Best factory base layouts & locations in Satisfactory

Tired of your factory burning through resources while barely producing anything in Satisfactory? You’re in the right place.

In Satisfactory, building an efficient factory is the difference between churning out endless supplies or watching your machines sputter out while you scramble for fuel. After all, you wouldn’t want your factory to be stranded in the middle of the desert with no nearby resources or fuel to be found.

In this guide, we’ll share the tips, layouts, and prime locations that’ll make sure your Satisfactory factory runs like a well-oiled machine. We’ll also dive into the best starter factory setup for new players.

Tips for choosing the best factory layout & location

Here are some of the recommendations I wish someone had told me when I began building my factory in Satisfactory:

• Always build close to resource nodes to cut down on transportation time. For water-based buildings like refineries, stay near water.
• Find a spot with plenty of room to expand, like wide-open fields or coastal areas. If you can score a scenic view while you’re at it, even better.
• Start by placing machines, then worry about belts. Use manifolds to distribute materials evenly and keep similar processes together in modular layouts. Always leave extra space – you’ll need more than you think.
• Stack belts, place splitters at corners, and use conveyor floor holes to move items between levels.
• If you’re about to log out, leave signs. Label everything so you don’t forget what you were doing later.
• You should try to find the flattest terrain you can. If you need to smooth things out, use explosives, the chainsaw, and place foundations.

Best Iron, Copper, or Ore factory layout

1. Start with a 9×5 platform.
2. Place four Smelters in the second row. Set these to produce the desired ingots, like iron or copper ingots.
3. Behind each Smelter, add Splitters. For the belt between the Splitters in the fourth and fifth columns, use a Mark 2 Belt to handle the extra throughput.
4. In the third row (in front of the first Smelter), add another Splitter.
5. On the fourth row, place five Constructors (one per column). The first two constructors should connect to the Splitter. The remaining three will be fed directly from the Smelters. Set the first two to make iron rods or other equivalent products and the last three to make iron plates or other equivalent products.
6. From here, you can continue to personalize based on the ore using Splitters, Mergers, and Constructors to refine your products.
7. When you’re happy with the outcome, add Storage Containers, connect everything to power, and link the iron ore supply with a Mark 2 Belt.

Best factory location to farm ores

The best location for your factory is determined by the ore you’ll be using as your main resource. If you’re looking to make an Iron factory or Copper factory, the best farm location will be the Dune Desert in the northeast corner of the map. That’s because the largest concentration of those ores is in that area.

For a Coal factory, the ideal spot is in the Middle West or Middle East of the map, where all the Pure Coal nodes are. The key is to always set up your factory close to the best resource spots for each type of ore.

Best Concrete factory layout

1. Add a 3×5 area somewhere in your factory. That’s all you need for this layout.
2. Place three Constructors in row 2, one in each column.
3. In row 1, column 2, place a Splitter and belt it to all three Constructors.
4. Set all Constructors to produce concrete.
5. Place a Merger in row 3, in front of the second Constructor. Connect all Constructors to this Merger.
6. Add a Storage Container in front of the Merger and belt everything together.
7. Connect power to the system and link the belt to your limestone source.

Best factory location to produce Concrete

The best location for a Concrete factory is in the Rocky Desert, which is northwest of the map. Here, you can find the largest concentration of Limestone, which is used to produce Concrete.

Best Reinforced Iron Plates factory layout

1. Place four Smelters. Then, add a manifold Splitter line in front of these Smelters.
2. Use a Mark 2 belt between the third and fourth Splitters to handle the extra load. Set all Smelters to produce Iron Ingots.
3. In row 3, place a Splitter in front of the first Smelter. Then, add five Constructors in row 4, one in each column. Connect a Splitter to the first two Constructors and set them to produce Iron Rods. Belt the next three Smelters directly to the remaining Constructors and set these to produce Iron Plates.
4. Place a Merger in row 5, in front of the second Constructor. Connect the first two Constructors to this Merger. Add another Merger in front of the fourth Constructor and connect the remaining three Constructors to this Merger.
5. Add a Splitter in front of the Merger in row 6. In row 7, place three Constructors in columns 1-3 and belt them to the Splitter. Set these Constructors to produce Screws. Place a Splitter in front of the middle Constructor and Merger in front of the other two Constructors, ensuring their outputs face forward. Connect the Constructors to the Merger and Splitters.
6. Add the first Assembler so its first conveyor hole lines up with the lower Merger. Place the second Assembler next to it, aligning its second conveyor hole with the same Merger. Connect the lower Merger to the first Assembler and the other Merger to the second Assembler. Place a Splitter above each Merger with the entrances facing right, and belt them into the Assemblers.
7. Bring the Iron Plate line from the lower Merger up, connecting it two notches away from the Splitter. Merge the output from both Assemblers. Add a Storage Container in front of the final Merger. Set both Assemblers to produce Reinforced Iron Plates.
8. Connect power to all machines and link the first Splitter to your Iron Ore belt.

