====== Factory Bootstrap Guide ======

This guide is for players who want to stop crafting one recipe at a time and start building a workshop that can actually support Slimefun progression.
The goal is not a perfect endgame base. The goal is a first factory that can reliably make your next machines, alloys, power parts, and upgrades without feeling like every craft starts from zero.

===== Phase 1: Build the first workshop =====

  - Place an [[enhanced_crafting_table|Enhanced Crafting Table]] first. It unlocks an enormous share of the tech tree.
  - Keep a compact room with nearby furnaces, storage, and your first manual processing stations from [[basic_machines|Basic Machines]].
  - Resist the temptation to spread every machine across your base. Early Slimefun feels much better when your common crafting chain is in one place.

===== Phase 2: Stop thinking in single recipes =====

  * Start stockpiling recurring materials instead of crafting them only when a recipe demands them.
  * Keep separate chests for:
    * raw ores and mined inputs
    * refined metals and alloys
    * carbon and compressed materials
    * tech parts such as wires, motors, batteries, and circuit pieces
  * If you keep rebuilding the same intermediates every session, that material belongs in your factory stockpile.

===== Phase 3: Establish the first power line =====

  - Build a small grid around an [[energy_regulator|Energy Regulator]].
  - Start simple with a [[coal_generator|Coal Generator]] or [[solar_generator|Solar Generator]].
  - Add [[energy_connectors|Energy Connectors]] to route power, then some [[energy_capacitors|Energy Capacitors]] if you want a small buffer.
  - Use a [[multimeter|Multimeter]] to see whether your network is actually keeping up.
  - One stable generator feeding a few machines is better than a sprawling grid that constantly browns out.

===== Phase 4: Automate the repeat offenders =====

  - Your first electric machines should target the steps you repeat most often, not the fanciest machine on the page.
  - Good first candidates are powered smelting, pressing, carbon processing, and alloy production.
  - In practice, that usually means looking at pages like [[electric_furnace|Electric Furnace]], [[electric_press|Electric Press]], [[carbon_press|Carbon Press]], and [[electric_smeltery|Electric Smeltery]] as your factory grows.
  - A factory becomes useful the moment it saves you from rebuilding the same ingredient chain by hand.

===== Phase 5: Expand by lanes, not chaos =====

  * Once power is stable, give your workshop simple lanes:
    * one lane for ore, dust, and ingot processing
    * one lane for carbon and compression
    * one lane for tech parts and machine components
  * Keep inputs, machines, and outputs physically close.
  * This makes later expansion much easier, even before you automate transport.

===== A good first factory checklist =====

  - A central [[enhanced_crafting_table|Enhanced Crafting Table]]
  - Reliable starter power from [[energy_and_electricity|Energy and Electricity]]
  - At least one powered smelting or processing machine
  - A stock chest for alloys and shared components
  - Space reserved for future expansion instead of rebuilding the room every upgrade

===== When to scale up =====

  * Expand when:
    * you keep running out of the same intermediate parts
    * your manual alloy or compression steps are the slowest part of every project
    * your generator can already support more than one or two machines
  * At that point, start reading [[machine_modules|Machine Modules]] and plan for more structured automation later.

===== See also =====

  * [[alloys_and_core_tech|Alloys and Core Tech]]
  * [[basic_machines|Basic Machines]]
  * [[energy_and_electricity|Energy and Electricity]]