How does the factory work in Graveyard Keeper 2?

Production is a chain rather than a single recipe. A raw material is turned into an intermediate item at one station, and that item becomes the input of the next station until the target exists. Every step has its own station, its own inputs and often its own technology, so a line runs only when all of its steps can run.

How do I start using the factory in Graveyard Keeper 2?

Finish one short chain instead of starting several. Name a target, place the benches its steps run at, connect each bench output to the next bench input, give a zombie the steps it can take, and keep the raw material arriving. A two-step line that runs is worth more than a large one that does not.

What should I build first in the factory?

Build the smallest chain that already has two steps in it. It proves the benches, the connections, the worker and the power work together before anything is scaled, and every later line is the same thing with more steps.

How do I build a factory production line?

Start from the target and work backwards. Search the item you want, read the steps in the order they have to run, then build the station each step needs and supply that step's inputs. The earliest step whose inputs are missing is the one that stops everything after it, which is why the chain is listed in production order rather than as a material list.

How does factory power work in Graveyard Keeper 2?

They are two different systems. Zombie Power is an item one station makes and some conveyor recipes spend as an ingredient, so a line short of it stalls like a line short of ore. Factory capacity is the other half: it decides how much conveyor runs at once and it comes from Zombie Carousels, not from Zombie Power.

How many zombies does a factory need?

One for every step a zombie can take, plus one for the station that makes the power, which records a worker of its own. A short chain usually lands at three or four: two or three benches and one power zombie.

Why are my conveyors not moving?

A conveyor only moves an item the way its connections point. Check that the bench that makes the item leads into the bench that uses it, that the direction along the route agrees with that, and that the receiving bench has room for what arrives.

How do I make supply items in the factory?

A supply crate is made at a conveyor bench out of the materials the crate asks for, so the line behind it is planned like any other: gather the ingredients, run them through the benches in order, and store the finished crates where they can be collected.

Graveyard Keeper 2 Factory

Say what you want the factory to do and follow the machines, workers, power, materials and connections that get a line running — or say where a line you already built stops, and read the first edge that cannot carry.

Search a produced item, a supply crate or an intermediate material.

What do you want the factory to do?
Build a first line
Plan a production line
How the factory unlocks
Factory power
Factory not producing?
Factory workstations
Can zombies work here?

Quick answer

A factory in Graveyard Keeper 2 is not one recipe: it is the chain between a raw material and the item you want. The chain only runs when every step in it has its own station, its own inputs and its own unlock, so the page plans the whole line rather than one craft at a time.

What are you trying to do?

Or jump straight to it

What Do You Want Your Factory to Do?

Nothing below is recommended until the build has a goal. Choose one and every block that follows answers that goal: the chain, the machines, the workers, the power and the materials.

Choose a goal

The goal decides which questions the blocks below answer.

Plan preference

The preference only decides between lines that reach the goal. It never changes what the goal asks for.

Why Isn't My Factory Working?

A stopped line is rarely one fault. It is one edge that does not carry, and every piece behind it stopped for a reason that is not its own, which is why replacing the machine that looks idle so often changes nothing.

Where does it stop?

Stops at: The whole factory stopped

Check these in order

The first line that fails is the one to fix. Everything above it already works, and everything below it is waiting on it, so a change further down the list never helps.

Nothing on this list stops a line on its own. If it is still standing, the cause is in your own build rather than in the rules.

Already ruled out

OK
The belt passes an item on
OK
Stone Stockpile is not joined to a belt at all: it states no conveyor connector, so the pieces around it have to reach it another way

Show the whole list instead

Connection & Logistics Validator

Add the pieces in the order your build runs them and the list under it compares every edge: what can leave, what can enter, and what the piece in the middle does with the item between them.

Your line

Step 1Conveyor SplitterOK
The belt passes an item on
Step 2Stone StockpileOK
Stone Stockpile is not joined to a belt at all: it states no conveyor connector, so the pieces around it have to reach it another way

Material on the belt

With no material chosen the list answers the connection questions and leaves the item questions open, which is the right answer when the belt is not moving at all.

Every edge on this line carries. If the game still does not move, work through the blocks below in order rather than changing an edge that already works.

Other checks

OK
The belt passes an item on
OK
Stone Stockpile is not joined to a belt at all: it states no conveyor connector, so the pieces around it have to reach it another way

Transport pieces: 1
Containers: 0
Machines: 0
Ends at a supply destination: 0

This compares rules rather than tiles. Every side, every intake and every recipe below is the one the game states for that object, so a green edge means the game allows it, not that your particular arrangement reaches it.

Conveyor Chests, Splitters & Underground Conveyors

These three are where a line goes wrong quietly. Each one is a connector like every other piece, so an edge through one of them has to satisfy the same two rules as any other edge.

Material

Choose a material and the table states which container takes it, which one refuses it, and which side it enters on.

Which container can be fed

A container that names the items it takes refuses everything else, even when the belt feeding it is perfect. This is the answer to a bench that reports no resources while the box beside it is full.

Conveyor Chest I5 slots
Down · Left · Right · Up
Refuses: Items you carry · Inquisitor’s medallion · King's signet
Filtered by category
Conveyor Chest II10 slots
Down · Left · Right · Up
Refuses: Items you carry · Inquisitor’s medallion · King's signet
Filtered by category
Supply Pallet2 slots
No belt connector of its own
Accepts: Supply crates
Filtered by category
Supply Pallet II4 slots
No belt connector of its own
Accepts: Supply crates
Filtered by category

Which machine uses it

Every machine below runs a conveyor recipe that consumes this material, with the side the belt has to arrive on.

Conveyor Chest

A chest is a buffer that connects on every side, which makes it the way to feed one bench from two sources or to keep a bench supplied while you are elsewhere. Chest I holds 5 slots and Chest II holds 10.

