Robotics and Logistic Network Guide

Robotics and the logistic network are what stop your factory from stalling on busywork. If you are still hand-carrying parts, rebuilding by hand, or trying to keep expansion moving from a few chests, you are spending time on friction instead of growth. The fix is to unlock the chain in the right order, build a connected roboport backbone, and use the right chest for each job so your robots actually have something useful to do.

Unlock robotics in the right order and plan for the first robots

Start with the research path, not the placement. You need Robotics first, and that research requires Electric engine and Battery, with Automation science pack×1, Logistic science pack×1, and Chemical science pack×1. After that, Logistic robotics and Construction robotics both build on Robotics and use the same science pack trio. Logistic system comes later, after Logistic robotics and Utility science pack, and it adds Utility science pack×1 to the same Automation science pack×1, Logistic science pack×1, and Chemical science pack×1 cost.

Do not rush to place chests before you can support the robot chain. The real bottleneck is the Flying robot frame, because every robot depends on it and it takes 20s to make. A Flying robot frame needs Electric engine unit×1, Battery×2, Steel plate×1, and Electronic circuit×3. From there, a Logistic Robot adds Advanced circuit×2, and a Construction Robot adds Electronic circuit×2. That means your first practical goal is not “robots everywhere”; it is a stable supply of frames.

Here is the core chain at a glance:

Build the roboport backbone that makes the network work

Treat Roboport as the foundation, not a decoration. A Roboport connects with other roboports to create the construction and logistic networks used by robots, and that means the network does nothing unless the ports are placed to actually connect. Build the backbone first, then expand into coverage.

Place Roboport only where it will matter: around your main production blocks, your construction hub, and any expansion edge you expect to keep active. If you place a port in isolation, you are not building a network; you are just placing an expensive box. Once ports are connected, Construction Robot can work from the network using materials stored in Passive provider chest, Active provider chest, or Storage chest, while Logistic Robot can move items between logistic chests.

Your rule of thumb should be simple: if the roboports are not linked, the robots are not doing network work. Put the ports down early enough that ghosts and repairs can be handled, but do not expect miracles until the backbone is complete.

Use the right chest for the job instead of mixing roles

Once the network exists, chest choice is what makes it efficient. Passive provider chest makes its content available to the logistic network, so it is your default output chest for items you want to feed into the system. Requester chest asks the logistic network for specified items, so it is what you place at the point of need. Storage chest is long-term storage for the logistic network, which makes it your overflow and cleanup target. Active provider chest sends its content to the logistic network, so use it when you want items pushed out aggressively. Buffer chest requests specified items to be available for personal logistics and automated construction, so it is the chest you use when you want reserves held for you and for building.

For the first network, keep it simple: feed production into Passive provider chest, request supplies with Requester chest, and dump excess into Storage chest. Use Active provider chest only when you specifically want to clear a line fast. Use Buffer chest when you want to reserve items for your own use or for build support without letting them disappear into general circulation.

Set up your first item flow so robots can actually move supply

Your first useful logistic setup should solve one problem cleanly, not three problems badly. Put production outputs into Passive provider chest, then place a Requester chest where you need delivery, and let Logistic Robot move items between those logistic chests. If you have overflow or mixed leftovers, send them into Storage chest instead of clogging your production chests.

Be careful with construction support: Construction Robot fetches building materials from the nearest logistic chest that contains the items, but it does not take items out of Requester chest to fulfill construction orders. That means requester slots are for reservation, not supply. If you want materials available for building, keep them in Passive provider chest, Active provider chest, or Storage chest. Use Requester chest to protect a stockpile from being consumed by construction, not to provide that stockpile.

That distinction is the key to avoiding self-inflicted shortages. If you request all your iron plates into a chest and then expect construction to pull from it, you will be disappointed. Build supply chests for supply, and reserve chests for demand.

Add construction support without starving your build materials

Once the network is stable, let Construction Robot take over maintenance and expansion. These robots place and build ghost entities and blueprints, repair damaged structures using repair packs, and remove entities marked for deconstruction. They also replace destroyed entities when the required item is available in a Passive provider chest, Active provider chest, or Storage chest in the same logistic network.

Use them to keep your base moving, but keep spare materials available before you depend on them. If the network is empty, construction stalls. If you are deconstructing something and you want the reclaimed items to go somewhere specific, pair the deconstruction with a matching request: when a Requester chest or Buffer chest has an active unfulfilled request for an item being deconstructed, Construction Robot will prioritize delivering the item directly into that chest.

That gives you a clean way to recycle parts without losing track of them. It also means Buffer chest is especially useful when you want construction reserves held ready while your robots work. If you need to remove cliffs, remember that cliff explosives can come from a provider or storage chest in the network, or from your personal inventory.

Scale the network carefully and account for robot limits and risks

Do not overbuild the edge of your network just because it looks convenient. Each Construction Robot can carry up to four items at once, and a single robot can be provisioning materials for up to four tiles, but it still constructs only one entity at a time. Faster robots finish jobs sooner, and robot cargo size and speed improve with research, but speed also raises energy consumption for each robot.

That creates a clear trade-off: if you want rapid expansion, you must also accept higher power use and a larger replacement burden. Keep that in mind when you push the network outward. Robots are not combat units. They have no combat abilities, they will not flee when attacked, and they can be destroyed by hostile units and environmental damage, including melee enemies and flamethrower fire.

So expand in steps. Extend the roboport line, make sure supply chests are stocked, confirm that the area is covered, and then let the robots work ahead of you. If you send them too far into unsafe ground, you will spend more time replacing robots than benefiting from them.