How to Get Plastic, Rubber & Latex in Industrial Foregoing – 1.21.1

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the complete process of obtaining plastic in the Industrial Foregoing mod. The mechanics for crafting plastic have remained consistent across versions, making this tutorial applicable whether you’re playing version 1.21.1 or earlier iterations. You’ll learn how to set up an automated system to extract latex from wood, process it into rubber, and finally smelt it into plastic.

Understanding the Basics: What You Need

To get plastic in Industrial Foregoing, the first step is to create latex. Latex serves as the raw material for rubber, which is then smelted into plastic. You’ll need several key machines and components for this process, which we’ll break down in detail below.

Step 1: Setting Up the Block Placer

The foundation of your automation system is the Block Placer. This machine automatically places blocks in front of it when powered. The Block Placer has a green energy bar that depletes as it works—when the bar reaches the bottom, it places a block ahead of it.

Start by placing your Block Placer and inserting oak logs into its inventory. Once you hook it up to a power source, it will begin automatically placing oak logs in front of it as the green bar depletes with each action.

Step 2: Adding Fluid Extractors for Latex Collection

Around your Block Placer, you’ll place three Fluid Extractors, one on each of the remaining sides adjacent to where the oak logs are being placed. Each Fluid Extractor works similarly to the Block Placer—it has a green bar that depletes, and when it reaches the bottom, it extracts fluid from the block in front of it.

In this case, the Fluid Extractors will pull latex directly from the oak wood blocks. This automated setup ensures you’re continuously harvesting latex without manual intervention.

Manual Alternative: If you prefer not to automate this step initially, you can simply place wooden logs manually and extract latex from them one at a time. However, since you’ll need considerable amounts of plastic, automation is highly recommended.

Step 3: Transporting Latex with Mechanical Pipes

Once your Fluid Extractors are pulling latex from the wood, you’ll need to transport it. Use Mechanical Pipes from the Mekanism mod to move the extracted latex. Set the pipes to “pull” mode so they automatically extract latex from your Fluid Extractors and transport it to the next stage of processing.

Step 4: Processing Latex into Rubber

Route your latex-filled pipes into a Latex Processing Unit. This machine requires both latex and water to function. When both materials are present, it converts them into rubber (or in some mod versions, into Tiny Dry Rubber).

Understanding Tiny Dry Rubber (Version-Dependent)

Depending on which version of Industrial Foregoing you’re using, the Latex Processing Unit may produce either regular Dry Rubber or Tiny Dry Rubber. If your version produces Tiny Dry Rubber, you’ll need to combine nine Tiny Dry Rubber pieces in a crafting table (or automated crafting system) to create one regular Dry Rubber.

For example, arrange nine Tiny Dry Rubber in a 3×3 pattern in your crafting table to get one Dry Rubber. However, in ATM 10 and some other versions, the machine produces regular Dry Rubber directly, skipping this conversion step entirely.

Step 5: Obtaining Water with the Water Condenser

To automate your water supply, use the Water Condenser from Industrial Foregoing. Place water sources around the Water Condenser, and it will automatically pump up water and output it through pipes. Route this water into your Latex Processing Unit alongside your latex supply.

Step 6: Smelting Rubber into Plastic

The final step is smelting your Dry Rubber into Plastic. Use an Item Pipe to automatically transport your Dry Rubber from the Latex Processing Unit into a Furnace. The furnace will smelt the rubber into plastic, completing your production chain.

Complete Automation Chain Summary

Here’s the full process laid out:

Block Placer continuously places oak logs

Three Fluid Extractors (positioned on three sides) extract latex from the wood

Mechanical Pipes transport latex to the Latex Processing Unit

Water Condenser pumps water into the Latex Processing Unit

Latex Processing Unit converts latex + water into Dry Rubber (or Tiny Dry Rubber)

If using Tiny Dry Rubber, combine nine pieces in a crafting table for one regular Dry Rubber

Item Pipes transport Dry Rubber to a Furnace

Furnace smelts Dry Rubber into Plastic

Conclusion

You now have a fully automated system for producing plastic in Industrial Foregoing 1.21.1! This setup will generate a steady supply of plastic for your other crafting needs. Remember that the exact mechanics remain consistent across different mod versions, so this guide should work whether you’re playing the latest update or an older iteration of the mod.

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