Smart Storage Bin

The Smart Storage Bin is an automated storage building used to manage production and material flow. It behaves as a Storage Bin with a built-in signal output, letting it be used as a stop condition for nearby machinery when it becomes full. This makes it useful in production lines where you want machines to halt once a stockpile reaches a set limit.

Its main advantage is that it can be wired into automation without relying on manual monitoring. When the bin fills up, it can automatically stop production. However, it has a major drawback: it permanently draws 60 W of power, so it is not always the most efficient option for simple storage control.

A common alternative is to place a Weight Plate on a building’s output instead of using a Smart Storage Bin. This can create a lower limit of 2 kg, but the setup can be extended with an Auto-Sweeper, which can instantly fill a Storage Bin and allow higher effective limits. For this to work properly, there must not be any other Storage Bins that accept the same material, or Dupes may sweep the output and interfere with the weight plate reading.

In practice, the Smart Storage Bin is best when you want a straightforward automation signal tied to storage fullness and are willing to pay the constant power cost for the convenience. It is less attractive in power-limited colonies or in setups where a simpler weight-based detector can achieve the same result.