Solar Factory

The Solar Factory is an HV tier multiblock for crafting solar panels and irradiant reinforced plates. No other machine is capable of such precise and delicate crafts. There are three tiers of the Solar Factory available and each one has the same controller but a completely different structure from the last. The T1 can only use regular energy hatches and unlocks the ability to craft LV+ solar panels. The T2 supports multi-amp energy hatches, yields 25% additional output for every wafer tier above the minimum, can craft LV-LuV solar panels directly, and offers up to 64 parallels based on the tier of the unit casings. The T3 supports laser energy hatches, yields 50% additional output for every wafer tier above the minimum, can craft LV-UV solar panels directly, and offers up to 64 parallels based on the tier of the unit casings.

Note that solar panels are NOT recommended for central power production. They are extremely expensive and are easily outperformed by other methods, such as the Large Steam Turbine, Large Gas Turbine, Universal Chemical Fuel Engine, and Nuclear Reactors. The Solar Factory was designed for crafting UV tier solar panels for end-game recipes.

The Solar Factory is available in three tiers and each one has its own unique size, shape, and casings. For all tiers, the controller is the same and buses/hatches may replace any standard casing anywhere on the structure. The unit casings are the only tiered component and determine the maximum number of parallels. Imprecise unit casings are NOT supported. The glass can be any tier and has no effect on the operation of the machine. Multi-amp energy hatches require at least a T2 Solar Factory and laser energy hatches require a T3 Solar Factory. Use the Multiblock Structure Hologram Projector to visualize/build the structure with subchannel "glass" and "unit_casing" to specify the tier of those components and the projector stack size to specify the structure tier.

Wallsharing

Solar Factories may wallshare each of their sides to save on casings, frame boxes, and buses/hatches. The T3 Solar Factory may share the unit casings on either the top or bottom layer. No recipe uses more than 1A of power so it is possible to share one standard energy hatch between two machines.

The Solar Factory provides a few unique bonuses based on the tier of the machine, as seen in the following table. The T1 can only use regular energy hatches and unlocks the ability to craft LV+ solar panels. The T2 supports multi-amp energy hatches, yields 25% additional output for every wafer tier above the minimum, can craft LV-LuV solar panels directly, and offers up to 64 parallels based on the tier of the unit casings. The third tier supports laser energy hatches, yields 50% additional output for every wafer tier above the minimum, can craft LV-UV solar panels directly, and offers up to 64 parallels based on the tier of the unit casings.

The bonus output is calculated with a floor operator, meaning any decimal values are rounded DOWN to the nearest whole number after calculating the number of parallels and applying batch mode. A recipe that is expected to produce 4.75 solar panels, for example, is only ever going to produce 4 solar panels with each iteration.

Every solar panel has a minimum tier wafer, as seen in NEI and the following table. Not only does that make the higher tier solar panels more expensive but it also limits the total output bonus of the machine. LuV solar panels, for example, are capped at 3 tiers above the minimum because they require at least europium doped wafers. There is also a maximum output bonus of 100% for both the T2 and T3 Solar Factory so do not waste more expensive wafers for absolutely no reason.

• Despite the Solar Factory's monopoly over solar panels and irradiant reinforced plates, it cannot craft 1V or 8V solar panels.