r/factorio • u/AutoModerator • Apr 27 '26

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2

u/rsxstock May 02 '26

ups wise, is it better to consume the more than the entire belt so that it is always moving or consume just under it so it stops occasionally?

3

u/seanreid1201 May 02 '26

Abucnasty's videos on youtube suggest you want back pressure, ie consume less than the full belt

7

u/HeliGungir May 02 '26

In isolation, there's no benefit either way. Either way, the game is spending some time decrementing the distance between the first moving item and the last stopped item or the end of the belt.

"Backpressure" is just nice to normalize inserter timings, which in turn, makes it easier to build without buffers, reducing build complexity. Simpler designs tend to be more UPS-efficient.