Bulk inserter — Factorio Production Calculator
Bulk inserter is crafted in the assembling machine in 0.5 seconds, producing 1 per craft from 15 × Iron gear wheel, 15 × Electronic circuit, 1 × Advanced circuit, 1 × Fast inserter. At 60 per minute you need 1 assembling machine, and the chain behind it draws on 4 raw resources: iron ore, copper ore, petroleum gas, coal.
Production chain for 60 Bulk inserter / minute
| Item | Per minute | Machines | Machine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper cable | 3,840 | 32 | Assembling machine |
| Iron plate | 3,300 | 176 | Furnace |
| Copper plate | 1,920 | 102.4 | Furnace |
| Electronic circuit | 1,200 | 20 | Assembling machine |
| Iron gear wheel | 960 | 16 | Assembling machine |
| Plastic bar | 120 | 1 | Chemical plant |
| Bulk inserter | 60 | 1 | Assembling machine |
| Advanced circuit | 60 | 12 | Assembling machine |
| Fast inserter | 60 | 1 | Assembling machine |
| Inserter | 60 | 1 | Assembling machine |
Raw materials
| Resource | Per minute |
|---|---|
| Iron ore | 3,300 |
| Copper ore | 1,920 |
| Petroleum gas | 1,200 |
| Coal | 60 |
Machine counts are not rounded up. Add a little headroom in game — belt throughput and inserter speed usually mean you want 5-10% more than the exact number.
Bulk inserter recipe
| Machine | Crafting time | Output | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assembling machine | 0.5 s | 1 | Iron gear wheel × 15, Electronic circuit × 15, Advanced circuit × 1, Fast inserter × 1 |
What the whole chain needs
60 bulk inserters per minute pulls in 9 intermediate products, and the whole tree comes to 362 machines across 3 machine types, fed by 4 raw resources. The table above already sums demand across every branch — if copper cable is used by two recipes, you see the total, not one of them.
Belt check: the busiest input here moves 3,300 per minute, which is 3.67 of a yellow belt's 900 per minute. Above 1.0 and you need a second belt (or a faster tier) before the machines themselves become the limit.
What uses bulk inserter
No base-game recipe consumes bulk inserter — it is an end product. Once you build it, the chain stops here, which makes it a good target if you only want to size the sub-factory that feeds your mall.
What bulk inserter is made from
- Iron gear wheel — 15 per craft
- Electronic circuit — 15 per craft
- Advanced circuit — 1 per craft
- Fast inserter — 1 per craft
FAQ
How many assembling machines do I need for 60 bulk inserters per minute?
1 assembling machine. One at standard speed produces 60 per minute, so 60 ÷ that number is the count. The calculator above rounds nothing — add 5-10% headroom for belt and inserter losses in a real factory.
How much raw ore does bulk inserter take?
At 60/min the chain consumes 3,300 iron ore per minute, 1,920 copper ore per minute, 1,200 petroleum gas per minute and 1 more. Those numbers are the theoretical minimum — mining productivity research and productivity modules both reduce them.
Machine counts assume bare machines at standard speed. Recipe data comes from the game's own prototypes (PlayerCalc, Factorio 2.0 base game). Not affiliated with Wube Software.