What leaves a chest is not decided by the chest. An edge out of one carries whatever is inside, so a box holding iron and coal can still be sending the wrong one to the bench that is waiting.

Conveyor Splitter

One connector in and one out on every side, so a splitter serves two branches. It alternates between them rather than dividing the flow exactly, and a branch that backs up changes what the other one receives.

A full branch is still a branch, so a splitter feeding a full container cannot be relied on to send everything down the other side.

Underground Conveyor

It carries a route under an obstacle instead of around it. Both ends are ordinary connectors, so the far end still has to surface on a piece that takes an item in, and the direction along the route has to agree at both ends.

A run that crosses the map and comes back up beside nothing is not connected, however long it is.

A belt segment, a splitter and an underground segment each state the same four sides, so a direction problem is almost never about how a straight segment is laid. It is about the piece at the end of the run.

Supply Station, Pallets & Delivery to Town

A finished crate leaves the line in three separate steps, and almost every stuck-crate question comes from reading them as one.

Two legs, not one

Factory line
Supply Station
Zombie Supply Porter
Supply Pallet
Supply Storage
Town

The post that clears the line and the post that serves the town stand in different places and are built separately. A line can be running perfectly while the town end has never been set up, and that looks exactly like a porter that refuses to work.

What takes a crate off the line

Supply Station
Holds 1 · Accepts: Supply crates
Accepts: Supply crates
Supply Pallet
Holds 2 · Accepts: Supply crates
Accepts: Supply crates
Supply Pallet II
Holds 4 · Accepts: Supply crates
Accepts: Supply crates

Material

Choose the item your line ends with, and this block states what the supply objects do with it.

Where is the crate stuck?

Check the far end first

A crate that is not being picked up usually has nowhere to be put. A full pallet stops the crate that would go onto it, an occupied station stops the line behind it, and the machine at the back of the line then stops for a reason that belongs to the pallet.

Read it backwards: start at the last object in the chain and walk towards the machine that looks broken.

Every pallet full, and nothing taking them on

What each porter post moves

A porter is posted to one place and moves a fixed list from there, so which post a crate needs depends on where it is standing rather than on what it is.

Porter StationMoves 2 item(s)
- Marble
- Stone
Delivers to Marble Stockpile · Stone Stockpile
Porter StationMoves 2 item(s)
- Clay
- Sand
Delivers to Clay Stockpile · Sand Stockpile
Porter StationMoves 22 item(s)
- Supply: Appliances I
- Supply: Appliances II
- Supply: Beer
- Supply: Building materials I
- Supply: Building materials II
- Supply: Clothes I
- Supply: Clothes II
- Supply: Cutlery I
- Supply: Cutlery II
- Supply: Engineering Mechanism
- Supply: Fabric
- Supply: Flour Sack
- Supply: Furniture I
- Supply: Furniture II
- Supply: Iron
- Supply: Kitchen Utensils
- Supply: Preserves I
- Supply: Preserves II
- Supply: Iron Tools
- Supply: Steel Tools
- Supply: Vegetables
- Supply: Wine
Delivers to Supply crates
Porter StationMoves 2 item(s)
- Coal
- Iron Ore
Delivers to Coal Stockpile · Ore Stockpile
Porter StationMoves 1 item(s)
- Log
Delivers to Wood Stockpile
Porter StationMoves 1 item(s)
- Log
Delivers to Wood Stockpile
Porter StationMoves 5 item(s)
- Grapes
- Honey
- Hops
This post states no place it can be built at.
Porter StationMoves 4 item(s)
- Beer
- Wine
Delivers to Alcohol Storage

The supply crates a Town porter moves

This is the whole list the town leg carries. A crate that is not on it is not a delivery the town end can make.

Reported by players in the current build, around 27 and 28 September 2026.

Nothing above prices the delivery. Which post a crate needs is stated, and how many pallets you have is something only you can see.

Your Minimum Working Setup

Everything a line needs before it runs once: the benches, the connections between them, the workers, the power and the bill.

Choose a goal above and the machines, connections, workers and bill for that line are listed here.

Factory at a glance

Factory workstations: 27
Multi-step production lines: 341
Recorded production steps: 738
Supplies the town orders: 22
Town orders a line can fill: 76

The site counts workstations three ways, and they are not the same number: 42 published workstation families, 56 station identities a recorded method names, and 27 of them running a step inside a documented production chain. {single} recorded targets are produced in a single step rather than a chain.

How the Factory System Works

Factory gameplay is about connecting several production steps rather than crafting one recipe in isolation. Raw material enters the line, one station turns it into something an earlier recipe did not produce, and that intermediate item becomes the input of the next station. A chain is only as fast as its slowest step, so the question is never “what does this recipe need” but “what has to happen before it, and where”.

Raw resources
Processing
Intermediate materials
Assembly
Final product
Storage and delivery

Every arrow is a station, an input and an unlock. A step that is missing stops everything after it, which is why the planner reads the whole chain rather than the target recipe.

How the Factory Opens

The factory floor is reached through a quest chain rather than through one unlock. Finish the quest below, bring what it asks for, and the factory quest becomes available.

