Conveyor Rail Element Sensor

The Conveyor Rail Element Sensor is a logic building used to detect whether a specific item is present on a Conveyor Rail. It is part of the rail automation system and is used to control material flow without needing to inspect the contents manually.

Its most common use is in combination with a Conveyor Shutoff. Wired together, the sensor can act like a Solid Filter: when the desired item passes the sensor, the shutoff is enabled and the item continues through; otherwise, the shutoff blocks the rail and diverts the cargo. This achieves the same basic filtering function as a Solid Filter, but the sensor-plus-shutoff setup uses only 10 W of power instead of 120 W.

Because the sensor only checks for the presence of a chosen item on the rail, it is useful for sorting mixed cargo, separating valuables from bulk material, or preventing unwanted resources from entering a storage line or production chain. It is especially handy when a base already has rail logistics in place and you want a low-power way to direct shipments.

• It detects a specific item on a Conveyor Rail.
• Paired with a Conveyor Shutoff, it performs item filtering similar to a Solid Filter.
• The sensor/shutoff combination is significantly more power-efficient than a Solid Filter setup.
• It is best used in automated rail sorting systems where power savings matter.

In practical use, the sensor is placed so it can read the rail segment carrying the item you want to identify, then connected to the shutoff that will either allow or stop the cargo. This makes it easy to build compact, efficient sorting lines for bases that move many different resources by rail.