Sandustry Guide: Beginner Factory, Research & Automation

Sandustry Progression Route

Sandustry progression is a chain of production problems rather than a race to place more machines. Gold unlocks research, Fluxite unlocks inventory upgrades, and later structures depend on Factory Level. Use this route to decide what the factory should solve next.

Stage	What To Build Or Do	What It Unlocks
First Gold	Mix Sand with Water, feed Wet Sand to a Shaker, and collect Gold below.	Research currency and the first logistics options.
Automation	Use conveyors for horizontal transport and launchers for vertical or diagonal movement.	A line that can load itself and remove Residue.
Residue processing	Burn Residue, then route the processed material toward a Kinetic Press.	Another Gold-producing stage instead of discarded by-product.
Fluid logistics	Move non-lava fluids with a Pump, Pipes, and a Liquid Vent.	Controlled Water supply and later multi-state processing.
Energy	Dry Amethelis with Steam, burn it into Florin, condense it into Florinol, and fill a Florinol Battery.	Energy for late-game structures.

Build Your First Gold Line

Dig Sand with the shovel and drop it into Water to make Wet Sand. Put a collector below the Shaker because Gold passes through the machine, while Residue remains above and moves toward the side. Keep that side route open before increasing input; the dedicated Sandustry Shaker Setup explains the full diagonal layout.

Choose The Right Logistics

Match transport to the material state instead of forcing every resource through the same route. Solid logistics require no power, but direction and output placement still determine whether a line clears. Keep fluid types on separate pipelines because a Liquid Vent cannot filter which nearby fluid it outputs.

Material Or Problem	Use	Important Rule
Horizontal solids	Conveyor Belt	The belt follows the direction of the mouse drag.
Vertical or diagonal solids	Launcher	The highest point is the output; drag direction sets left or right throw.
Mixed solids	Basic Filter	Allow or Block one selected solid resource.
Liquids other than lava	Pump, Pipes, Liquid Vent	The source must reach the Pump level and the destination must remain below the Vent level.

Research And Upgrade Priorities

Use the first Gold to remove manual transport from the Wet Sand line, then research around the next visible bottleneck. The Material Scanner upgrade shows how a resource can be refined or used, while Grabber capacity and digging speed reduce repetitive early work. Advanced research is gated by Factory Level, so a larger factory does not replace the milestones required for access.

Sandustry Tips For Stable Factories

Use C to select a structure, then copy and paste repeated systems instead of rebuilding each segment. The replace control is useful when upgrading an existing conveyor or launcher line, and filters isolate by-products from mixed piles. If a resource is difficult to move upward, consider changing its state first and converting it back closer to its destination.

Inspect the entire line after automation rather than watching only the final collector. Residue can miss its burn stage, a launcher can stop receiving material at its base, and a full downstream machine can back up working inputs. Increase throughput only after the current line can clear Sand, Gold, Residue, and later products without manual cleanup.

Sandustry Guide FAQ

How Do You Pick Up Artifacts In Sandustry?

Artifacts are found around the planet and provide Augments for utility items or the player. Some Artifact puzzles require a tool or resource that may not be available when you first discover them, so an unreachable pickup can be progression-gated. Leave the room and return after further research instead of assuming the interaction is broken.

Why Can’t I Build In Straight Lines In Sandustry?

Placement direction depends on the structure you selected. Conveyors can only be placed horizontally and follow the direction of your mouse drag, while launchers can be placed vertically or diagonally and output from their highest point. For repeated straight sections, build one working segment, select it with C, then use copy and paste to repeat it.

What Should You Research First In Sandustry?

Prioritize logistics that removes manual loading from the first Gold line. Conveyors and launchers let Wet Sand reach the Shaker and carry Residue away, while later processing can turn that by-product into more useful output. Choose subsequent research by the blocked stage you can already identify rather than by machine count alone.