Finish first: Man of Steel
Required item: 3 × Steel Ingot
Finish first: Steamy Royal
Finish first: Water Locked
Finish first: A Cure for Wellness
Finish first: Front-of-the-Envelope Calculation
Reputation: 60 reputation with Jack
Finish first: Campaign of Thrones
Finish first: Destiny Polls
Reputation: 45 reputation with Gunter
Reputation: 50 reputation with Gunter
Finish first: Security Checkpoint: Democracy
Reputation: 55 reputation with Herbert
Reputation: 60 reputation with Herbert
Finish first: Vote Early, Vote Naughty
Reputation: 55 reputation with Linda
Reputation: 60 reputation with Linda
Finish first: Election Fever
Finish first: Heart of the Swamp
Finish first: Go Wild in the Wild Lands
Money: 500 money
Required item: 1 × Fairy's Swamp Map
Required item: 3 × Ink
Required item: 1 × Royal Pardon
Finish first: Forest Pass
Required item: 1 × Forest Pass
Finish first: Into the Forest
Required item: 1 × Temporary Head of the Village Certificate
Finish first: Into the Forest (Eventually)
Finish first: Docked and Found
Finish first: Jack in a Boat
Reputation: 10 reputation with Village
Required item: 5 × Bronze Detail
Required item: 5 × Wooden Plank
Finish first: Supply and Demand
Finish first: What the Fairy?
Finish first: Dust in the Kitchen
Quest giver: Jack
Access needed: Factory
Factory quest: Factory Tour

The chain is ordered: each quest is offered only after the one above it is finished.

Reaching the factory floor is quest progression, not a production unlock: whether a line can run also depends on its technology, its station and its inputs, which the plan above states with the line.

Plan a Production Line

Pick a target and the page states the steps in the order the chain has to run them, with the station, the inputs, the unlock and whether a worker can take the step.

What do you want your factory to produce?

Search a produced item above, or open one of the production lines below. The plan, the layout grouping, the unlock list, the worker line, the supply list and the chain checklist all read the same target.

See the deepest production lines

What the Factory Costs to Build

A line has two different bills. The materials a recipe consumes are spent on every run and are listed with the line; the objects below are paid once, when they are placed, and they are what turns a set of benches into a line.

Conveyor, storage and delivery objects

Conveyor Chest I
- Bronze Gear× ×2 · ×4
- Bronze Detail× ×4
- Wooden Plank× ×2
- Advanced Detail× ×4
- Wooden Joint× ×2
Supply Pallet
- Wooden Plank× ×6
- Wooden beam× ×2 · ×4
- Bronze Nails× ×12
- Iron Nails× ×12
Zombie Carousel
Conveyor power source
- Bronze Gear× ×6
- Iron Detail× ×6
- Wooden beam× ×4
Zombie Supplier Station
- Wooden Plank× ×4
- Bronze Nails× ×4
Zombie Supply Porter
- Wooden Plank× ×4
- Iron Nails× ×8
- Iron Detail× ×2

Each price is the one the build menu records for that object, and an object the game places at more than one price lists each of them.

Longest Recorded Production Lines

The chains with the most levels below the target, counted from the recorded data rather than ranked by how popular the item is. A line only counts when an intermediate item has to be produced before the target can be.

Marble Cross II
18 production steps
17 stations
Workers can take 4 of 18 steps
View production line
Marble Cross II
18 production steps
17 stations
Workers can take 4 of 18 steps
View production line
Marble Fence II
18 production steps
17 stations
Workers can take 4 of 18 steps
View production line
Marble Fence II
18 production steps
17 stations
Workers can take 4 of 18 steps
View production line
Master Armor
7 production steps
7 stations
Workers can take 3 of 7 steps
View production line
Master Armor
7 production steps
7 stations
Workers can take 3 of 7 steps
View production line
Master Sword
6 production steps
4 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Master Sword
6 production steps
4 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line

The ranking is read from the recorded chains, so a target that the data only produces in one step is not a production line and is not listed here.

Factory Workstations

The benches that run a chained step: each of them consumes an item another recorded station produces, which is what makes it part of a line rather than a single recipe. The resource stations are listed too, because they are where a chain's raw material enters it.

Writing Desk
Workshops
Produces 20 documented item(s)
Runs 21 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 10 process(es)
Added by Writing Basic
View workstation
Formulation Bench
Alchemy
Produces 48 documented item(s)
Runs 64 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 32 process(es)
View workstation
Smithy I
Processing
Produces 19 documented item(s)
Runs 22 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 11 process(es)
View workstation
Furnace I
Processing
Produces 16 documented item(s)
Runs 19 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 9 process(es)
Added by Bronze Melting
View workstation
Jewelry Table
Workshops
Produces 26 documented item(s)
Runs 26 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 12 process(es)
View workstation
Kitchen Oven
Food
Produces 51 documented item(s)
Runs 72 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 36 process(es)
View workstation
Kitchen Table
Food
Produces 28 documented item(s)
Runs 46 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 23 process(es)
View workstation
Assembly bench I
Assembly
Produces 56 documented item(s)
Runs 58 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 29 process(es)
View workstation
Steel Anvil
Processing
Produces 92 documented item(s)
Runs 94 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 47 process(es)
View workstation
Woodworking Workbench I
Processing
Produces 52 documented item(s)
Runs 52 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 26 process(es)
Added by Woodworking I
View workstation
Iron Anvil
Processing
Produces 58 documented item(s)
Runs 60 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 30 process(es)
View workstation
Stonemason's Workbench
Processing
Produces 32 documented item(s)
Runs 32 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 16 process(es)
Added by The Concept of Stone
View workstation
Printing Press
Workshops
Produces 21 documented item(s)
Runs 22 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 11 process(es)
View workstation
Distillation Cube
Food
Produces 4 documented item(s)
Runs 18 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 9 process(es)
Added by Alchemy, Distillation
View workstation
Kitchen I
Food
Produces 12 documented item(s)
Runs 54 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 27 process(es)
View workstation
Wooden Anvil
Processing
Produces 28 documented item(s)
Runs 30 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 15 process(es)
Added by Bronze Works
View workstation
Sewing Table
Processing
Produces 7 documented item(s)
Runs 8 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 4 process(es)
View workstation
Circular Saw
Processing
Produces 8 documented item(s)
Runs 8 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 4 process(es)
View workstation
Sawhorse
Processing
Produces 4 documented item(s)
Runs 4 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 2 process(es)
Added by The Concept of Wood
View workstation
Chopping Spot
Workshops
Produces 3 documented item(s)
Runs 6 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 3 process(es)
Added by Chopping
View workstation
Vine Press
Food
Produces 6 documented item(s)
Runs 6 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 3 process(es)
View workstation
Fermentation Barrel
Food
Produces 6 documented item(s)
Runs 6 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 3 process(es)
View workstation
Kiln
Processing
Produces 5 documented item(s)
Runs 6 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 3 process(es)
Added by Brick Making
View workstation
Potter's Wheel
Processing
Produces 4 documented item(s)
Runs 4 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 2 process(es)
Added by Pottery I
View workstation
Sluice Box
Processing
Produces 2 documented item(s)
Runs 2 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 1 process(es)
Added by Bronze Forge
View workstation
Weaving Loom
Processing
Produces 2 documented item(s)
Runs 2 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 1 process(es)
View workstation
Paper Press
Processing
Produces 2 documented item(s)
Runs 2 documented process(es)
Accepts a worker at 1 process(es)
View workstation

