Circuit Board

Circuit Board is a basic component used throughout the early and mid game as an ingredient for research, buildings, and other crafting chains. It is made from Iron Ingot and Copper Ingot, and it is one of the most frequently demanded parts alongside Gear and Magnetic Coil in the opening phase of factory expansion.

Its uses are broad. Circuit Board is required for core production buildings such as Sorters, Assembler, Mining Machine, and Arc Smelter. It is also needed for research-related progression, including the Matrix Lab and the first research material, Electromagnetic Matrix. As the factory expands, it becomes part of oil- and fluid-related structures such as Oil Extractor, Oil Refinery, Chemical Plant, and pumps, and it is also used in logistics and factory equipment such as Splitter, Spray Coater, and Traffic Monitor, as well as in combat defenses. Another major sink is solar infrastructure, including Solar Panel and Solar Sail through Photon Combiner. Later on, Circuit Board is also upgraded into Processor, which makes it especially important once mid-game technology begins to scale.

Crafting is fast, and each craft produces 2 Circuit Boards. Because of this, shortages can be easy to overlook until several production lines start consuming them at once. They are primarily iron-heavy in practice, so the factory line that supplies them should be planned with enough Iron Ingot throughput to avoid bottlenecks.

A few practical notes help keep production stable:

• Keep at least one stack on hand early on, since many of the first buildings request Circuit Board repeatedly.
• When building for research, remember that Electromagnetic Matrix consumes them indirectly through production chains, so science demand can quietly increase output pressure.
• Processor production causes Circuit Board demand to rise sharply later in the game, so a small starter line often becomes insufficient.
• In Assembling Machine Mk.I, Circuit Board production rate is 1.5 per second for both input and output flow.
• Sorter length matters when designing compact production blocks: a 1-grid Sorter is adequate for Assembling Machine Mk.I, while a 2-grid Sorter requires either Assembling Machine Mk.II or two Mk.I Sorters.
• When planning factory layouts, keeping Sorter runs short helps reduce congestion and simplifies high-throughput lines.

Circuit Board is therefore not just an early crafting material, but a foundational component that remains relevant from the first science milestone through the industrial expansion that follows.