Transport belt

Transport belt is the basic item-transporting ground conveyor used to move items along two lanes across the factory. A single Transport belt carries items on two lanes with a combined maximum throughput of 15 items per game-second, a movement speed of 1.875 tiles per game-second, and a maximum density of 8 items per tile. Transport belt requires no technology to unlock.

Transport belts can be integrated into the Circuit network to make their behavior conditional and to read what they carry. A Transport belt connected to the Circuit network displays a yellow frame with a small moving red scanner when networked. Clicking a networked Transport belt opens its circuit interface, which provides two main functions: enable/disable logic that allows signals to control whether the belt moves items, and an option to read the items currently on the belt. The belt’s read function supports two read modes: pulse mode, where the belt reads its contents only at the single tick when an item enters the belt segment, and continuous mode, where the belt reports its contents every tick while items are present. These features allow belts to emit signals when certain items pass and to gate flow of items using combinator or network logic. Common uses include triggering inserters or other actuators when specific items arrive, or stopping a belt until a condition is met.

• Transport belt throughput and speed are fixed values: 15 items/game-second for both lanes combined, 1.875 tiles/game-second, and up to 8 items per tile.
• Connect a Transport belt to the Circuit network by wiring it; the belt will show the yellow frame with the red scanner to indicate network connectivity.
• Use the enable/disable setting to stop the belt from moving items when a configured signal condition is false; use it to implement conditional buffering or blocking.
• Use the read-belt option to have the belt output the contents it carries to the Circuit network; choose pulse mode to detect single-item entries or continuous mode to monitor persistent contents.
• Typical automation patterns include using a networked Transport belt to detect item types for selective picking by inserters, to trigger lights or alerts when material passes, or to control upstream production by gating belts with combinator logic.