These are marked with a closed circle. They point toward one other segment and have no segments pointing into them. They allow inputs from any source from the remaining three sides, collecting one type of item at a time into batches of 10 that they then release into the connected segment. Each batch must completely clear the starting segment before it can begin collecting a new batch, so it puts through at most 20 items per second.

### Transition Segments

These are marked with a direction arrow. All segments will be of this type if they fail the conditions of the other two. They accept batches from any segment pointing into them and move them in the indicated direction. Items not in batch form cannot be accepted from the sides of these segments, but Unloaders can pull items **out** of batches moving through transition segments, allowing for distribution into other blocks.

### Ending Segments

These are marked with an "X". They have one other segment pointing into their backs and pointing toward no others. They dissolve and distribute batches into the remaining three output directions equally like a Router does for traditional Conveyors. This can output into other starting segments but not transition segments.

## Usage

While Plastanium Conveyors move their batches at almost the same speed that Titanium Conveyors move items, they can achieve almost quadruple the throughput. This can handle traffic from highly active blocks such as boosted Airblast Drills, from many drills combined into a single stream, between massive chains of factories like Silicon Crucibles and Surge Smelters, or from all of these sources emptying into the Core.

Though segments move item batches of all types, the way starting segments only collect one type of item at a time means you must be mindful of how you load them up. In other words, they refuse all types they are not currently collecting and get clogged if everything is inputting other types. Thus each individual starting segment should collect only one type of item. Use a Sorter to split up a mixed flow.

In addition, since starting segments only support half the throughput of the other segments, every line requires 2 or more starting segments for peak throughput.

### Junctions and Bridges

It is rather difficult to have Plastanium Conveyors travel across obstacles with maximum throughput, since a transition block forms a new starting segment on the other side, necessitating two branches crossing the obstacle. Many different blocks can split the flow, but be mindful of their maximum throughputs. Basic Routers, Junctions , and Bridge Conveyors can't even handle that much, maxing out at a pitiful 11 items/sec, necessitating *four* branches crossing the obstacle. Sorters and Gates support (probably) infinite items per second, so they are usually instrumental, but must be used carefully since they don't allow passage through more than two of them at once.

* An Inverted Sorter without a specification behaves exactly like a junction with theoretically no throughput limit. A second inverted sorter with a gate joining it to the ending segment can get across one line of Conveyors at 40 items/sec.
* If two approaching lines don't have to be at maximum throughput, they can be merged into one line and then filtered out with unloaders further down.
* Bridges must be used to get across any other obstacle. Phase Conveyors have the advantage of longer range and needing two for max throughput instead of four regular bridges, but require power and expensive materials. Branching into four requires the help of gates, as seen below.

If you can manage it, have Plastanium Conveyors weave around obstacles instead, or have obstacles bridge over them.

## Changes

 Version 6.0, Build 122
 Version 7.0, unknown build

## Trivia

* A batch of items moves forward 6 blocks per second.