Before You Sink It — Compare Points, Upstream Work, and Stock

Separate surplus from stock you still need

Before choosing a Sink input, subtract planned construction, research, deliveries, and reserve stock. Only the remainder is surplus. A direct belt from production to the Sink can destroy items you intended to keep. Route through storage or a controlled overflow path, then test with one item at a time.

The bundled item data stores sinkPoints per item. Sink eligibility is a separate check: this Planner counts solid items with a positive point value. A value alone does not mean a liquid or gas can be inserted.

Compare the same time window in points per minute

Use sinkable items/min × points/item = points/min. In the bundled data, 20 Iron Plates/min at 6 points each is 120 points/min. Sinking the 30 Iron Ore/min used by the standard recipe directly would yield 30 points/min. On this recipe path, processing the same ore into plates gives four times the theoretical points. The tradeoff is smelter power, machine capacity, and plates you may need later.

When comparing one recipe, count only sinkable solids on both input and output sides. Fluids such as Water, Crude Oil, and Sulfuric Acid are not part of that ratio, so a recipe multiplier is not a whole-factory efficiency score.

Advance a process only when its tradeoff fits

A higher point total does not make processing the right choice in every save. The alternate recipe may be locked, machines or power may be scarce, or the output may be needed later. Compare the same output period, ore stock, and unlocked recipes, then include added machines and auxiliaries.

To estimate time to a coupon, check the save’s remaining points and use its measured points/min: remaining points ÷ points/min. If the rate changes over time, a constant-rate estimate is not valid. Do not apply a fixed coupon threshold without checking the save.

What Planner can calculate and what the save must confirm

Planner pages can compare bundled item values, recipe inputs, and theoretical output rates. Whether stock is truly surplus, whether the belt reaches storage, whether the Sink accepts the item, and how quickly points accrue must be checked in the save. For a test, isolate one item and record starting stock, times, displayed points, and remaining storage.

References

• Satisfactory Planner — bundled game-data source and version (1.1.x)
• Satisfactory Planner — item point values and forms
• Satisfactory Planner — Sink eligibility and surplus-point calculation

Related items

• Iron Plate
• Steel Beam
• Cable
• Modular Frame
• Motor
• Polymer Resin
• Rubber

Related guides

• The Strongest Alternate Recipes and When to Use Them — Ore, Buildings and Power Compared with Real Numbers
• Send Overflow to the Sink Only When Storage Is Full — A Two-State Test

Try it in the planner

Opens the planner with the conditions from this guide already loaded. Target rates and the recipes you allow can be changed once it is open.