Inserter — Factorio Production Calculator
Inserter is crafted in the assembling machine in 0.5 seconds, producing 1 per craft from 1 × Electronic circuit, 1 × Iron gear wheel, 1 × Iron plate. 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 Inserter / minute
| Item | Per minute | Machines | Machine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron plate | 240 | 12.8 | Furnace |
| Copper cable | 180 | 1.5 | Assembling machine |
| Copper plate | 90 | 4.8 | Furnace |
| Inserter | 60 | 1 | Assembling machine |
| Electronic circuit | 60 | 1 | Assembling machine |
| Iron gear wheel | 60 | 1 | Assembling machine |
Raw materials
| Resource | Per minute |
|---|---|
| Iron ore | 240 |
| Copper ore | 90 |
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.
Inserter recipe
| Machine | Crafting time | Output | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assembling machine | 0.5 s | 1 | Electronic circuit × 1, Iron gear wheel × 1, Iron plate × 1 |
What the whole chain needs
60 inserters per minute pulls in 5 intermediate products, and the whole tree comes to 22 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 240 per minute, which is 0.27 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 inserter
4 base-game recipes consume inserter, sorted by how much each one takes:
- Loader — 5 per craft
- Fast inserter — 1 per craft
- Logistic science pack — 1 per craft
- Long-handed inserter — 1 per craft
What inserter is made from
- Electronic circuit — 1 per craft
- Iron gear wheel — 1 per craft
- Iron plate — 1 per craft
FAQ
How many assembling machines do I need for 60 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 inserter take?
At 60/min the chain consumes 240 iron ore per minute, 90 copper ore per minute. Those numbers are the theoretical minimum — mining productivity research and productivity modules both reduce them.
Is inserter needed for science packs?
Yes — it goes directly into Logistic science pack. 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.