Best Reinforced Iron Plates factory location

The best spot for a Reinforced Iron Plates factory is the Dune Desert in the northeast corner of the map, thanks to the high concentration of Iron in that area.

Best Steel factory layout

1. Start with an 8×5 platform. Then, place three Foundries in row 2. Add a Splitter under each Foundry.
2. Add three Splitters stacked next to the existing one. Make sure the third Splitter’s entrance is from the left. Remove the bottom two Splitters.
3. Place Conveyor Lifts between each Splitter and Foundry.
4. Set Foundries to produce Steel Ingots. Underclock the third Foundry to 30 Steel Ingots per minute. Add Merger in front of the first Foundry (facing forward), and a Splitter and Merger in front of the second and third Foundries.
5. Use Mark 1 belts to connect Splitters and Merger outputs. Belt Constructors to the Merger and Splitters.
6. Place Constructors in front of the Merger and set them to produce Steel Beams and Steel Pipes. Add Merger in front of the second Constructor (facing forward) and belt to Storage Containers.
7. Add two Storage Containers. Belt them from the Constructors and Merger.
8. Set up power and connect the ore lines.

Best Steel factory location

The best spot for a Steel factory is the Dune Desert in the northeast corner of the map, thanks to the high concentration of Iron in that area.

Best starter factory layout

After settling down in the perfect starting location, you’ll need a decent starter factory to get through some of the first few Milestones and Tiers. Let’s dive into how the best starter factory layout should look like for the basic resources like Iron, Copper, and Sandstone.

As a reminder, we’ll be using TotalXclipse’s starter factory layout as a reference!

Best starter Iron factory layout

Iron Rods and Screws

1. Place down two Smelters creating Iron Ingots from a Miner Mk.1 extracting Iron Ore.
2. Put a Conveyor Splitter in front of one to split the belt into both Smelters.
3. Place two Conveyor Splitters, one each behind the Smelter.
4. Put four Constructors in a row creating Iron Rods and connect them all to the Smelters.
5. Behind the left two Constructors, merge their belts with a Conveyor Merger and place a Conveyor Splitter right after it.
6. Place three Constructors in a line to create Screws and connect the belts like above.
7. Place a Conveyor Merger after the three Constructors and feed the belt into a Storage Container.
8. Merge the two right Constructors making Iron Rods and put them in another Storage Container.

Iron Plates

1. From a second Miner Mk.1 extracting Iron Ore, place a Conveyor Splitter.
2. Connect the belts to two Smelters making Iron Ingots.
3. Place two Constructors in front of these Smelters to make Iron Plates and connect with belts.
4. Behind these Constructors merge the belts with a Conveyor Merger and connect it to a Storage Container.

Best starter Copper factory layout

Wires and Cables

1. From a Miner Mk.1 extracting Copper Ore, place a Conveyor Splitter.
2. Place two Smelters creating Copper Ingots with one foundation block separating each.
3. Put a Conveyor Splitter in front of each Smelter.
4. Place four Constructors making Wire in a row, and feed each Smelter into two Constructors each.
5. Behind the left two Constructors, merge the belts and connect them to a Storage Container holding Wire.
6. Behind the right two Constructors, merge the belts and connect it to a Constructor making Cable.
7. Connect the Cable Constructor to a Storage Container.

Best starter Sandstone factory layout

Concrete

1. From a Miner Mk.1 extracting Sandstone, place a Conveyor Splitter.
2. Place two Constructors making Concrete and connect them with belts.
3. Place a Conveyor Merger behind them and connect it to a Storage Container holding Concrete.

Now that you’ve mastered building a top-tier factory, it’s time to show off: invite your friends to check it out on a dedicated server. Or, even better, set out on a hunt to get all the hard drives in the game.