Processing unit — Factorio Production Calculator
Processing unit is crafted in the assembling machine in 10 seconds, producing 1 per craft from 20 × Electronic circuit, 2 × Advanced circuit, 5 × Sulfuric acid. At 60 per minute you need 20 assembling machines, and the chain behind it draws on 5 raw resources: petroleum gas, copper ore, iron ore, water, coal.
Production chain for 60 Processing unit / minute
| Item | Per minute | Machines | Machine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper cable | 4,800 | 40 | Assembling machine |
| Copper plate | 2,400 | 128 | Furnace |
| Iron plate | 1,446 | 77.12 | Furnace |
| Electronic circuit | 1,440 | 24 | Assembling machine |
| Sulfuric acid | 300 | 0.1 | Chemical plant |
| Plastic bar | 240 | 2 | Chemical plant |
| Advanced circuit | 120 | 24 | Assembling machine |
| Processing unit | 60 | 20 | Assembling machine |
| Sulfur | 30 | 0.25 | Chemical plant |
Raw materials
| Resource | Per minute |
|---|---|
| Petroleum gas | 2,850 |
| Copper ore | 2,400 |
| Iron ore | 1,446 |
| Water | 1,050 |
| Coal | 120 |
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.
Processing unit recipe
| Machine | Crafting time | Output | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assembling machine | 10 s | 1 | Electronic circuit × 20, Advanced circuit × 2, Sulfuric acid × 5 |
What the whole chain needs
60 processing units per minute pulls in 8 intermediate products, and the whole tree comes to 315 machines across 3 machine types, fed by 5 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 2,850 per minute, which is 3.17 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 processing unit
20 base-game recipes consume processing unit, sorted by how much each one takes:
- Portable fission reactor — 200 per craft
- Rocket silo — 200 per craft
- Personal roboport MK2 — 100 per craft
- Satellite — 100 per craft
- Power armor MK2 — 60 per craft
- Power armor — 40 per craft
- Personal laser defense — 20 per craft
- Spidertron — 16 per craft
- Personal battery MK2 — 15 per craft
- Atomic bomb — 10 per craft
- Exoskeleton — 10 per craft
- Discharge defense — 5 per craft
- Efficiency module 2 — 5 per craft
- Efficiency module 3 — 5 per craft
- Energy shield MK2 — 5 per craft
- Productivity module 2 — 5 per craft
- Productivity module 3 — 5 per craft
- Speed module 2 — 5 per craft
- Speed module 3 — 5 per craft
- Utility science pack — 2 per craft
What processing unit is made from
- Electronic circuit — 20 per craft
- Advanced circuit — 2 per craft
- Sulfuric acid — 5 per craft
FAQ
How many assembling machines do I need for 60 processing units per minute?
20 assembling machines. One at standard speed produces 3 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 processing unit take?
At 60/min the chain consumes 2,850 petroleum gas per minute, 2,400 copper ore per minute, 1,446 iron ore per minute and 2 more. Those numbers are the theoretical minimum — mining productivity research and productivity modules both reduce them.
Is processing unit needed for science packs?
Yes — it goes directly into Utility 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.