Assembler

Assembler


Category:	Facility
Function:	Turns materials into components.

Fits large grid
Mass:	4092.0 kg
Capacity:	1,000 L
Power:	Standby -1 kW Active -560 kW
PCU:	40
Size:	1x1x2
Time to Build:	80 sec

Data Controls:	[edit] [purge] (?)

The Assembler is a functional block in Space Engineers. You control its functionality through the Production tab.

The Assembler is the advanced variant of the Basic Assembler and Survival Kit; the Industrial Assembler is a reskin with same functionality but different size. This block is essential to be able to produce components for mid- and end-game blocks. It also has better blueprint queuing than its basic variant.

Usage

Engineers use Assemblers to assemble components (crafting). Its secondary function is disassembly (recycling).

Provide the assembler with materials, for example:
- Fill the Assembler's inventory with materials manually.
- Connect it to a Cargo Container filled with materials.
- Connect its conveyor ports to a (Basic) Refinery filled with ores.
Press K key to open the Production screen.
Choose one of two modes, and queue up items:
- Assembler - craft items
- Disassembler - recycle items

Tip: To queue up items in separate assemblers on a single ship, use the drop-down menu in the top-left corner of the production tab to select a specific assembler to interact with.

Find usage details in the Production article.

On the Production screen, you can configure your Assembler to run in different modes, Cooperative Mode and Repeat Mode.

How to make multiple assemblers cooperate

If you have several Assemblers in the same conveyor network, configure them on the Production screen to run in Cooperative Mode.

This mode makes them parallelise their workload, and you get components faster.

Build several Assemblers in the same Conveyor system.
Set the one you will interact with to be the primary assembler and disable "Cooperative Mode" in it.
Enable "Cooperative Mode" in all the secondary Assemblers.
Put materials into a conveyored cargo container.^[1]
Queue up components.
The secondary Assemblers will pull materials from cargo containers and distribute the workload automatically.

Important: Queue up components only on the primary assembler! Either interact with a port of the primary assemble when queuing up components, or make sure to select the primary assembler from the top left menu on the Production screen.

Pros are increased speed and free mount points for Power Efficiency modules. Cons are the higher build and CPU costs because you’re building several assemblers instead of using speed modules.

How to find an Assembler's inventory fast

When you have several Assemblers, you need a way to access their inventory quickly: On the Assembler's Production tab, click Inventory in the bottom right to go directly to its Inventory tab.

How to find an Assembler's Control Panel fast

When you have several Assemblers, you need a way to access their control panel quickly: On the Assembler's Production tab, click Control Panel in the bottom right to go directly to its Control Panel Screen.

How to mass produce items

If you are doing mass production (or mass recyling), configure your assembler on the Production screen to run in Repeat Mode. This mode automatically repeats the current queue when ever it can pull the items needed.

Usage example: Automatic recycling

Set aside one Assembler in the Conveyor system.
Disable Cooperative Mode on it.
Enable Repeat Mode on it.
Queue up disassembling recipes for all items that you always want to get rid of when ever they enter the conveyor system.

How to make the assembler faster and save power

Upgrade modules let you improve the capabilities of the Assembler.

Each Speed Module that you attach to the assembler increases your production speed and power consumption as would building one extra Cooperative Assembler.
- Pros are that speed modules takes less space and cost fewer components than a whole Assembler.
- Cons are that for each Speed Module, you lose a possible slot for a Power Efficiency Module.
Each Power Efficiency Module reduces the power usage of the Assembler.

Find your balance between component cost, power consumption, and speed.

How to queue up a thousand items

Use the Build Planner to speed things up!

CTRL key+clicking an item adds 10 items to the queue.
SHIFT key+clicking an item adds 100 items to the queue.
CTRL key+SHIFT key+clicking an item adds 1000 items to the queue.

These shortcuts work on the icons in the Production tab, as well as in Block Placement Mode when clicking a connected inventory port with a block selected from the toolbar in hand.

Note: If you have several Assemblers in Cooperative Mode, queue up the components in the primary Assembler!

Tip: If you have only one Assembler, verify that it is set to 'Assembly, and not to Disassembly, for the Build Planner to work.

Troubleshooting

Q: Why does my Assembler not assemble anything?
A: Set at least one Assembler to Assembly. Make sure that it is not still set to Disassembly on the Production screen. Each Assembler can only process one queue at a time, either assembly or disassembly.

Q: I have the neccessary materials in my conveyor system, why is the Assembler ignoring them?
A: Check its Inventory tab: Is the Assembler full of one material which prevents it from pulling the variety of materials that it needs? If your Refinery is overflowing common materials like Gravel into your Assemblers, try adding a cargo container in between. Use sorters and ejectors to handle the gravel.

Inventory

With Realistic settings, the Assembler has two inventories, both with a capacity of 1,000L.

The input inventory accepts only material type items.
The output inventory accepts only component type items, typically ones that have been assembled or the player places there for disassembly.

If attached to a conveyor system, the input inventory can receive pushed items from other inventories, such as Refineries. The input inventory pulls materials from conveyored containers if it has an active job and is low on materials. An Assembler cannot push materials to other Assemblers, meaning it can clog up.

The output inventory sends items to other blocks when they are pulled. If the output inventory is full, it will push items to connected cargo containers.^[1]

Power Usage

This block needs power to work. The Assembler will consume a maximum of 560 kW when running at full speed. It will function on less power, but will work at a proportionately slower rate.

Construction

If Progression is on, unlock the Assembler by building a Basic Assembler first.

The entry point for building the first Assembler is obtaining Metal Grids. Either you assemble Metal Grids from Cobalt Ingots in the Basic Assembler, or alternatively, you salvage them by grinding down e.g. heavy armor.

The Assembler is available only for large grid, where it takes up 1x1x2 blocks of space. The block has four conveyor ports, one on either end, and two more on an opposing pair of the tall sides.

The four tall sides are additionally covered with eight module mount points (two on each side) where you can optionally place Upgrade Modules. This means that two of the conveyor ports double as module attachment points. If you intend to benefit from modules, plan ahead and consider the extra surrounding space needed, and don't cover up the dual-use conveyor ports.

Recipe

Assembler
Component	Large Ship/Station Required	Large Ship/Station Optional	Small Ship Required	Small Ship Optional
Steel Plate	120	20	—	—
Motor	20	—	—	—
Metal Grid	10	—	—	—
Display	10	—	—	—
Construction Comp.	80	—	—	—
Computer	160	—	—	—