Fast inserter — Factorio Production Calculator
Fast inserter is crafted in the assembling machine in 0.5 seconds, producing 1 per craft from 2 × Electronic circuit, 2 × Iron plate, 1 × Inserter. At 60 per minute you need 1 assembling machine, and the chain behind it draws on 2 raw resources: iron ore, copper ore.
Production chain for 60 Fast inserter / minute
| Item | Per minute | Machines | Machine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper cable | 540 | 4.5 | Assembling machine |
| Iron plate | 480 | 25.6 | Furnace |
| Copper plate | 270 | 14.4 | Furnace |
| Electronic circuit | 180 | 3 | Assembling machine |
| Fast inserter | 60 | 1 | Assembling machine |
| Inserter | 60 | 1 | Assembling machine |
| Iron gear wheel | 60 | 1 | Assembling machine |
Raw materials
| Resource | Per minute |
|---|---|
| Iron ore | 480 |
| Copper ore | 270 |
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.
Fast inserter recipe
| Machine | Crafting time | Output | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assembling machine | 0.5 s | 1 | Electronic circuit × 2, Iron plate × 2, Inserter × 1 |
What the whole chain needs
60 fast inserters per minute pulls in 6 intermediate products, and the whole tree comes to 51 machines across 2 machine types, fed by 2 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 480 per minute, which is 0.53 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 fast inserter
1 base-game recipe consumes fast inserter, sorted by how much each one takes:
- Bulk inserter — 1 per craft
What fast inserter is made from
- Electronic circuit — 2 per craft
- Iron plate — 2 per craft
- Inserter — 1 per craft
FAQ
How many assembling machines do I need for 60 fast 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 fast inserter take?
At 60/min the chain consumes 480 iron ore per minute, 270 copper ore per minute. Those numbers are the theoretical minimum — mining productivity research and productivity modules both reduce them.
Is fast inserter needed for science packs?
Not directly. It feeds Bulk inserter, and those in turn feed the science packs. Open the science pack page to see the demand that lands on this recipe.
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.