Crank Generator

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Converts kinetic energy into electricity through hand crank or connected external sources of energy.

The Crank Generator is the first electrical generator that is acquired in the game and is used to power electrically powered machines such as assemblers.

Obtained

Unlocking

The Crank Generator initially requires two Crank Generator Fragments to be scanned using the Scanner to unlock the Crank Generator tech (energy - PT LIMA - T4 - Crank Generator). The required fragments can be found in the immediate area of PT Victor alongside fragments of Assembler's. Once unlocked, the tech can be researched using Research Core 380nm (Purple) (1x).

Crafting

Crafting recipes

Recipe	Ingredients	Produced In	Products
Crank Generator	8x Copper Components	Inventory, Assemblers	1 x Crank Generator
	4 x Electrical Components

Usage

Research

The Crank Generator is used to repair PT Victor, requiring Crank Generator (2x) and Assembler (2x) which unlocks Victor's first research tier (PT VICTOR - T1 - Shiverthorn Processing).

Power

The Crank Generator can generate 150 kW of power which can be transmitted through building material capable of transferring electricity. In the early game, this is typically anything with 'Calcite' in the name or description. Initially, Crank Generator's must be activated by hand - approaching them and selecting 'Inspect' will open the Crank Generator window where the option 'Activate Crank' is presented. This provides the Generator with 10 minutes of charge - the generator will output 150 kW of power before needing to be cranked again.

Each Crank Generator needs to be cranked individually until the Groundbreaker has researched the Crank Connect technology (energy - PT LIMA - T4 - Crank Connect) using Research Core 380nm (Purple) (3x). This then allows generators to be connected together by placing them in parallel and only one generator then needs to be cranked to activate all of the generators power generation. When succesfully connected, a bar will appear joining the generators. There is no physical limit on the number of generators that can be joined together in this way. However, there are practical limits based on the size of the map.

Once researched, the Crank Connect technology will take immediate affect, connecting all generators that are in parallel and sufficiently close together.

After unlocking the first tier of PT Victor, the Groundbreaker can research Crank Span (energy - PT VICTOR - T1 - Crank Span) with Research Core 380nm (Purple) (15x). This increases the length of time a crank activates the generator to 60 minutes. This allows the Groundbreaker much more time to explore before needing to crank again to continue powering machines.

Once unlocked and researched (energy - PT VICTOR - T1 - Water Wheel), the Groundbreaker can build and place Water Wheels which will automatically crank the generators instead of having to crank them manually. This allows for the generators to be providing power indefinitely without further intervention required by the Groundbreaker.

Unlike with manual cranking, a single Water Wheel can automatically crank a limited number of Crank Generators. This is depicted through the game via 'torque' - the amount of rotational force the wheel can provide. A single Water Wheel can provide 100 Nm of torque, with each Crank Generator requiring 10 Nm of torque. This means that a single wheel can crank 10 generators.

Like Crank Generators, Water Wheels can be placed in parallel, adding additional torque and allowing for more generators to be powered. There is no physical limit on the number of wheels and generators that can be connected in this way but, again, there are practical limits. This time, the limiting factor is likely the available water space for placing Water Wheels.