Preparing the interactive tool. Please wait; the guide and worked examples remain available below.
Use the stock budget as a fault locator
The calculator subtracts already usable finished packs from your target. For each remaining red pack, the cited base-game recipe needs one copper plate and one iron gear wheel; for every gear you do not already own, the cited gear recipe needs two iron plates. This is a bill of materials, not a claim that items can cross a broken belt or that a lab can consume them.
Worked example: target 30 total packs, with 8 already finished, 18 copper plates, 10 finished gears and 20 iron plates. You need 22 additional packs: 22 copper plates and 22 gears. After using 10 existing gears, the 12 missing gears require 24 iron plates. The full target is short by 4 copper and 4 iron plates. Existing ingredients can support 18 more packs, bringing the total to 26, before any production or transport problem. These figures are arithmetic from the cited recipes, not an observed factory output.
If copper is the first shortage, inspect copper mining and smelting before adding assemblers. If the iron-for-gears side is short, inspect iron plates and the gear branch. If both budgets are covered but the lab stays idle, switch from materials arithmetic to machine, inserter, power and research checks.
| Your result | Question to inspect in the save | What this number cannot prove |
|---|---|---|
| Copper shortfall | Is copper reaching the red-pack assembler? | A positive stock number does not prove belt delivery |
| Iron shortfall | Are plates reaching the gear assembler? | It excludes alternate gear recipes and productivity |
| No ingredient shortfall | Do the machines run and does the lab receive packs? | It does not predict throughput or research completion |
References: Factorio Wiki: Automation science pack · Factorio Wiki: Iron gear wheel
Start with the research path, not a target ratio
Automation science packs are the first tier in the cited Wiki; logistic science packs are the second. The base-game Wiki recipe for one automation pack uses one copper plate and one iron gear wheel. The logistic pack uses one inserter and one transport belt. Confirm the recipe and unlocks shown in your own installed game before committing to a layout.
If your plate and power supply is not stable yet, use the first-automation checklist first. A science layout cannot cure missing power or missing iron. Treat the factory as a chain with observable boundaries.
| Boundary | Evidence to look for | If missing |
|---|---|---|
| Raw materials to plates | Furnace output is available | Fix mining, fuel and furnace inputs |
| Plates to ingredients | The recipe's intermediates are produced | Open recipe view; identify the missing input |
| Ingredients to science pack | Assembler output contains the pack | Check recipe selection, inserter direction and input delivery |
| Pack to lab | The lab receives packs and has electricity | Inspect belt/inserter path and pole connection |
References: Factorio Wiki: Quick start guide · Factorio Wiki: Automation science pack · Factorio Wiki: Logistic science pack
Build a one-pack proof
Start with a short automation-science-pack line near your existing plates and power. Use the installed recipe panel to list direct ingredients, then follow each ingredient backwards until you reach something already produced. Place only enough assemblers and inserters to make that flow visible.
Put the finished pack where a lab can receive it. Select a research that actually consumes that pack; a full output stack sitting in a chest proves production, but not lab delivery or research. This step-by-step proof is more useful to a new player than importing a high-throughput blueprint with hidden dependencies.
- Select a technology and read its required packs in the lab or technology screen.
- Set an assembler to the first science pack recipe and identify missing ingredients in its interface.
- Feed the ingredients with a short, inspectable route; verify a finished pack is produced.
- Move packs to a powered lab and confirm research progress, not just item production.
References: Factorio Wiki: Automation science pack · Factorio Wiki: Quick start guide
Add the second pack as a separate question
After the first pack reaches the lab consistently, inspect the logistic-science-pack recipe and build its missing ingredient branches. Do not assume that doubling red-science machines creates green science: the second pack is a separate recipe and delivery path.
When the lab slows, trace the chain backward from the lab. If one pack is absent, inspect its assembler output; if output is present but the lab is empty, inspect transport; if both pack types arrive and the lab is idle, inspect power and the selected research. Change one input at a time and watch whether the same boundary advances.
| What you see | Likely boundary | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| Assembler's output stays empty | Recipe or ingredients | Read each input slot and trace the missing ingredient upstream |
| Packs pile up before lab | Transport or lab insertion | Inspect inserter orientation and destination |
| Lab has only one pack type | Second pack production or delivery | Trace that pack's separate branch |
| Lab has packs but research stalls | Power or technology selection | Check connection and active research requirements |
References: Factorio Wiki: Logistic science pack · Factorio Wiki: Automation science pack · Factorio Wiki: Quick start guide
Record the bottleneck honestly
Example diagnostic only: suppose a powered lab has automation packs but no logistic packs. That observation narrows the problem to the green-pack branch or its transport; it does not show a global iron shortage. Check the green assembler output first, then the path into the lab. This example does not claim a measured production rate.
Keep one screenshot of the stalled machine interface and one of the downstream lab. Include the selected technology and your installed game version. A useful report tells another player where the chain stops; a screenshot of the whole factory without a named symptom rarely does.
Installed version / expansion / mods:
Selected research and packs required:
First missing pack or ingredient:
Last machine with visible output:
Power and inserter direction checked:
Single correction tried / observed change:Before you play
- Confirm the chosen research really needs the pack being built.
- Count usable red packs and ingredients before adding machines.
- Prove red-science production and lab consumption before adding the second branch.
- Trace a stalled chain backward from lab to input.
- Record the first missing boundary, not just the fact that research is slow.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my lab have red packs but not progress?
Check the selected research's full pack requirements, lab power and delivery of every required pack. Red alone is not sufficient for every technology.
How many science assemblers do I need?
This guide deliberately does not set a universal ratio. First prove a working line, then size it using your installed recipes, machine speeds and actual bottleneck.
Does this guide verify a specific current build?
No. It uses the public Wiki to explain a diagnostic process; the game UI in your installation should confirm recipes and requirements.
Sources & revision notes
Editorial revision: September 28, 2026; not a gameplay test date. The reference notes identify source limits and version differences.
- Factorio Wiki: Quick start guide (Community)
Factorio Wiki tutorial read September 23, 2026. Used for the starter drill/furnace, resources, controls and first power path. Tutorial examples may not reflect every current game configuration.
- Factorio Wiki: Automation science pack (Community)
Wiki base-game recipe checked September 28, 2026: one copper plate and one iron gear wheel per automation pack. Inspect the recipe in your installed game, especially with mods.
- Factorio Wiki: Logistic science pack (Community)
Factorio Wiki recipe reference read September 23, 2026. Confirms the second science tier; no throughput claim is made.
- Factorio Wiki: Iron gear wheel (Community)
Wiki base-game gear recipe checked September 28, 2026: one gear from two iron plates. Space Age has an alternative casting recipe, which the calculator does not model.
Added an interactive stock-aware automation-science ingredient budget, checked the gear recipe and worked a 30-pack example. It distinguishes material shortfalls from machine and lab delivery; no throughput or played result is claimed.
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