The Sorting Machine enables you to set up item delivery with accuracy and precision. Like the Filter it can be used inline (meaning between Pneumatic Tubes) or connected to an inventory (usually a Chest or a Buffer). A sorting machine can be used to colour code items which will assist with the output destinations. Sorting machines are powered through Blutricity.
Note that when changing the colours in the Sorting Machine left or right clicking will go forward or backwards (respectively) so if you miss your color you can right click to go back.
Allows the sorting of any item by assigning each item a color tag and then it is sent to its respective chest
Sorting Machine user interface. In this example, dirt will be delivered to the white tube, gravel to the green tube, sand to the blue tube, and cobble to the red tube.
Input : Pneumatic Tubes or chest placed on input side of Sorting Machine (marked with standard redpower mod graphic of cross - the yellow eye dots are closest to this side)
Output : Pneumatic Tubes or chest placed on output side of Sorting Machine (marked with standard redpower mod graphic of hole - redstone indicator light is closest to this side)
To assign a color to your tubes for your items to be directed by the machine, you must use a paint brush. Colored items can either go in un-colored tubes (so plan accordingly) or same-color painted tubes (e.g. red into red). Un-colored items will go into the first chest they come to, regardless of the color.
If you are having problems, make sure that the chest is on the correct side of the sorting machine (input : double holes) and output (opposite side).
There are a total of sixteen different colors that the sorting machine will accept.
If the Sorting Machine is directly connected to a chest filled with a single item (ex: Condenser chest of redstone) you can then sort up to 8 colors of output. However if it is connected in-line it will sort only to the first color of item and never reach the others.
A Screwdriver can be used to change the direction a Sorting Machine is facing, while a Mining Laser or pickaxe of any level may be used to remove and recover it.
As mentioned earlier, Sorting Machines can be used either inline (spliced into a Pneumatic Tube network) or next to a source (chest). What you need to be aware of is the two different uses of the Sorting Machine have different redstone requirements. When placed inline, the machines will work much better if NOT given a redstone pulse. However, if the Sorting Machine is being used directly to suck items out of a source chest then it needs a pulse to do so.
To state it differently, if an item is already moving through your tube network (via Filter , Retriever , or other) and bumps into the back of a Sorting Machine, the Sorting Machine will sort/color it all by itself with no signals needed. However, if the Sorting Machine is going to be responsible for the inital filling of a tube network with items then it needs to be signalled (via redstone) to do so.
If you plan on using the sorting machine to sort tools into a chest, don't. Use diamond pipes instead. Sorting machines will not recognize tools with different amounts of usage as being the same tool and will cause some problems with your system.
The following is a list of values comparing sorting machine colors with the number of clicks required to reach that color from the sorting machine GUI.