Each card is a summary: the bench's own page states its versions, its methods, its materials and how it is unlocked.

Check whether an item can be automated

Factory Power Item

Zombie Power is an item some conveyor recipes spend as an ingredient, which is why a line can stall the way a line out of ore stalls. It is not the same thing as the capacity that limits how much conveyor runs at once — that is the next block.

Power item

Zombie Power

Where the power comes from

Bioreactor

Runs on Wheat × 5

Recipes that spend power

Supply: Appliances I×1 per runAssembly bench I
Supply: Engineering Mechanism×2 per runAssembly bench I
Zombie Mechanism×1 per runAssembly bench I

Power in this line

No step of this line records a power cost, so it runs without one.

Where factory capacity comes from

Zombie Carousel

Conveyor power source

Recipe costs are stated per run, so the amount a line needs is the amounts below added up rather than a total the line holds. How much of it can be delivered at once is a question about your own build.

Factory Capacity

When every line stops at the same moment, the cause is almost never a machine. A factory runs on capacity, and capacity comes from Zombie Carousels rather than from the Zombie Power item.

Where capacity comes from

The game states three things about it: your factory's capacity is limited, operating more carousels raises it, and adding zombies to a carousel raises it again. The Belt Master perk raises what a carousel zombie produces.

Two things raise it

Put a zombie into a carousel that is standing empty
Build another Zombie Carousel

Zombie Carousel

A cost per conveyor object is not stated, so this page counts the pieces of a network rather than pricing it. Not confirmed yet — feedback welcome.

What a conveyor network is made of

Transport pieces: 1
Containers: 0
Supply pallets: 0

These are the pieces that make up one line, counted from the objects themselves rather than typed in. A longer belt is more of them, which is why a line that worked can stop after it is extended.

What changed?

A factory that stopped right after you built something usually stopped because of what you built. If it went down the moment you placed a conveyor, a splitter or a pallet, raise the capacity before taking anything back out, because the piece you just added is probably not the problem.

Zombie Power is not capacity

The Bioreactor makes Zombie Power, which is an ingredient a conveyor recipe spends. It does not raise factory capacity, so a factory that has stopped for want of capacity is not fixed by making more Zombie Power.

Capacity is the one figure here that the game deliberately keeps out of the build menu: it is a limit on the network rather than a price on a piece.

What Each Piece Does

Five objects in this system have names that sound interchangeable and are not, and the misunderstandings between them account for a large share of the questions this page answers.

Can a zombie porter replace a belt?

No. Workstations are linked by conveyor, and a porter is posted to one place and moves a fixed list of items from there. Between two benches you need belt, a chest or a splitter, not a worker.

Verified from the current game data

The short list

Each row states what the object is for, and each name is the game's own for that object.

Conveyor Belt
Carries one item after another between two objects, inside the factory.
Conveyor Chest I
A buffer that connects on any side and holds 5 or 10 slots. It is how one bench is fed from two sources, or kept supplied while you are elsewhere.
Conveyor Splitter
Takes one run and serves two, alternating between them.
Underground Conveyor
Runs a belt under whatever is in the way instead of around it.
Supply Station
The last cell of the line. It takes a finished supply crate off the belt and holds one at a time.
Zombie Supply Porter
The zombie post at the factory end. It carries a crate from the Supply Station to a Supply Pallet.
Supply Pallet
Where crates wait at the factory end until the town leg collects them.
Porter Station
The post the town leg runs on. It carries crates from the pallets towards Town once its route is open.
Zombie Supplier Station
Restocks the other service buildings. It is not part of a conveyor line and cannot move material between two benches.

How to Plan a Factory Layout

The recorded data proves which stations feed which, and that is what a layout can be planned around. It does not prove a best arrangement, so what follows is grouping rather than a blueprint.

Practical layout principles

Group stations that depend on each other
Two benches belong next to each other when one produces an item the other consumes on the next step. Keeping that pair together removes the trip between them.
Reduce movement of intermediate items
Intermediates are produced and consumed inside the line, so they are the rows that move most often. Build the area around the intermediate rather than around the raw material.
Separate raw processing from final assembly
Ore, logs and crops arrive from outside the line, and the finished item leaves it. Neither has to sit inside the assembly area, and both are the parts that scale when the line grows.
Plan around the stations a worker can take
If a step is going to run without you, that station needs the space and the route the worker uses. The chain below states which steps accept a worker and which stay manual.

Recommended station grouping

This is the grouping the recorded chain supports for the open target. It states which benches exchange an item, not where to put them.

Open a production line above and this block names the benches that have to sit together.

Can sit apart

Raw inputs and their sources
Storage and delivery of the finished item

Check which steps a worker can take

How to Unlock Factory Production

A production step is only available once its technology is researched, and a station is often added by a technology of its own. These are the unlocks the open line sits behind.

Technologies this line needs

Open a production line above and this block lists the technologies its steps record.

