steveman0’s MS Manufacturer
The Mass Storage Manufacturer is a special kind of mass storage output port that facilitates automated manufacturing utilizing mass storage.
The mass storage manufacturer must be placed adjacent to a mass storage crate much like the generic output port. The manufacturer will look for an adjacent crafter, either an auto-crafting Manufacturing Plant or a Generic Auto Crafter, and connect to this machine. The manufacturer will monitor the machine’s recipe and collect the necessary ingredients to craft the recipe from mass storage. Once it has collected all of the necessary ingredients it provides them to the crafter to begin working.
Additionally, the manufacturer can connect to a lab as of version 4! The manufacturer will monitor the labs research requirements and attempt to grab one of the items from storage. It will collect the item and keep it in its inventory ready to queue it up as soon as the lab is ready for it.
New as of version 5: the Manufacturer can connect to a research assembler! Once linked to a research assembler press E to configure the type of pod you’d like it to manufacture.
If the crafter is replaced or the Manufacturing Plant’s recipe is changed, the manufacturer will offload excess materials to a conveyor or connected hopper.
