The Probably Stolen Furnace converts two pieces of Scrap Metal or Metal Ore into one Metal Ingot overnight. It needs an energy source, and its normal smelting cycle uses 8 kJ. Put the materials into the Furnace before closing the shop, then inspect the output after the night has passed. Buying the machine without supplying materials and power does not begin production.
Two optional modules change that basic job. The Blast module trades a larger input for more ingots at lower purity. The Junk Processing module converts Junk into Scrap Metal, but only on nights when the Furnace does not make an ingot. Those are separate production choices, so decide which output you need before filling the machine.
Obtain and place the Furnace
Dr. Jackson sells the Furnace. His shop stocks it while you own none; after you already own one, additional availability is no longer guaranteed on every visit. Its listed value is 200 Credits, and the machine occupies a 3 by 3 space. Make room for the machine as well as the materials and power source you intend to use with it.
You do not need a conventional crafting bench to smelt. Production happens through the machine itself. A stockpile of metal in another container is useful inventory, but you still need to load the Furnace's inputs rather than expecting the game to treat all stored metal as one automatic supply.
Before buying, distinguish the Furnace from a finished Metal Ingot. The machine provides a recurring production route. An ingot is the output you can use or trade. Buying the machine is only worthwhile for your immediate plan if you can also support its overnight cycle.
Keep the input materials you want to process identifiable. Scrap Metal, Metal Ore and Junk have different roles in the recipes. Filling the Furnace with an item merely because it looks metallic is not a substitute for matching the actual listed input.
Run the standard smelting recipe
The ordinary recipe takes two Scrap Metal or Metal Ore and returns one Metal Ingot. The normal Furnace performs one smelt per night. Prepare the whole cycle before ending the day so that the machine has both its input and its energy source when production runs.
- Open the Furnace and inspect the input area.
- Load the metal needed for the standard ingot recipe.
- Check that the energy source can supply the cycle.
- Review any installed modules that alter the production result.
- Close the shop and let the overnight processing occur.
- Inspect the resulting ingot and the remaining materials the next morning.
The output's listed base value is 50 Credits. Treat that as an item value, rather than a promise of profit from every smelt. Your input purchase price, energy arrangements and eventual transaction still matter. The recipe tells you what the Furnace makes; it does not guarantee a buyer's final offer.
A useful first cycle uses the ordinary recipe without changing several modules at once. That makes it easier to recognize the normal conversion. Once the process works, you can decide whether more output, better purity or a different source material matters most for your shop.
Compare the three production routes
The Furnace can serve different parts of a metal supply chain. Its standard role is making ingots, while Junk Processing produces an earlier material in that chain.
| Route | Input | Output | Important condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard smelt | 2 Scrap Metal or Metal Ore | 1 Metal Ingot | Requires power |
| Blast smelt | 3 Scrap Metal or Metal Ore | 2 Metal Ingots | Requires Blast module; lower purity |
| Junk processing | 6 Junk | 4 Scrap Metal | Requires Junk Processing module; no ingot that night |
Do not assume Junk Processing means the same Furnace will also smelt the resulting scrap into ingots during that night. Its processing condition explicitly depends on the machine making no ingot. If you want scrap from Junk, plan the night around that output instead of expecting every stage of the production chain to happen automatically.
Likewise, the Blast recipe is not simply a better version of the standard recipe. It produces more ingots per listed batch but lowers their purity by one step. That tradeoff matters whenever your intended use values the ingot's quality rather than only the number of items produced.
Choose the route from the output backward. If you need Scrap Metal, use the corresponding process. If you need a particular quality of Metal Ingot, inspect the purity consequences before choosing Blast. Matching the recipe to the job avoids spending a night producing the wrong material.
Improve purity with flux
A Flux Smelting Agent placed in the input improves the ingot's purity by at least one step. The Basic agent is consumed; the Advanced version remains available after use. This makes the two agents different commitments even though both are relevant to purity.
Add flux because you want to improve the resulting metal, rather than assuming it is mandatory for every Furnace cycle. The standard recipe can make an ingot without it. If ordinary ingots already satisfy your current purpose, reserving your flux for a more demanding job may be a more useful inventory choice.
Check the actual result instead of treating every purity-related effect as interchangeable. Blast lowers purity, while flux improves it. If you combine changes, inspect the ingots the next morning to see whether they meet your purpose. Do not price or commit an unseen output as though every modifier has already produced the result you wanted.
Keep the Basic and Advanced agents distinguishable. The Basic item's consumption affects whether the next batch has the same preparation as the current one. A process that worked last night can differ tonight if the consumable has been used and you have not supplied another.
Supply enough energy for the night
Powered machines draw energy from the source in their battery slot. For the normal Furnace cycle, the listed requirement is 8 kJ. Check the installed source itself; owning charged cells elsewhere in the shop does not confirm that the Furnace currently has a usable supply.
An ordinary energy cell and a Current Converter are alternative ways to supply the machine. A cell provides stored energy, while the converter pays for power in Credits through its nightly service. If you use the latter, its service and grid conditions matter in addition to the fact that an item occupies the slot.
Inspect power before changing the recipe. If the input is correct but no production occurs, a depleted or unavailable energy supply is a more direct thing to check than replacing a working metal recipe. Also inspect the machine after module changes, because modules can alter its power requirement.
Power planning should use the machine's current state. A number remembered from an unmodified Furnace is not necessarily the right figure after changing Efficiency. Read what your present setup requires, then make sure the installed source can meet it through the production night.
Use the module bay deliberately
The Furnace accepts universal modules as well as its own machine-specific modules. Universal module totals affect Performance, Efficiency and Quality. Efficiency changes energy use, and negative Efficiency increases the requirement. A module's name alone is insufficient; inspect the combination installed in the bay.
The standard module bay begins with blocked cells. A Module Bay Expansion Kit opens additional space in stages. More room helps you arrange modules, but expansion is not a substitute for choosing the right production module. An empty expanded bay does not enable Junk Processing or Blast smelting by itself.
Install the machine-specific module that matches the recipe you want to run. If you are troubleshooting a missing recipe, first confirm that the required module is actually present. If you are troubleshooting power, review the installed modules' totals instead of assuming a module that improves one statistic has no cost elsewhere.
Stuck modules require a Module Extractor to remove. Treat extraction as a separate equipment requirement. Rearranging modules by trial and error can become harder when an installed piece is stuck, so inspect what you have before committing to a layout that depends on moving it again.
Diagnose a night with no useful output
Start with the simplest distinction: did the machine make nothing, or did it make a different product than you expected? The first points toward missing inputs or power. The second points toward the selected recipe, installed modules or the rule governing Junk Processing.
| Symptom | First check |
|---|---|
| No Metal Ingot appeared | Required metal inputs and the Furnace's power source |
| Junk did not become scrap | Junk Processing module and whether an ingot was made |
| More ingots appeared at lower purity | Whether Blast was used |
| Purity did not meet your plan | Flux availability and all relevant module effects |
| A later batch differs from the first | Consumed ingredients and changed machine settings |
Check one category at a time. If you replace the battery, change modules and swap ingredients together, you may recover production without learning which part was wrong. A controlled next cycle is easier to understand: correct the missing requirement, leave working settings alone and inspect the resulting item.
Finally, keep production timing separate from sale timing. The Furnace runs overnight, so it cannot provide an ingot for a transaction that must happen before that cycle. Load the machine for the next day, keep any immediately needed materials aside, and verify the actual output before promising it to another part of your shop's workflow.