Automation Basics in Sandustry

Manual hauling teaches Sandustry’s physics; automation scales gold per minute once you understand the loop. Logistics research unlocks Conveyors and Launchers; later branches add Filters, Drones, and advanced tooling. The goal is not zero player input — it is reliable material flow so shakers never starve and slag never clogs grates. This guide bridges Getting Started hand play to self-running refineries tied to How to Get Gold and Slag Processing.

When to automate

Automate after:

1. Refining 1 — shakers exist and proc gold at acceptable variance.
2. Wet Sand production is stable (Water Management).
3. Manual carry time exceeds dig or research time.

Automate before building ten shakers you cannot feed. Use Production Ratio Helper to size belts to sand mining rate.

Sandustry conveyor and automation setup

Logistics 1: Conveyors and Launchers

Logistics 1 is the automation backbone (Research Priority Tier List).

Conveyors

Move Sand, Wet Sand, Slag, Burnt Slag, and Gold (when embedded in streams) horizontally. Best practices:

• One material per main trunk until Filters unlock.
• Shorter paths beat pretty loops — less jam surface area.
• Feed shakers from the high side of diagonal rows so gravity assists separation.

Reference belt speeds and building sizes on Buildings.

Launchers

Throw material upward or across gaps. Critical for vertical factories (Dig Deeper). Controls note: hold Shift while placing to skip launcher outlet when chaining multiple launchers — prevents double-feeding one tile (Keyboard Shortcuts).

Launcher mistakes:

• Firing wet sand into ceiling pockets with no escape.
• Overshooting into lava or void (Slag Processing burn plans need safe landing).
• Too few launchers in a stair — material backs up at the bottom.

Filters research

Filters split mixed streams by material type. Deploy when:

• Sand and Wet Sand merge after a rebuild accident.
• Slag contaminates wet sand belts heading to shakers.
• Burnt slag must be isolated before Kinetic Slag Press input.

Filters do not replace good layout; they insurance-policy sloppy expansion.

Standard automated refinery blueprint

Phase A — Gold core

Sandsoil dig → Sand belt → Mixer (+ water pipe) → Wet Sand belt → Shaker diagonal bank → Gold pit

Phase B — Slag tail

Shaker slag output → Slag belt → Burn lane (Flamethrower/Lava) → Burnt Slag belt → Slag Press → Gold merge

Phase C — Vertical link (deep dig)

Lower sand launcher chain → upper refinery → slag down chute or parallel burn floor

Each phase should run solo before connecting phases. Debugging a monolithic tower is painful.

Drones: Digger and Hauler

Drones research adds Digger and Hauler units for hands-off mining and transport. Use cases:

• Digger — Sustains sand income while you research or explore artifacts (Artifacts and Puzzles).
• Hauler — Bridges gaps before you afford long conveyor spines.

Drones are strong but not first-purchase for most players. Conveyors define factory geometry; drones patch holes. Buy Logistics before Drones unless demo constraints force otherwise.

Tools that support automation

Tools research is not logistics, but it enables maintenance:

• Flamethrower — Automate-adjacent burn lanes for slag (Slag Processing).
• Vacuum — Clear jams in enclosed conveyor rooms.
• Cryoblaster — Hazard control in frozen or volatile biomes.
• Grappling Hook — Fast vertical travel between conveyor floors (Dig Deeper).

Lights research helps drone and conveyor visibility underground.

Build modes and selection

Automation layout speed depends on editor fluency:

• R toggles linear vs rectangular build for platform floors and bulk conveyor runs.
• Shift + marquee selects conveyor segments for mass delete (X) when redesigning.
• S descend to align lower belts with upper launchers.

Full list: Keyboard Shortcuts.

Throughput debugging

Bottleneck signal	Check
Empty shaker inputs	Sand or Wet Sand belt starved; mixer water (Water Management)
Belt backs up at launcher	Add launcher stage or widen receiving bin
Gold down, slag piles up	Slag evacuation before adding shaker count
Press idle	Burn lane not converting slag (Slag Processing)
Random wrong material	Add Filters; separate trunks

Tune one segment at a time. Sandustry physics makes “everything broken” look like one bug when it is three small jams.

Planter Boxes and side automation

Planter Boxes research opens farming loops parallel to refining. Treat planters as optional GDP — fund them after gold core and slag press stabilize unless a puzzle explicitly rewards plants (Artifacts and Puzzles).

Modding note

Sandustry supports modding through Fluxloader. Mods may add conveyor tiers or drone behaviors not covered here. Vanilla EA logic from Lantto Games / Hooded Horse applies to 2026-08-13 launch unless patch notes disagree (Release Date and Platforms).

Upgrade roadmap

1. Logistics 1 → automate Wet Sand to shakers.
2. Filters → clean merges as factory grows.
3. Pipes/Pumps/Vents → remote water without open trenches.
4. Refining 2 + Tools → slag press automation.
5. Drones → sand income at depth.
6. Lights + Grappling Hook → service vertical stacks.

Automation turns Sandustry from a digging game into a factory game — but only if the shaker loop was honest first.