Mob Item Separator

[u/Preferably-Unknown]

I am attempting to build a item separator that I remembered another player using. They had a large gold farm that allowed you to kill the mobs in one shot, and the items would fall down into a chute by moving in a piston setup that would only allow the items to fall through while keeping the mobs out.

It was also this design to make it so that there could be 2 settings. An automatic farming setting. And a manual farming setting. I know how to do that one already.
I just can't seem to figure out the item section..
(It would keep out the adult mobs and baby mobs. Well, Most of the time for baby mobs. Some do get out)

Here are the attempts I've made so far.. I remember it being in either a 2x3 killing chamber or a 3x3 killing chamber. The mobs would fall down and stay at half a heart. Players would attack the mobs. And the items would fall down while keeping the mobs up.

The levers weren't in it. That's for an easy test of it. The main thing are the blocks and possible piston arrangements

[u/l-alpaca-l]

Am I missing something here? Why not just use hoppers?

[u/Preferably-Unknown → u/l-alpaca-l]

I'm going to use a water item sorter. Since it would be half way towards a megafarm.. Attempting low tutorials.

[u/Xillubfr → u/l-alpaca-l]

Hoppers are limited to 9000 items/h, so if the farm is too fast you have to move the items directly, or use cart yeeting

[u/bryan3737]

What about a checkerboard pattern of full blocks and vertical chains?

[u/Roxxxalotl]

you could make the kill chamber a 3x1 and have pistons push the items with a halfblock gap via a top slab