Browse the full technology tree

Can Zombies Work in the Factory?

Some production steps accept a zombie worker, while others stay manual or need different conditions. The chain below states which is which for the open target.

Worker compatibility by step

0 of 0 steps of this line record a method a worker can run, which is the production-step automation coverage of the chain as recorded. It is not proof that the line runs unattended: a step without a method has to be run by you, or automated another way, and supply, transport and output are separate questions.

Open a production line above and this block states which of its steps accept a worker.

Learn how zombie workers, Mastery and tools work Check whether a specific item can be automated

Factory Automation

The factory is the structure of production: which steps exist, in what order, at which stations. Automation is what removes the manual step from that structure. Building a line does not automate it, and automating a step does not plan the line around it.

Open the Automation guide

Why Is My Factory Not Producing?

The chain below is the order the line runs in. Walk it from the top: the first step whose inputs or requirements are missing is the one that stops everything after it.

Open a production line above and this block turns it into a checklist.

A checklist states what the game records, not what your save contains. The requirements marked as a check are the ones only you can confirm.

Structure checks out but nothing moves? Diagnose the run

Supplying Your Factory

Every line ends up waiting on something that has to arrive from outside it. These are the raw inputs of the open target, and each one links to the page that answers where it comes from.

Raw inputs this line consumes

Open a production line above and this block lists what has to arrive from outside it.

Find where an item comes from

Factory Progression

Production capability grows with the number of steps a line can run in order, not with the number of recipes known. The bands below count the targets the delivery records at each length.

Two-step lines
One raw or gathered material is processed once before the target exists. This is what a first factory looks like.
16 production line(s)
Deepest example: Stone Kit
Three to four steps
A processing step and an assembly step, often at different benches, which is where a station layout starts to matter.
101 production line(s)
Deepest example: Alkali
Five to six steps
Kits and components that are themselves produced, so the line has branches and needs storage between the steps.
73 production line(s)
Deepest example: Master Sword
Seven steps or more
The deepest chains the delivery records. These are the lines a worker or an automated step has to carry, because no one runs them by hand at scale.
133 production line(s)
Deepest example: Marble Cross II

The bands count recorded chain lengths only. They do not place the bands in the story, and they do not claim an order to research them in.

Browse Factory Outputs

Every item a recorded process produces, grouped the way the item payload files it. Each row is a chain, not a recipe: it states how many steps run before the item exists.

Alchemy21 item(s)

Alkali
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Organ Improver Red Skull
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Organ Improver White Skull
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Reanimation Liquid
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Tannin Liquid
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Alcohol
3 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 3 steps
View production line
Alchemy Flasks II
5 production steps
6 stations
Workers can take 3 of 5 steps
View production line
Alchemy Flasks II
5 production steps
6 stations
Workers can take 3 of 5 steps
View production line
Lacquer
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 1 of 4 steps
View production line
Paint
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 1 of 4 steps
View production line
Alchemy Flasks I
4 production steps
6 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Alchemy Flasks I
4 production steps
6 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line

Building materials132 item(s)

Carved Marble
14 production steps
14 stations
Workers can take 4 of 14 steps
View production line
Carved Marble
14 production steps
14 stations
Workers can take 4 of 14 steps
View production line
Stone Marbles
14 production steps
14 stations
Workers can take 4 of 14 steps
View production line
Stone Marbles
14 production steps
14 stations
Workers can take 4 of 14 steps
View production line
Building Kit I
6 production steps
9 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Building Kit I
6 production steps
9 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Carved Stone
15 production steps
16 stations
Workers can take 3 of 15 steps
View production line
Carved Stone
15 production steps
16 stations
Workers can take 3 of 15 steps
View production line
Polished Marble
13 production steps
14 stations
Workers can take 4 of 13 steps
View production line
Polished Marble
13 production steps
14 stations
Workers can take 4 of 13 steps
View production line
Wooden Joint
10 production steps
11 stations
Workers can take 1 of 10 steps
View production line
Wooden Joint
10 production steps
11 stations
Workers can take 1 of 10 steps
View production line

Corpse & graveyard38 item(s)

Marble Cross II
18 production steps
17 stations
Workers can take 4 of 18 steps
View production line
Marble Cross II
18 production steps
17 stations
Workers can take 4 of 18 steps
View production line
Marble Fence II
18 production steps
17 stations
Workers can take 4 of 18 steps
View production line
Marble Fence II
18 production steps
17 stations
Workers can take 4 of 18 steps
View production line
Bones
1 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 1 steps
View production line
Bones
1 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 1 steps
View production line
Brain
1 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 1 steps
View production line
Brain
1 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 1 steps
View production line
Guts
1 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 1 steps
View production line
Guts
1 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 1 steps
View production line
Heart
1 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 1 steps
View production line
Heart
1 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 1 steps
View production line

Farming13 item(s)

Farming Fertilizer III
3 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 3 steps
View production line
Farming Fertilizer III
3 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 3 steps
View production line
Crop Boosting Fertilizer I
2 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Crop Boosting Fertilizer I
2 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Farming Fertilizer I
2 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Farming Fertilizer I
2 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Farming Fertilizer II
2 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Farming Fertilizer II
2 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Headstart Fertilizer I
2 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Headstart Fertilizer I
2 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Headstart Fertilizer II
2 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Headstart Fertilizer II
2 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line

Fishing6 item(s)

Live Bait
5 production steps
5 stations
Workers can take 1 of 5 steps
View production line
Live Bait
5 production steps
5 stations
Workers can take 1 of 5 steps
View production line
Breadcrumb Bait
4 production steps
5 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Breadcrumb Bait
4 production steps
5 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Insect Bait
1 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 1 steps
View production line
Insect Bait
1 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 1 steps
View production line

Food & drink94 item(s)

