Productive Metalworks

Overview

Productive Metalworks introduces an industrial smelting and casting system to Minecraft through its centerpiece structure: the Foundry. This customizable multiblock furnace can melt ores, ingots, and other items into molten fluids, then cast those fluids into ingots, nuggets, gems, gears, rods, plates, and storage blocks. The mod supports over 30 different molten fluids, including vanilla metals like Iron, Copper, and Gold, as well as modded metals like Steel, Bronze, Electrum, and Enderium.

Inspired by Tinkers' Construct's Smeltery but focused purely on metalworking (no tools or weapons), Productive Metalworks is a processing mod at heart. It excels at bulk smelting, ore multiplication through melting ratios, and creating alloys by combining molten metals directly in the Foundry. Every Foundry block comes in all 16 dye colors, so you can match the structure to your base aesthetic. You can browse all items and recipes this mod adds using the tabs at the top of this page.

Foundry Multiblock Construction

The Foundry is a variable-size hollow rectangular multiblock. It consists of walls, a floor, and an open top. Understanding which blocks go where is critical to forming a valid structure.

Wall Blocks

The walls of your Foundry can be built from any combination of Fire Bricks, Foundry Controllers, Foundry Tanks, Foundry Drains, Foundry Windows, and even Meat Blocks. You need exactly one Foundry Controller per structure. Foundry Tanks hold 4,000 mb of fluid each and can store fuel fluids for the smelting process. Foundry Drains are where you attach Foundry Taps to extract molten metal. Foundry Windows are transparent blocks that let you see the fluids inside. All of these blocks (except the Tap and Meat Block) come in 16 dye colors.

Floor Blocks

The floor of the Foundry must be made entirely of Heating Coils. There are two types: the Liquid Heating Coil and the Powered Heating Coil. The Liquid Heating Coil uses fluid fuel stored in the Foundry's tanks to generate heat, while the Powered Heating Coil runs on FE (Forge Energy). You can mix both types on the floor.

Size Limits

The Foundry's maximum dimensions are controlled by config settings. By default, it supports up to 200 blocks of internal volume, a maximum circumference of 200 blocks, and a maximum height of 20 blocks. This allows for very large smelting operations. Each block of internal volume adds 1,000 mb to the Foundry's total fluid capacity, so a Foundry with 50 blocks of volume can hold up to 50,000 mb of molten fluid across up to 20 different fluid types simultaneously.

Crafting the Foundry Components

Every Foundry component is crafted from Fire Bricks. Here's what you need to build a basic setup:

Core Components

The Foundry Controller is crafted with 8 Fire Bricks surrounding a Blast Furnace. You only need one per Foundry. The Foundry Tank uses 8 Fire Bricks around a colorless Glass Block. Tanks store fuel fluids and excess molten metal, each holding 4,000 mb. Include several in your walls for adequate fuel storage.

The Foundry Drain is made with 8 Fire Bricks in a ring shape (center empty). Drains are your fluid output points. Place at least one on each side where you want to extract metal. The Foundry Window is a simple row of two Fire Bricks with a Glass Block between them, and it lets you see inside your Foundry.

Heating & Casting

The Liquid Heating Coil requires 3 Copper Ingots on top, 2 Copper Ingots and an Empty Bucket in the middle row, and 3 Fire Bricks on the bottom. The Powered Heating Coil uses the same pattern but replaces the Bucket with an Amethyst Block, allowing it to run on FE power instead of fluid fuel.

The Foundry Tap is crafted with 3 Fire Bricks in a V shape. Attach it to the outside of a Foundry Drain to pour molten metal downward. Right-click the tap or apply a Redstone signal to toggle it on and off. The Casting Table uses 5 Fire Bricks in a table shape (3 on top, 2 as legs), while the Casting Basin uses 7 Fire Bricks in a U shape (basin form).

Smelting and Melting

The Foundry's primary function is melting items into molten fluids. Simply toss items into the open top of the structure, and the controller will automatically collect them (if item collection is enabled in the config). Each item occupies one of the controller's 200 inventory slots and begins melting based on fuel availability.

Melting Ratios

Different item forms yield different amounts of molten fluid. This is where the Foundry really shines for efficiency. An Ore block yields 240 mb of its respective molten metal, which is equivalent to roughly 2.67 Ingots (since each Ingot is 90 mb). This means you get more than double your output compared to normal smelting. Raw Ore items yield 120 mb (1.33 Ingots), Raw Ore Blocks yield a massive 1,080 mb (12 Ingots), and Storage Blocks yield 810 mb (9 Ingots). Nuggets can also be melted at 10 mb each, and Dusts, Gears (360 mb), Rods (180 mb), and Plates (180 mb) all have their own ratios.

