Polymerizer
alaindustrial:polymerizer
Summary
The Polymerizer is the first machine in the mod that eats a fluid rather than an item. Inside it sits a ten-bucket oil tank; one run drinks exactly one bucket and hands back a lump of raw rubber. The raw rubber is then combined with sulfur dust in a Vulcanizer.
Mini-example: run a pipe from a pump sitting on an oil lake, give the machine power, and it will grind oil into rubber on its own for as long as there is oil in the tank.
You can also fill it by hand: put a bucket (or a capsule) into the top slot — the fluid moves into the tank and the empty container drops into the slot below it.
Energy
The Polymerizer only consumes EU/FE and keeps a small buffer for smooth running.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Internal buffer | 800 EU/FE |
| Max input | 32 EU/FE/t (LV) |
| Consumption | 2 EU/FE/t while working |
Energy comes in on the five working faces. The front face (the one the machine "looks" toward) is inert — cables don't connect there and hoppers don't work through it.
Fluid
The tank takes oil only — ours, and any other oil carrying the conventional c:oil tag.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Tank size | 10,000 mB (10 buckets) |
| Used per operation | 1000 mB (1 bucket) |
| Accepts | oil (the c:oil tag) |
| Gives it back | no — oil in the tank is feedstock, not storage |
There are two ways to fill it and both land in the same tank: a pipe or pump from outside, or a container through the interface slot. There is no mixing — another fluid simply won't go in.
Processing
Each operation costs 400 EU/FE and takes 200 ticks (~10 s). The finished rubber doesn't pop out on its own — pick it up by hand or with a hopper.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Duration | 200 ticks (~10 s) |
| Cost per operation | 400 EU/FE |
| Auto-output | no |
With less than a bucket in the tank the machine simply idles: a partial volume is neither spent nor lost. With the result slot full the operation freezes — and the oil stays in the tank.
Inventory
Three slots: a pair for containers and one for the result.
| Slot | Takes | Count |
|---|---|---|
| (top) | a full bucket or capsule of oil | 1 |
| (bottom) | the empty container after draining | 1 |
| Output | raw rubber | 1 |
Hoppers and pipes may only put containers into the top slot, and may only take from the two lower ones.
Interface
On the left is the oil gauge (drawn with the fluid's real texture — hover it to see the volume in mB), on the right the energy bar, and in the middle the container slots, the progress arrow and the result slot.
Block Properties
A plain solid block, softer than stone. Any pickaxe breaks it, but it keeps neither its charge nor its oil when broken.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Shape | full 16³ cube (occluder) |
| Hardness | 3.0 |
| Blast resistance | 6.0 |
| Tool | pickaxe |
| Keeps charge when broken | no |
Sound
Silent for now. The Polymerizer has no hum of its own — same as the Compressor, the Pump and the Sawmill; a working sound is a candidate for the future.
Recipes
The Polymerizer is crafted at a table from a machine casing, a bucket, iron and an electronic circuit (IBI / IMI / IEI). What it does:
| Input | Output |
|---|---|
| 1000 mB of oil | 1 raw rubber |
The raw rubber then goes into a Vulcanizer together with sulfur dust:
| Input | Output |
|---|---|
| 1 raw rubber + 1 sulfur dust | 1 / 2 / 3 rubber depending on heat below |
Progression
Tier: LV. Built once the player has found oil and set up a pump. Rubber is the material for future insulated cables and MV components. Needs power from an LV source, e.g. the Generator.
Related
Oil — the feedstock and how to get it. Rubber — what the chain produces. Pump — moves oil from a lake into the tank. Portable Tank — a buffer of oil next to the machine.
Crafting
Shaped Crafting
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Polymerizer