Apple Cider
6 production steps
8 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Apple Cider
6 production steps
8 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Berry Cider
6 production steps
8 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Berry Cider
6 production steps
8 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Blueberry Cider
6 production steps
8 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Blueberry Cider
6 production steps
8 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Apple Juice
5 production steps
7 stations
Workers can take 3 of 5 steps
View production line
Apple Juice
5 production steps
7 stations
Workers can take 3 of 5 steps
View production line
Berry Juice
5 production steps
7 stations
Workers can take 3 of 5 steps
View production line
Berry Juice
5 production steps
7 stations
Workers can take 3 of 5 steps
View production line
Blueberry Juice
5 production steps
7 stations
Workers can take 3 of 5 steps
View production line
Blueberry Juice
5 production steps
7 stations
Workers can take 3 of 5 steps
View production line

Quest items23 item(s)

Dynamite
4 production steps
4 stations
Workers can take 4 of 4 steps
View production line
Trilogy
14 production steps
10 stations
Workers can take 13 of 14 steps
View production line
Printed Poetry
13 production steps
9 stations
Workers can take 4 of 13 steps
View production line
Printed Poetry
13 production steps
9 stations
Workers can take 4 of 13 steps
View production line
Printed Money
7 production steps
5 stations
Workers can take 1 of 7 steps
View production line
Printed Money
7 production steps
5 stations
Workers can take 1 of 7 steps
View production line
Magic bell
2 production steps
5 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Magic bell
2 production steps
5 stations
Workers can take 0 of 2 steps
View production line
Luxury Drapes
3 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 3 steps
View production line
Luxury Drapes
3 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 3 steps
View production line
Elegant Prosthetic Hand
3 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 3 steps
View production line
Elegant Prosthetic Hand
3 production steps
2 stations
Workers can take 0 of 3 steps
View production line

Tools & equipment86 item(s)

Master Sword
6 production steps
4 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Master Sword
6 production steps
4 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Advanced Rod
15 production steps
15 stations
Workers can take 2 of 15 steps
View production line
Advanced Rod
15 production steps
15 stations
Workers can take 2 of 15 steps
View production line
Amateur Rod
12 production steps
14 stations
Workers can take 2 of 12 steps
View production line
Amateur Rod
12 production steps
14 stations
Workers can take 2 of 12 steps
View production line
Silver Talisman
10 production steps
10 stations
Workers can take 3 of 10 steps
View production line
Silver Talisman
10 production steps
10 stations
Workers can take 3 of 10 steps
View production line
Starter Alchemist's Kit
10 production steps
15 stations
Workers can take 4 of 10 steps
View production line
Starter Alchemist's Kit
10 production steps
15 stations
Workers can take 4 of 10 steps
View production line
Bronze tools
9 production steps
12 stations
Workers can take 3 of 9 steps
View production line
Bronze tools
9 production steps
12 stations
Workers can take 3 of 9 steps
View production line

Town supplies44 item(s)

Supply: Appliances I
10 production steps
11 stations
Workers can take 1 of 10 steps
View production line
Supply: Appliances I
10 production steps
11 stations
Workers can take 1 of 10 steps
View production line
Supply: Iron Tools
9 production steps
10 stations
Workers can take 1 of 9 steps
View production line
Supply: Iron Tools
9 production steps
10 stations
Workers can take 1 of 9 steps
View production line
Supply: Steel Tools
9 production steps
10 stations
Workers can take 1 of 9 steps
View production line
Supply: Steel Tools
9 production steps
10 stations
Workers can take 1 of 9 steps
View production line
Supply: Vegetables
9 production steps
12 stations
Workers can take 1 of 9 steps
View production line
Supply: Vegetables
9 production steps
12 stations
Workers can take 1 of 9 steps
View production line
Supply: Building materials I
6 production steps
9 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Supply: Building materials I
6 production steps
9 stations
Workers can take 3 of 6 steps
View production line
Supply: Furniture I
8 production steps
10 stations
Workers can take 1 of 8 steps
View production line
Supply: Furniture I
8 production steps
10 stations
Workers can take 1 of 8 steps
View production line

Other92 item(s)

Master Armor
7 production steps
7 stations
Workers can take 3 of 7 steps
View production line
Master Armor
7 production steps
7 stations
Workers can take 3 of 7 steps
View production line
Urn with Ashes II
16 production steps
16 stations
Workers can take 4 of 16 steps
View production line
Urn with Ashes II
16 production steps
16 stations
Workers can take 4 of 16 steps
View production line
Toxic Talent Blue Potion II
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Toxic Talent Green Potion II
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Toxic Talent Orange Potion II
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Toxic Talent Red Potion II
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Toxic Talent Yellow Potion II
4 production steps
3 stations
Workers can take 3 of 4 steps
View production line
Science Kit II
14 production steps
11 stations
Workers can take 7 of 14 steps
View production line
Science Kit II
14 production steps
11 stations
Workers can take 7 of 14 steps
View production line
Blue Techbook II
13 production steps
9 stations
Workers can take 4 of 13 steps
View production line

An item that a single step produces is listed here too, without a chain, because the factory can still make it.

Factory Products the Town Orders

Shops and residents ask the town for the crates a factory produces. These are the recorded orders that a production line can fill, with the delivery each one asks for.

