Essential Insights
- Producing aluminum in Satisfactory involves a three-part process utilizing Bauxite, Water, and Coal.
- You’ll need to construct Refineries and Foundries to manufacture Aluminum Ingots.
- It’s advisable to use higher-tier conveyor belts for Bauxite and Coal to ensure a consistent supply.
Advancing through the various levels in Satisfactory is generally simple. Gather new resources, establish machines, and repeat the process. However, as you progress to the mid-to-late game phases, you will need to take additional steps to create specific materials. Aluminum is one such material that necessitates a bit of extra effort.
Obtaining aluminum isn’t as straightforward as other materials; it demands significant work and is crucial for many advanced machines as you near the end game. If you’re at your factory feeling stuck, fear not. Here’s a guide on how to efficiently gather aluminum in Satisfactory.
How to Gather Aluminum
Initially, you won’t need to think about aluminum production until you reach Tier Seven. Once you unlock it, however, you’ll find that you require a substantial amount of additional resources to create the machinery necessary for aluminum processing.
Producing aluminum involves a multi-step process, so it’s wise to either clear out a portion of your current setup or expand your workspace beyond your main base. The last thing you want is to be dealing with Conveyor Belts and Piping in a cramped space.
What You’ll Need
The great news about aluminum production is that the base materials are actually quite limited. First on your checklist should be locating the nearest Bauxite Node, characterized by striking orange to red rocks, often mistaken for abundant copper deposits from afar.
Next, gather water and coal. You can pull coal from any Coal Power Plants, but water is critical, as it mixes with Bauxite to initiate the aluminum refining process. Water can be sourced from nearby lakes or storage tanks if available.
Prepare the materials needed to
construct a Refinery and Foundry
before starting. These two machines are essential for farming aluminum in Satisfactory.
It’s handy to maintain a steady supply of coal, as it’s used for various operations in the production chain. Ideally, set up two nodes with high-tier belts for bringing in Bauxite and Coal to keep up the supply, especially if you plan to add Overclockers to your machines later on.
The Production Process
With the raw materials in place and sufficient building space, it’s time to set up your aluminum production line.
There are three key stages to the production process that your materials will pass through, so we will guide you through each step to help you clearly understand where all your Conveyors and Pipes will need to go before connecting them to your power grid.
Step One: Processing Bauxite
To start, you should build one or two Refineries. These machines will convert Bauxite and Water into Alumina Solution, marking the first stage of the aluminum creation process. You can place them side by side for better efficiency or set them up separately.
Your inputs will be Bauxite and Water, while the outputs will be Liquid Alumina Solution and Silica, so plan for Pipe and Conveyor outputs as well.
You’ll need the Alumina for the next step as it will be processed into a useful form. You can store the Silica for now or redirect it to the Foundry for the final step in production.
Step Two: Processing the Alumina Solution
For the second step, you’ll set up another refinery to create Aluminum Scrap. Feed the refinery with your Alumina Solution and Coal. The machine will break these down into two byproducts.
The outputs will be Aluminum Scrap and Water. Use a Conveyor and Pipe to manage these outputs. You can recycle the water back into your system for additional use, store it, or return it to create more Alumina Solution.
Make sure to keep the Aluminum Scrap for the final step.
Step Three: Smelting the Scrap
The final stage involves constructing a Foundry and using the Silica collected earlier. Connect a Conveyor with the Aluminum Scrap and another with Silica to the foundry.
After a brief period in the Foundry, you’ll have Aluminium Ingots produced. The processing time averages four ingots per crafting cycle and around 60 ingots per minute, with each cycle taking about four seconds. It’s a rapid process to generate aluminum.
From here, you can use your Aluminum Ingots in an Assembler or transport them to another area of your factory for subsequent crafting recipes.
There are also
alternate recipes for aluminum production that you can find in hard drives scattered throughout the game world.