Automate Residue burning with a contained Lava route.
Lava automation joins two confirmed systems: turn Lava into transportable Cinder, then restore it in a Filter to ignite Residue before the Kinetic Press. The illustrated layouts below come from authorized community recordings and are not official blueprints.
When initial lava pockets deplete during mid-game automation, do not search for plant-based lava recipes—plants do not produce lava in Sandustry. Maintain an endless thermal loop by converting Lava to Scoria with Snow, mining it into solid Cinder, and routing Cinder to your burner line to re-melt on demand.
Under Update #3 mechanics, a cold Thermal Buffer (negative temperature) converts Lava back into Cinder rather than fully consuming it. Encase all collection trenches in Basalt or manufactured Foundations, as Update #3 Lava actively dissolves Fluxite, Redsoil, and Strataform terrain.
⚠️ Critical Update #3 Terrain Alert: Official Update #3 introduces dynamic erosion physics—Lava now actively dissolves and destroys Fluxite, Redsoil, and Strataform terrain blocks upon physical contact! If your legacy factory allowed Lava to touch natural cave walls, it will now bore through the rock and collapse lower logistics channels.
Mandatory Factory Rule: Always encase your lava containment channels and burner reservoirs in inert tiles: Basalt, Cinder Blocks, or manufactured Foundations. Never allow raw Lava or ignited Cinder to touch vulnerable Fluxite formations or agricultural Redsoil.
03
Convert Lava before you plan the factory route
Lava is the wrong state for normal logistics. Freeze it with Snow into Scoria, excavate Scoria into Cinder, and move that solid state to the destination. This keeps the transport problem separate from the burner problem.
The community frames show a useful layout example, while the current official names and state changes remain the authority for the mechanism.
Move the solid state
A community build stages Cinder as a solid logistics problem. Current official terminology is Cinder, not the older labels in some recordings.Community video demonstrationA legacy recording shows solid transport after Lava conversion; use it as a visual example only.Community video · legacy terminology
04
Rebuild contained Lava at the destination
Configure a Filter to allow Cinder, place a solid block below it, fill the Filter, and ignite the Cinder. The resulting Lava stays in a controlled burner position and can ignite passing material without becoming a free-flowing spill.
The finished community layout demonstrates the idea of an automated burn loop, not an official blueprint or fixed rate.Community video demonstration
05
Feed Residue through a visible burn lane
Keep raw Wet Sand, the Shaker outlet, and the burn lane distinct. Only 25% of ignited Residue becomes Burnt Residue, so the route needs enough clearance to observe loss and recover stopped pixels rather than treating every input as guaranteed output.
06
Give Burnt Residue the Press drop
Burnt Residue needs a 25-block or greater fall into a Kinetic Press. Measure the shaft, keep its bottom open, and place recovery tools to the side so a stopped pixel can be cleared without interrupting material that is still falling.
The vertical route makes the Press height constraint visible. The official requirement is a 25-block or greater drop.Community video + official Press rule
07
Use failure and recovery as part of the design
A working burner is not finished if a single pile can lock the whole factory. Leave a maintenance lane, watch the first accumulation point, and pause upstream feed before opening a jam. The community recovery frames are a layout case, not a promise of universal throughput.
Design for the jam you will actually see
Failure state: the transport route has stopped and needs a recovery decision.Recovery state: the player reworks the route before returning to production.
Lava automation checks before scaling
Checkpoint
Confirmed rule
What to inspect
Fuel Security
Plants do not produce Lava in Sandustry
Cycle Lava → Snow/Scoria → Cinder → Re-melt.
Update #3 Erosion
Lava melts Fluxite, Redsoil & Strataform
Encase all lava channels in Basalt or Foundations.
Transport
Lava is moved as Cinder
Snow conversion, excavation, and solid logistics.
Burner
Cinder can be contained and ignited in a Filter
Solid block below, Filter rule, and spill containment.
Burning
Only 25% of ignited Residue becomes Burnt Residue
Feed visibility and recovery space.
Press
Burnt Residue needs a 25+ block drop
Shaft height, bottom clearance, and side recovery tools.
Questions answered
Solve the next blockage.
How do I automate Lava in Sandustry?+
Move Lava as Cinder, then ignite Cinder inside a Filter that has a solid block below it. The resulting contained Lava can ignite passing Residue.
Can Lava be launched?+
No. The official Lava entry marks Lava as not launchable. Convert it to Scoria, break that into Cinder, move the solid Cinder with ordinary logistics, then ignite it at the destination.
How do I make a Lava auto-burner?+
Configure a Filter to allow Cinder, place a solid block below, fill the Filter with Cinder, and ignite it. Keep the Residue route separate and visible so stopped material can be cleared.
What happens when Water touches Lava?+
Water becomes Steam on contact, while the official Lava entry says the Lava quantity does not decrease. Keep unnecessary Water away from a burner to avoid unwanted Steam.
Why does not all Residue become Burnt Residue?+
That is expected. The official Burnt Residue entry says only 25% of ignited Residue becomes Burnt Residue; the rest can burn away.
Why is my Kinetic Press blocked?+
Other materials and Burnt Residue with too little drop height stop on top. Give Burnt Residue a 25-block drop and use angled, side-facing Launchers to clear resting pixels.
Can plants produce Lava to sustain factories in mid-game?+
No. Plants do not produce Lava in Sandustry. Build a closed-loop recycling setup: freeze molten Lava with Snow into Scoria, mine it into solid Cinder for conveyor transport, and re-melt it at the destination with Fire or inside a contained Filter burner. Cold Thermal Buffers (Update #3) also convert Lava back to Cinder.
Evidence notes
Confirmed first. Tested second.
Source Wiki
Lava can be frozen with Snow into Scoria, excavated into Cinder, and recreated by applying Fire to Cinder.
A Filter with a solid block below can contain ignited Cinder as Lava and ignite passing pixels.
Only 25% of ignited Residue becomes Burnt Residue. A Burnt Residue pixel falling at least 25 blocks through a Kinetic Press outputs one Gold and one Seed.
Update #3 Official: Lava density is 200, and Lava actively destroys Fluxite, Redsoil, and Strataform terrain. Always line lava channels with Basalt or Foundations.
Update #3 Official: When a Thermal Buffer is cold (negative temperature), Lava will add less heat and convert back to Cinder instead of being fully consumed.
Community-tested
I Used LAVA to AUTOMATE My Factory in Sandustry!, 11:00-12:21: the player flattens and reroutes a Residue pile after discovering the limits of a one-tile Filter.
Explained: Filters, Splitters, Kinetic Slag Press, Launchers!, 02:14-14:31: an earlier community recording demonstrates Filter allow/block modes, constrained feeding, Press loading, Launcher pacing, and split layouts. Its Slag, Burnt Slag, Spore, and Kinetic Slag Press labels are legacy terminology, not current official names.
I Used LAVA to AUTOMATE My Factory in Sandustry!, 44:30-50:57: the player repairs a stalled route, then demonstrates a completed automated Residue-burning loop.
These are useful player examples, not official specifications.