Orders a line can fill

Supply: Appliances I×30BakerUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Appliances I×30BakerRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Appliances I×30Furniture MakerUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Appliances I×30Furniture MakerRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Appliances II×30AlchemistUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Appliances II×30AlchemistRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Appliances II×30BreweryUrgent · Repeatable · 80 happiness
Supply: Appliances II×30BreweryRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Beer×20TavernUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Beer×20TavernRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Building materials I×5JackRepeatable · 10 happiness
Supply: Building materials I×10SmithyUrgent · Repeatable · 20 happiness
Supply: Building materials I×10SmithyRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Building materials II×20SmithyUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Building materials II×20SmithyRepeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Clothes I×30Fish StandUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Clothes I×30Fish StandRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Clothes I×20TailorUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Clothes I×20TailorRepeatable · 20 happiness
Supply: Clothes II×30TailorUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Clothes II×30TailorRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Cutlery I×10ApothecaryUrgent · Repeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Cutlery I×5ApothecaryRepeatable · 15 happiness
Supply: Cutlery II×30ApothecaryUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Cutlery II×30ApothecaryRepeatable · 30 happiness
Supply: Cutlery II×20BreweryUrgent · Repeatable · 70 happiness
Supply: Cutlery II×20BreweryRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Engineering Mechanism×20AlchemistUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Engineering Mechanism×20AlchemistRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Engineering Mechanism×30BuilderUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Engineering Mechanism×30BuilderRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Engineering Mechanism×30JewelerUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Engineering Mechanism×30JewelerRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Engineering Mechanism×30SmithyUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Engineering Mechanism×30SmithyRepeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Fabric×5JackRepeatable · 10 happiness
Supply: Fabric×10TailorUrgent · Repeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Fabric×10TailorRepeatable · 15 happiness
Supply: Flour Sack×10BakerUrgent · Repeatable · 20 happiness
Supply: Flour Sack×10BakerRepeatable · 15 happiness
Supply: Furniture I×10Furniture MakerUrgent · Repeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Furniture I×10Furniture MakerRepeatable · 15 happiness
Supply: Furniture II×20Furniture MakerUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Furniture II×20Furniture MakerRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Iron×1Jack20 happiness
Supply: Iron×5JackRepeatable · 10 happiness
Supply: Iron Tools×20BakerUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Iron Tools×20BakerRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Iron Tools×10BuilderUrgent · Repeatable · 20 happiness
Supply: Iron Tools×10BuilderRepeatable · 15 happiness
Supply: Iron Tools×20Fish StandUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Iron Tools×20Fish StandRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Iron Tools×10JewelerUrgent · Repeatable · 20 happiness
Supply: Iron Tools×10JewelerRepeatable · 15 happiness
Supply: Kitchen Utensils×10AlchemistUrgent · Repeatable · 20 happiness
Supply: Kitchen Utensils×10AlchemistRepeatable · 15 happiness
Supply: Kitchen Utensils×20ApothecaryUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Kitchen Utensils×20ApothecaryUrgent · Repeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Kitchen Utensils×10BreweryUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Kitchen Utensils×10BreweryRepeatable · 15 happiness
Supply: Preserves I×10Fish StandUrgent · Repeatable · 20 happiness
Supply: Preserves I×10Fish StandRepeatable · 15 happiness
Supply: Preserves I×10TavernUrgent · Repeatable · 20 happiness
Supply: Preserves I×10TavernRepeatable · 15 happiness
Supply: Preserves I×20Vegetable StandUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Preserves I×20Vegetable StandRepeatable · 20 happiness
Supply: Preserves II×30Vegetable StandUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Preserves II×30Vegetable StandRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Steel Tools×20BuilderUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Steel Tools×20BuilderRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Steel Tools×20JewelerUrgent · Repeatable · 40 happiness
Supply: Steel Tools×20JewelerRepeatable · 25 happiness
Supply: Vegetables×10Vegetable StandUrgent · Repeatable · 30 happiness
Supply: Vegetables×10Vegetable StandRepeatable · 20 happiness
Supply: Wine×30TavernUrgent · Repeatable · 50 happiness
Supply: Wine×30TavernRepeatable · 25 happiness

An urgent order pays more than the same order placed normally, and a repeatable one can be delivered again once the town asks for it a second time.

See every town order

Systems a Factory Touches

A factory sits between the material that feeds it, the unlocks that permit it and the workers that run it. These are the surfaces that own each neighbouring question.

Automation
Whether a specific item has a confirmed automated path, and what to check when a line stops.
Open
Zombies
How a worker is raised, equipped and assigned, and why one is not running the step you gave it.
Open
Workstations
The collection that owns each bench a chain runs a step at, versions and materials included.
Open
Technology
The unlocks the stations and the steps behind them sit behind.
Open
Items
What a produced item is for, what it costs and every method that makes it.
Open
Recipes and crafting
One recipe at a time, with its ingredients, its station and its unlock.
Open