Non-Metal Melting

The Foundry can melt far more than just metals. Diamonds, Emeralds, Lapis Lazuli, Amethyst, and Quartz all have molten forms, with gems yielding 100 mb each and their ores yielding 200 mb (double output). Redstone Dust melts into Molten Redstone at 100 mb per dust, while Redstone Ore yields 400 mb. Coal and Charcoal produce Molten Carbon at 100 mb each.

Glass blocks and Sand both melt into Molten Glass at 1,000 mb with a required temperature of 1,400K. Obsidian melts into Molten Obsidian at 1,000 mb per block (1,300K required). Ender Pearls and Eyes of Ender produce 100 mb of Molten Ender each. Raw Meat items produce 20 mb of Liquid Meat at 1,000K minimum temperature. Even Compasses and Clocks can be melted down to reclaim their component metals.

Casting System

Once you have molten fluid in your Foundry, you need to cast it into usable items. The casting system uses two blocks: the Casting Table for items, and the Casting Basin for blocks. Both sit below a Foundry Tap, which is attached to a Foundry Drain on the wall of your structure.

Casts

Casts are reusable templates that determine what shape the molten metal takes. There are six cast types: Ingot Cast, Nugget Cast, Gem Cast, Gear Cast, Rod Cast, and Plate Cast. To create a cast, place the corresponding item (any Ingot, Nugget, Gem, Gear, Rod, or Plate) on the Casting Table and pour Molten Steel over it. The item is consumed, and the cast is created. Each cast requires 360 mb of Molten Steel.

Using the Casting Table

Place a cast on the Casting Table, then activate the Foundry Tap above it. Molten fluid flows down at 10 mb per tick. Once the required amount of fluid fills the table (90 mb for Ingots, 10 mb for Nuggets, 100 mb for Gems, 360 mb for Gears, 180 mb for Rods/Plates), the cooling process begins. Cooling time is the fluid amount divided by the cooling modifier (default 4), so an Ingot at 90 mb takes about 22 ticks (just over one second). The finished item appears in the output slot, and the cast remains for the next pour.

Using the Casting Basin

The Casting Basin works the same way but produces blocks instead of items. Most block casting recipes don't require a cast at all. Pour 810 mb of any molten metal to get a Storage Block, 1,000 mb of Molten Glass for a Glass Block, or 1,000 mb of Molten Obsidian for an Obsidian block. Some special recipes use a cast item in the basin, like the Meat Block which requires a Bone as a cast plus 800 mb of Liquid Meat.

Special Casting Recipes

Beyond standard metal casting, the Foundry can create some unique items. Pour 80 mb of Molten Gold over a Carrot to make a Golden Carrot, or over a Melon Slice for a Glistering Melon Slice. An Apple with 720 mb of Molten Gold produces a Golden Apple. Pour 80 mb of Molten Iron over a Torch to create a Lantern, or over a Soul Torch for a Soul Lantern. A Redstone with 360 mb of Molten Gold creates a Clock, while Redstone with 360 mb of Molten Iron makes a Compass. These recipes consume the base item in the process.

Alloys

One of the most powerful features of the Foundry is automatic alloy creation. When you have the right combination of molten fluids in the Foundry's internal tank, they will automatically combine into alloy fluids. This happens continuously as long as the required fluids are present in sufficient quantities. The alloying process runs at a configurable speed multiplier.

Advanced Alloys

Three advanced alloys require three input fluids each. Lumium is made from 40 Molten Redstone, 9 Molten Silver, and 27 Molten Copper, producing 36 Lumium. Signalum combines 40 Molten Glowstone, 9 Molten Silver, and 27 Molten Tin into 36 Signalum. Enderium requires 27 Molten Lead, 9 Molten Platinum, and 20 Molten Ender to create 36 Enderium. Refined Glowstone is created by alloying 9 Molten Osmium with 5 Molten Glowstone, yielding 9 Refined Glowstone.

The Foundry can also alloy Water and Lava directly. Combining 1 Water with 2 Lava produces 2 Molten Obsidian, giving you a way to generate Obsidian without mining it.

