Splitter

The Splitter is a logistics building used to split, merge, filter, and prioritize conveyor belts. It has four belt ports, and any of them can be used as input or output, making it one of the most flexible belt-handling structures in the game. It was added in patch 0.9.24.11182 and requires no power.

A Splitter can be configured through its menu after placement. The player can switch between three layouts with the Tab key: a four-way form, a multi-level parallel two-way form, and a multi-level perpendicular two-way form. Its inputs and outputs can be prioritized, and the prioritized output can also be filtered so that only one item type passes through that route. Only one input and one output can be prioritized at a time, and only one item can be assigned to the filter.

Splitters are especially useful in large-scale factory layouts where items must be balanced across multiple belts. They can be stacked vertically, up to the limit allowed by the current Vertical Construction upgrade, which makes them useful for compact main-bus style builds. They are also commonly used to route multiple products from a single production line into separate belts, or to collect several item types onto one belt and later separate them again. When a recipe produces multiple outputs, such as Oil Refining, filtering on a Splitter is an efficient way to sort the products after they are merged onto one line.

A storage container can be placed on top of a Splitter, turning the two into a compact buffer system. The storage acts as both an input and an output through the Splitter, and neither the Splitter nor the storage requires power. This setup is useful for buffering production, though the storage cannot be set as a primary output and items cannot be filtered into it from the input belts. A Logistics Distributor can also be placed on top of the splitter-storage combination, allowing it to function as a small logistics hub.

Splitters are also valuable for handling byproducts and keeping production lines from backing up. For example, when feeding Hydrogen back into a Fractionator loop, a prioritized input can ensure that looped Hydrogen is used before fresh supply, with external input filling only the remaining gaps. This same principle is useful whenever one stream should be consumed before another.

• Press Tab while placing a Splitter to cycle through its three forms.
• Clicking the Splitter opens the priority and filter menu.
• Only one input and one output can be prioritized, and only the prioritized output can be filtered.
• Splitters can be stacked with storage on top, and the storage will feed all of the Splitter’s output belts when space is available.
• Splitters are often used to balance belts, merge byproducts back into production, and sort mixed output lines without using extra power.