Silicon Arc Furnace

The Silicon Arc Furnace is a mid-to-late-game refinement building that converts Sand and Graphite into Silicon at high throughput. It was added in Build 136 and its power draw was reduced in Build 149 from 360 to 300 power units per second. Each production cycle takes 50 ticks (0.83333 s), yielding Silicon at a rate of 4.8 /s while consuming Sand at 4.8 /s and Graphite at 1.2 /s.

The Arc Furnace occupies the design space between the simpler Silicon Smelter and the higher-complexity Silicon Crucible: it produces Silicon much faster than the Smelter (about 3.2× the output rate) while using less Sand per Silicon produced (the Smelter’s sand-to-silicon ratio is roughly 2:1, the Arc Furnace’s is 1:1). In contrast with the Crucible, the Arc Furnace uses the same total Sand per Silicon but does not require Pyratite; the Crucible produces about 1.11× the Arc Furnace’s output at neutral affinities and uses roughly 20% less power.

Practical notes and usage considerations:

• The Arc Furnace requires Graphite rather than Coal, so supply chains must include Graphite production (for example Graphite Press lines) rather than relying on coal conveyors.
• It is a high-power building for its footprint: plan power generation accordingly. Its reduced consumption of 300 power/sec (post-Build 149) is still substantially higher than the basic smelter options.
• Throughput-oriented placement and logistics (multiple conveyors, sorters, or overflow management) are recommended; a single Arc Furnace produces 4.8 Silicon per second and will demand steady inputs to avoid idling.
• Compared to alternatives:
  • Silicon Smelter: far lower output and worse sand efficiency, but much lower power cost and uses Coal instead of Graphite.
  • Silicon Crucible: slightly higher silicon output and lower power draw, but requires an additional input (Pyratite) and is more complex to feed.
• Use the Arc Furnace when you need compact, high-speed Silicon production and you can support its electrical and Graphite supply demands; choose the Crucible if you prefer better energy efficiency and have Pyratite available, or the Smelter when power is limited and throughput requirements are low.