Sandustry Kinetic Press

The Kinetic Press is the machine that turns Burnt Residue into Gold and Seed - drop burnt residue from at least 25 blocks above the press and each one outputs gold plus a seed (drop height and outputs per community documentation; verify in current build). It is one of the three official gold-refining structures alongside the Shaker and the Planter Box, and its seed byproduct feeds directly into the plant chain - which is why most players unlock it right after the Flamethrower. When it jams, the cause is almost always one of four things: wrong input, not enough drop height, a stuck pixel, or a blocked output. Demo-era players know this machine as the "slag press" - same machine, older name.

What the press does in your factory

The official beginner's guide describes three core structures that refine resources into gold, each producing a byproduct the next production stage needs. The Kinetic Press handles the middle of that chain: the Shaker turns wet sand into gold and Residue, you burn that Residue into Burnt Residue, and the press converts Burnt Residue back into gold and seeds. Nothing in the loop is wasted - the Residue you would otherwise have to dump becomes fresh currency, and the seeds it drops grow into flowers for even more gold on a Planter Box.

The full chain, verified across multiple sources:

1. Wet Sand feeds the Shaker -> gold drops out, Residue remains
2. Ignite the Residue (flamethrower, napalm, or lava through a filter) -> Burnt Residue
3. Burnt Residue falls 25+ blocks onto the Kinetic Press -> 1 Gold + 1 Seed
4. Seeds go to the plant chain; gold goes to research

Unlocking it: research order and cost

The Kinetic Press is a Tier 2 research node costing about 500 Gold (single community source; verify in current build). The efficient order most guides recommend:

1. Get the Shaker loop running first - stable gold income before spending
2. Research the Flamethrower - you cannot make Burnt Residue without fire
3. Research the Kinetic Press
4. While the press fills your collectors, you naturally hit the Gold in the Bin achievement (hold 1,000 gold at once), then push toward Thermal Buffer and Burner Belt to automate the burning step

Building the drop tower

The press does not process what is handed to it gently - material must fall. The setup that works:

• Vertical input shaft at least 25 blocks tall above the press, with a filter at the top so only Burnt Residue enters - raw Residue, gold, or mixed loads will sit on top of the press and block the input
• Clear the top: an angled launcher or a side exit knocks stuck pixels off the press surface
• Clear the bottom: gold and seed outputs need open space below - if the space under the press is blocked, the machine "looks stuck" because output has nowhere to go. Route gold and seeds into separate paths so they do not back up into each other
• Feed it slowly: controlled input beats maximum throughput. Dumping a full storage container onto the press at once is the most reliable way to jam it

Burning residue efficiently

Every Residue you ignite has about a 25% chance to become Burnt Residue - the rest burns away (single-source figure; roughly four Residue per Burnt Residue). Ignition options:

• Flamethrower by hand - the early-game default, fine for the first tower
• Rocket launcher napalm upgrade - burns larger areas
• Pyro Dispenser - automated burning once researched
• Lava trapped in a filter - the community's favorite: seal lava inside a filter block and stream Residue over it. It burns continuously and does not need refueling

Keep water and valuable materials away from the burn zone, and throttle the flow: since three in four Residue burn to nothing, throughput matters less than a steady, controlled feed.

Troubleshooting: the four jams

Material sitting on top and nothing falls. Either it is not Burnt Residue (raw Residue and mixed loads are not processed) or the drop is under 25 blocks - add height to the shaft.

Press stopped after running fine. Check below before above: if gold or seeds cannot exit, the machine halts. Also check for a single pixel stuck on the press surface - an angled launcher on the rim pushes it off.

Everything was fine until a big delivery. Mass dumps overwhelm the input. Slow the feed and keep a filter at the shaft top.

Press works but output is tiny. That is usually the burn stage, not the press - count how much Burnt Residue actually arrives versus how much raw Residue you sent. The 25% conversion loss happens before the press ever sees the material.