Supported Fluids

Productive Metalworks registers over 30 different molten fluids. All molten fluids share the same physical properties: a temperature of 1,300K, density of 3,000, viscosity of 6,000, and a light level of 15 (they glow brightly). They cannot form source blocks and move very slowly.

Vanilla Metals

Molten Iron, Molten Copper, Molten Gold, and Molten Netherite cover all vanilla metals. These are available in any modpack and provide the base materials for the Foundry system.

Modded Metals

The mod registers fluids for Aluminum, Lead, Nickel, Osmium, Platinum, Silver, Tin, Uranium, Zinc, and Iridium. These become useful when combined with other mods that add these metals (such as Mekanism, Thermal Expansion, or All The Ores). The alloy metals Steel, Invar, Electrum, Bronze, Brass, Enderium, Lumium, Signalum, Constantan, and Refined Glowstone are also registered.

Special Fluids

Beyond metals, the Foundry handles Molten Diamond, Molten Emerald, Molten Lapis, Molten Quartz, Molten Amethyst, Molten Obsidian, Molten Glass, Molten Ender, Molten Ancient Debris, Molten Carbon, Molten Glowstone, Molten Wax, and Liquid Meat. Each has unique colors and melting sources.

Special Items

Meat Ingot & Shiny Meat Ingot

The Meat Ingot is a unique food item with the same nutrition as Rabbit Stew. To create one, pour 100 mb of Liquid Meat onto an Ingot Cast in the Casting Table. Liquid Meat is produced by melting any raw meat in the Foundry (20 mb per piece). Meat Ingots can be further upgraded by pouring 80 mb of Molten Gold over them to create the Shiny Meat Ingot, which has the nutrition of a Golden Carrot. Eight Meat Ingots can be crafted from one Meat Block, and Meat Blocks are created by pouring 800 mb of Liquid Meat onto a Bone in the Casting Basin.

Meat Block

The Meat Block is a slime-like block that can actually be used as a wall component in the Foundry structure. It has a unique, squishy sound and no occlusion, giving your Foundry a somewhat unsettling but functional appearance. Melting a Shiny Meat Ingot back down yields both 100 mb of Liquid Meat and 80 mb of Molten Gold, letting you reclaim the Gold investment.

Mod Compatibility

Productive Metalworks has extensive built-in compatibility with other popular mods, automatically adding melting and casting recipes when those mods are detected.

Metal Mods

Full support exists for All The Ores and FTB Materials. When either mod is loaded, the Foundry can cast their specific Ingots, Nuggets, Storage Blocks, Gears, Rods, and Plates from the corresponding molten fluids. All The Modium support adds melting and casting for Allthemodium, Vibranium, and Unobtainium at a high temperature of 3,000K, including special items like the Allthemodium Apple and Carrot.

Other Mod Integrations

Integrated Dynamics support lets you melt and cast Crystalized Menril and Crystalized Chorus, including Menril Logs, Planks, and Proto Chorus. PneumaticCraft integration enables melting and casting of Plastic, plus alloy recipes to create Molten Plastic from Biodiesel or LPG combined with Molten Carbon. Mystical Agriculture support adds melting and casting for all five essence tiers (Inferium through Supremium), including special essence apples and seeds. Silent Gear compatibility provides casting recipes for all gear parts directly from molten materials using blueprints.

Productive Bees Integration

When Productive Bees is installed, Honeycomb can be melted into Honey fluid (100 mb) and Molten Wax (50 mb), Honeycomb Blocks yield 400 mb of Honey and 200 mb of Wax, and Honey Blocks yield 1,000 mb of Honey. Wax items and Wax Blocks also have their own melting recipes. Additionally, Honey fluid can be cast into Honey Blocks in the Casting Basin (1,000 mb) or poured onto a Glass Bottle to create a Honey Bottle (250 mb).

Configuration Options

Productive Metalworks has seven configuration options in its common config file. The Foundry size limits can be adjusted: maximum volume (default 200 blocks), maximum circumference (default 200), and maximum height (default 20). These let server operators control how large Foundries can be built.

The fluid capacity per block volume defaults to 1,000 mb and controls how much molten fluid the Foundry can store per internal block of space. Foundry Damage Entities (default true) causes living mobs that step inside an active Foundry to take 2 damage per second. Foundry Collect Items (default true) enables automatic item pickup from items thrown into the top. The Cooling Modifier (default 4.0) determines casting speed; higher values mean faster cooling.