Astroloy, hastelloy, inconel, stellite and waspaloy are the five super alloys. According to the recipe data they go into the hardsuit, the large satellite dish, the robotic arm and the nuclear battery cell, among others. They are made only in the Advanced Furnace – the normal furnace does not know these recipes.
The way to the advanced furnace
The kit Kit (Advanced Furnace) is printed by the Electronics Printer, but only from tier 2: gold 5, copper 25, steel 30, electrum 15, solder 8, silicon 6, 180 s, 36,000 J. For tier 2 you need the Electronic Printer Mod in the printer (steel 35, electrum 8, constantan 8, solder 8). In other words: before you make your first super alloy, you already have to master steel, electrum, solder and constantan. Constantan needs at least 20,000 kPa – good practice for what is coming.
It is built in four stages: kit, one piece of Electronic Parts, five steel sheets with the welding torch, and finally the screwdriver. The advanced furnace draws 100 W and – unlike the basic furnace – has a power port of its own.
The five recipes
| Alloy | Mix | Temperature | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingot (Astroloy) | steel 50 %, copper 25 %, cobalt 25 % | from 1,000 K | 30,000–40,000 kPa |
| Ingot (Hastelloy) | silver 50 %, nickel 25 %, cobalt 25 % | 950–1,000 K | 25,000–30,000 kPa |
| Ingot (Inconel) | gold 50 %, steel 25 %, nickel 25 % | from 600 K | 23,500–24,000 kPa |
| Ingot (Stellite) | silicon 50 %, silver 25 %, cobalt 25 % | from 1,800 K | 10,000–20,000 kPa |
| Ingot (Waspaloy) | lead 50 %, silver 25 %, nickel 25 % | 400–800 K | from 50,000 kPa |
Compared with all the other alloys:
What the table tells you
- Steel as an ingredient: astroloy and inconel need steel. You add it as Ingot (Steel).
- Cobalt only as ore: there is no cobalt ingot. You put Ore (Cobalt) straight into the furnace. Each piece brings along 3 mol of nitrogen and 1 mol of methane.
- Hastelloy has the narrowest temperature window: only 50 K between 950 and 1,000 K.
- Inconel has the narrowest pressure window: only 500 kPa, a little over 2 % of 23,500 kPa.
- Stellite needs at least 1,800 K, which makes it the hottest alloy in the game.
- Waspaloy needs at least 50,000 kPa. A gas pipe holds 60,795 kPa at most – that leaves you just under 10,800 kPa of headroom.
How much gas the pressures demand
The chamber holds 1,000 litres. With n = p · V / (R · T) the middle of each window works out as:
| Alloy | Pressure | Temperature | Gas in the furnace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stellite | 15,000 kPa | 1,900 K | about 950 mol |
| Hastelloy | 27,500 kPa | 975 K | about 3,390 mol |
| Astroloy | 35,000 kPa | 1,100 K | about 3,830 mol |
| Inconel | 23,750 kPa | 700 K | about 4,080 mol |
| Waspaloy | 55,000 kPa | 600 K | about 11,000 mol |
The colder the window, the more gas you need for the same pressure. That makes waspaloy the biggest challenge: eleven thousand mol at only 600 K.
With the same amount of gas, pressure grows with temperature. Fill the furnace to 20,400 kPa at 600 K and heat it to 700 K, and you are at 23,800 kPa – right inside the inconel window. Heat on to 710 K and you are already above it. Set the temperature first and adjust the pressure afterwards.
Amounts
The mix is a ratio – but unlike steel, not every unit makes one ingot here. In the game data the super alloy recipes have the output factor 0.25: one ingot uses 4 units. For one ingot of hastelloy you therefore need 2 silver, 1 nickel and 1 cobalt, for 10 ingots 20 silver, 10 nickel and 10 cobalt. Count in multiples of 4 and include any leftovers in the furnace – an old batch shifts the mix. The Furnace calculator does the maths for you.
Recycling super alloy ingots hardly pays: the recycler only returns the recipe ratio, i.e. one unit per ingot – a quarter of what the ingot cost.
Holding the pressure with IC10
The advanced furnace has two built-in pumps. SettingInput is the amount in litres it draws from the input pipe per tick (0.5 s), SettingOutput the amount in litres per tick it pushes from its chamber into the gas output – liquid goes to the liquid output with the same number of litres. Both range from 0 to 100, 5 and 50 from the factory. Setting is the same value as SettingOutput. The pumps only run while the furnace is on and powered, and each costs up to 100 W extra.
A worked example: the chamber holds 1,000 litres. SettingOutput 10 therefore takes a hundredth of the furnace gas out per tick, 2 % per second. With 3,390 mol in the furnace that is about 34 mol per tick at first.
The example opens the intake while the pressure is below the window and the output as soon as it rises above it. In between both pumps are at 0 – important, because from the factory the output is at 50 and would keep emptying the furnace. A light is on when temperature and pressure fit hastelloy:
# Hastelloy window in the advanced furnace
define AFURN 545937711 # Advanced Furnace (StructureAdvancedFurnace)
define LIGHT -1860064656 # Wall Light (StructureWallLight)
define NFURN HASH("Furnace Super") # name of the furnace
define NLIGHT HASH("Light Super") # name of the light
define TMIN 950 # K, hastelloy lower limit
define TMAX 1000 # K, hastelloy upper limit
define PMIN 25000 # kPa, hastelloy lower limit
define PMAX 30000 # kPa, hastelloy upper limit
define INTAKE 20 # litres per tick in when pressure is too low
define OUTFLOW 10 # litres per tick out when pressure is too high
alias temp r0
alias press r1
alias ok r2
alias tmp r3
alias feed r4
alias drain r5
start:
yield
lbn temp AFURN NFURN Temperature 0
bnan temp start # no furnace with this name
lbn press AFURN NFURN Pressure 0
bnan press start
slt tmp press PMIN # below the window?
mul feed tmp INTAKE # then open the intake, else 0
sbn AFURN NFURN SettingInput feed
sgt tmp press PMAX # above the window?
mul drain tmp OUTFLOW # then open the output, else 0
sbn AFURN NFURN SettingOutput drain
sge ok temp TMIN
sle tmp temp TMAX
and ok ok tmp
sge tmp press PMIN
and ok ok tmp
sle tmp press PMAX
and ok ok tmp
sbn LIGHT NLIGHT On ok
j startFor another alloy you only change the four limits. For alloys that are open upwards, set TMAX to a value you will never reach. The ingots only come out once you open the mould (Open 1) – best when the light is on and everything has melted.
If inside and outside pressure differ by more than 60,795 kPa, the furnace can explode – the larger the difference, the more likely. With waspaloy at 50,000 kPa or more that leaves you little room.
Common mistakes
- No recipe in the normal furnace: super alloys only exist in the advanced furnace.
- Inconel never works: the pressure window is only 500 kPa wide. Temperature first, then pressure in small steps.
- Waspaloy bursts: the pipes at the furnace hold 60,795 kPa at most. Stay well below.
- Hastelloy gets too hot: above 1,000 K you have left the window. Heat in small steps and keep an eye on
Temperature.
Further reading
- Basics of the windows: Furnaces and alloys
- The first alloy: Making steel: step by step in the furnace
- All values: Furnaces and alloys
- Printers and tiers: Manufacturing: which machine prints what