Factory FAQ

How does the factory work in Graveyard Keeper 2?: Production is a chain rather than a single recipe. A raw material is turned into an intermediate item at one station, and that item becomes the input of the next station until the target exists. Every step has its own station, its own inputs and often its own technology, so a line runs only when all of its steps can run.
How do I start using the factory in Graveyard Keeper 2?: Finish one short chain instead of starting several. Name a target, place the benches its steps run at, connect each bench output to the next bench input, give a zombie the steps it can take, and keep the raw material arriving. A two-step line that runs is worth more than a large one that does not.
What should I build first in the factory?: Build the smallest chain that already has two steps in it. It proves the benches, the connections, the worker and the power work together before anything is scaled, and every later line is the same thing with more steps.
How do I unlock the factory?: There is no single factory unlock. Each step is gated by the technology that publishes it and each station is added by a technology of its own, so the line becomes available step by step. Open a target on this page and the unlock block names the technologies its steps record.
How do I build a factory production line?: Start from the target and work backwards. Search the item you want, read the steps in the order they have to run, then build the station each step needs and supply that step's inputs. The earliest step whose inputs are missing is the one that stops everything after it, which is why the chain is listed in production order rather than as a material list.
What is the best Graveyard Keeper 2 factory layout?: There is no single layout that is best for every production target. What the recorded data does support is grouping: two benches belong together when one produces an item the other consumes on the next step, and raw processing and final assembly can sit apart from the line. Grouping dependent stations and reducing how far intermediates travel usually matters more than any particular arrangement.
How does factory power work in Graveyard Keeper 2?: They are two different systems. Zombie Power is an item one station makes and some conveyor recipes spend as an ingredient, so a line short of it stalls like a line short of ore. Factory capacity is the other half: it decides how much conveyor runs at once and it comes from Zombie Carousels, not from Zombie Power.
How many zombies does a factory need?: One for every step a zombie can take, plus one for the station that makes the power, which records a worker of its own. A short chain usually lands at three or four: two or three benches and one power zombie.
Why are my conveyors not moving?: A conveyor only moves an item the way its connections point. Check that the bench that makes the item leads into the bench that uses it, that the direction along the route agrees with that, and that the receiving bench has room for what arrives.
Why does my machine show 0 resources?: The bench is not receiving the item, and that is an edge rather than the bench. Check the container feeding it first: an edge out of a chest carries whatever is inside it, so a box holding iron and coal can still be sending the coal. Then check that the side the belt arrives on is one the bench states it accepts, because a belt laid against a bench is not the same as a belt joined to it.
What does a Conveyor Chest do?: It buffers items on a belt and connects on every side, which makes it the way to feed one bench from two sources or to keep a bench supplied while you are elsewhere. Conveyor Chest I holds 5 slots and Conveyor Chest II holds 10. It does not sort: whatever is inside is what an edge out of it carries.
What does a Conveyor Chest send out?: Whatever is inside it. An edge out of a chest is not filtered by the chest, so a box holding iron and coal can send the wrong one to the bench that is waiting, which is what a machine reporting no resources while the box beside it is full usually is. Keep one item per chest and the outgoing side carries the item you meant.
How does a Conveyor Splitter work?: It connects on every side and serves two branches, alternating between them rather than dividing the flow exactly. A branch that backs up changes what the other one receives, so a splitter feeding a full container cannot be relied on to send everything down the other side.
Why isn't my Underground Conveyor connecting?: Because both of its ends are ordinary connectors. The far end has to surface on a piece that takes an item in, and the direction along the route has to agree at both ends, so a run that crosses the map and comes up beside nothing is not connected however long it is.
What does the Supply Station accept?: Supply crates, and nothing else. The Supply Station is the belt cell the line ends at, and it is filtered to the town supply crates, so a raw material, an intermediate item and an ordinary chest load are all refused by it. A Supply Pallet is filtered the same way, which is why an item that will not go into either is a routing answer rather than a broken belt.
Why is my Supply Porter not moving?: Either there is nothing for it to carry or the far end is full. The Zombie Supply Porter takes a crate out of the Supply Station and puts it on a Supply Pallet in Supply Storage, so when every pallet is full and nothing is clearing them the porter has nowhere to put a crate and stays where it is.
Why is my supply crate stuck?: Work backwards from the crate rather than forwards from the machine. A crate that is not picked up usually has a full destination rather than an idle porter: a Supply Station holds one crate, so an uncleared pallet behind it keeps the station occupied and the belt behind the station stops. The pallets are cleared by a separate post built in Supply Storage that serves the town end.
Why did my whole factory stop after adding a conveyor?: Because everything stopped together. A single station that cannot run stalls its own line, while every line halting at the same moment points at factory capacity, which comes from Zombie Carousels: put a zombie into a carousel that is standing empty, or place another carousel, before taking the conveyor back out.
How much power does one Carousel Zombie provide?: The game states that a carousel raises factory capacity and that each zombie added raises it further, and the Belt Master perk raises what a carousel zombie produces. It states no figure per zombie, so none is printed here. Not confirmed yet — feedback welcome.
Does the Bioreactor provide factory power?: Not factory capacity. The Bioreactor makes Zombie Power, which is an ingredient some conveyor recipes spend. Capacity comes from Zombie Carousels, so a factory with no capacity left is not repaired by making more Zombie Power.
How much factory capacity does a conveyor use?: A cost per object is not stated, so this page counts the pieces of a network rather than pricing it. What is stated is where capacity comes from: more carousels, and more zombies inside them. Not confirmed yet — feedback welcome.
Why are crates not reaching the Town Warehouse?: Because the leg that serves the town is separate from the leg that clears the line. One post moves crates out of the Supply Station, and a different post built in Supply Storage serves the town end, so a crate sitting in Supply Storage with Town still empty is a question about that second post and the route it travels rather than about production.
Can zombies work in the factory?: Some steps record a method a worker can run and others do not, so a line is usually part worker and part manual. A worker also needs the tool and the Mastery the step records, so worker compatibility is a property of the step rather than of the line as a whole.
Why is my factory not producing?: The chain stops at the first step that cannot run. Check the steps in order: whether the station is built, whether its technology is researched, whether its Mastery and tool requirements are met, whether the intermediate item it consumes was produced, and whether the raw inputs are arriving. A station that has produced its item and has nowhere to put it stops taking new inputs, which looks the same as a line that never started.
How do I make supply items in the factory?: A supply crate is made at a conveyor bench out of the materials the crate asks for, so the line behind it is planned like any other: gather the ingredients, run them through the benches in order, and store the finished crates where they can be collected.
How do I automate factory production?: Planning a line and automating it are two jobs. This page states which steps exist and what each one needs; the Automation guide states whether a specific item has a confirmed automated path, which method runs it and what to check when an automated step stands idle.
Do I need to automate the whole factory?: No, and most lines are part worker and part manual. Some steps record no method a zombie can take, and raw material usually has to be brought in from outside. Knowing which steps stay yours is what keeps a build the size it needs to be.
Which workstations are part of the factory?: A bench belongs to the factory when it runs a step that consumes an item another station produces, because that is what makes it part of a chain rather than a single recipe. The resource stations count too: they are where a chain's raw material enters it. Each card on this page links to the bench's own page for its versions, its methods and its materials.