Transformer

Kit (Transformer)

Properties
Stacks	No
Paintable	No
Recipe
Created With	Electronics Printer, Fabricator
Cost	10x Iron, 1x Gold , 3x Copper

Kit Transformer (Large)

Properties
Stacks	No
Paintable	No
Recipe
Created With	Electronics Printer, Fabricator
Cost	10x Steel, 5x Electrum

Description

The transformer is used to control the maximum amount of power that will flow on a cable, preventing the cables from overloading on high power draw. There are three variants of the transformer:

The Transformer (Small) requires 1x Kit (Transformer) to place and is limited to 5,000 W of output. It can be placed in any orientation on a supporting surface (floor, wall, or ceiling) and is available as Transformer Reversed (Small).

The Transformer (Medium) requires 3x Kit (Transformer) to place and is limited to 25,000 W of output. Similarly, it can be placed on any floor, wall, or ceiling and is available as a Transformer Reversed (Medium).

The Transformer (Large) requires 1x Kit Transformer (Large) to place and is limited to 50,000 W of output. It can only be placed in one orientation, ideally the floor, but it can be stacked above floor level by placing it partway into a frame.

Usage

Due to the power limiting ability of transformers, they are excellent options for preventing wire networks from burning out from excess load. For example, Wind Turbines can generate dramatically more power during certain types of Storms. Placing two Large Transformers in parallel between the Wind Turbines and the Station Batteries can prevent the Wind Turbines from trying to push more than 100 kW of power to the batteries, preventing Heavy Cables from being overloaded and burned out. Similarly, Small Transformers natively limit the output to the same wattage limit as standard Cables, allowing a network to be provided with power without risk of burning out the cable network if it tries to draw more power than the cable network can support.

Generally speaking, it's a good idea to place transformers:

• Between power generators and batteries - Batteries will try to draw all available power, no matter how much the cables in between could support, so this avoids cable burn-out if available generation exceeds the load capacity of the cables used.
• Between batteries and downstream devices - Batteries will also provide as much power as is demanded, so this prevents cable burn-out during unusual load spikes.
• To separate heavy cable networks from standard cable networks - While an Area Power Control can also be used for this, and has the advantage of providing a battery backup (which is vital for important networks like airlocks), using a Small Transformer instead ensures that the standard cable network cannot try to draw more power than the cables can support. This is especially useful for networks with dynamic power draw from many sources, such as a production room or gas filtering and processing facility.

Notes

Data will not flow through a transformer, isolating the circuit behind their input.
The transformers seem to generate a large amount of heat.

Transformers of all sizes will use 10W to power themselves, drawn from the input side of the transformer. This is in addition to the maximum load setting configured on the transformer, and this should be taken into account when setting the maximum draw for the transformer. For example, two Large Transformers placed in parallel and each set to 50 kW will have a maximum draw of 100.02 kW, rather than 100 kW even. While a very small difference, this is sufficient to burn out a heavy cable upstream network, which only supports 100.00 kW. In certain circumstances, the upstream can burn out even if both transformers are set to 49.99 kW, so it is recommended to use a slightly lower value, such as 49.95 kW, to avoid this issue. This must be dropped even further if there are any other power-consuming devices on the upstream network (such as logic devices for controlling solar panels, etc).

Data Network Properties

These are all Data Network properties of this device. This list is not tested at all for the Transformer Small and not complete for Transformer (kit/large variant).

Data Parameters

These are all parameters, that can be written to with a Logic Writer, Batch Writer, or Integrated Circuit (IC10). The outputs are listed in the order a Logic Writer's "VAR" setting cycles through them.

Parameter Name	Data Type	Description
On	Boolean	Turns the Transformer on when set to 1. Turns it off when set to 0.
Lock	Boolean	Locks the Transformer when set to 1. Unlocks it when set to 0
Setting	Integer	Sets the Transformer's power (in Watts) limit.

Data Outputs

These are all parameters, that can be read with a Logic Reader or a Slot Reader. The outputs are listed in the order a Logic Reader's "VAR" setting cycles through them. You cannot read ratios in IC2 chip (so far)

Parameter Name	Data Type	Description
On	Boolean	Returns whether the Transformer is turned on. (0 for no, 1 for yes)
Maximum	Integer	Maximum setting of this device. (How high the device can be set, see description for specific numbers.)
Lock	Boolean	Returns whether the Transformer is locked. (0 for no, 1 for yes)
Error	Boolean	1 if device is in error state, otherwise 0.
Setting	Integer	Returns the current power limit (in Watts) of the Transformer.
RequiredPower	Integer	Idle operating power quantity. (how much power, in watts, the device itself is using, rather than how much power it is passing through.)
Ratio	Float	Ratio of the current power limit to the maximum power limit of the device
PrefabHash	Integer	The hash of the device. (Can be found in the Stationpedia.)
Power	Boolean	Returns 1 if the device is powered and on, otherwise 0.