In Dyson Sphere Program, smelting and chemical recipes are the instructions that turn raw resources into the materials your factory needs. Smelting recipes melt ores and other raw materials into ingots, crystals and refined materials inside smelters. Oil refining turns crude oil into refined oil and hydrogen, and chemical recipes take those products further into things like plastic, graphene and explosives. Knowing what each recipe needs and what it makes is the key to building a factory that doesn't stall.
Facility Type
Smelting
Copper Ingot
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 1 Copper Ore
- Outputs
- 1 Copper Ingot
- Base Time
- 1 s
- Unlocked By
- Available from start
Crystal Silicon
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 1 High-purity Silicon
- Outputs
- 1 Crystal Silicon
- Base Time
- 2 s
- Unlocked By
- Crystal Smelting
Diamond
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 1 Energetic Graphite
- Outputs
- 1 Diamond
- Base Time
- 2 s
- Unlocked By
- Crystal Smelting
Diamond (advanced)
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 1 Kimberlite Ore
- Outputs
- 2 Diamond
- Base Time
- 1.5 s
- Unlocked By
- Crystal Smelting
Energetic Graphite
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 2 Coal
- Outputs
- 1 Energetic Graphite
- Base Time
- 2 s
- Unlocked By
- Smelting Purification
Glass
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 2 Stone
- Outputs
- 1 Glass
- Base Time
- 2 s
- Unlocked By
- Automatic Metallurgy
High-purity Silicon
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 2 Silicon Ore
- Outputs
- 1 High-purity Silicon
- Base Time
- 2 s
- Unlocked By
- Smelting Purification
Iron Ingot
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 1 Iron Ore
- Outputs
- 1 Iron Ingot
- Base Time
- 1 s
- Unlocked By
- Available from start
Magnet
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 1 Iron Ore
- Outputs
- 1 Magnet
- Base Time
- 1.5 s
- Unlocked By
- Available from start
Silicon Ore
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 10 Stone
- Outputs
- 1 Silicon Ore
- Base Time
- 10 s
- Unlocked By
- Smelting Purification
Steel
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 3 Iron Ingot
- Outputs
- 1 Steel
- Base Time
- 3 s
- Unlocked By
- Steel Smelting
Stone Brick
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 1 Stone
- Outputs
- 1 Stone Brick
- Base Time
- 1 s
- Unlocked By
- Available from start
Titanium Alloy
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 4 Titanium Ingot + 4 Steel + 8 Sulfuric Acid
- Outputs
- 4 Titanium Alloy
- Base Time
- 12 s
- Unlocked By
- High-Strength Titanium Alloy
Titanium Ingot
- Made In
- Arc Smelter; Plane Smelter; Negentropy Smelter
- Inputs
- 2 Titanium Ore
- Outputs
- 1 Titanium Ingot
- Base Time
- 2 s
- Unlocked By
- Titanium Smelting
Facility Type
Oil Refining
Plasma Refining
- Made In
- Oil Refinery
- Inputs
- 2 Crude Oil
- Outputs
- 1 Hydrogen + 2 Refined Oil
- Base Time
- 4 s
- Unlocked By
- Plasma Extract Refining
Reformed Refinement
- Made In
- Oil Refinery
- Inputs
- 2 Refined Oil + 1 Hydrogen + 1 Coal
- Outputs
- 3 Refined Oil
- Base Time
- 4 s
- Unlocked By
- Reformed Refinement
X-ray Cracking
- Made In
- Oil Refinery
- Inputs
- 1 Refined Oil + 2 Hydrogen
- Outputs
- 3 Hydrogen + 1 Energetic Graphite
- Base Time
- 4 s
- Unlocked By
- X-Ray Cracking
Facility Type
Chemical Processing
Carbon Nanotube
- Made In
- Chemical Plant; Quantum Chemical Plant
- Inputs
- 3 Graphene + 1 Titanium Ingot
- Outputs
- 2 Carbon Nanotube
- Base Time
- 4 s
- Unlocked By
- High-Strength Material
Carbon Nanotube (advanced)
- Made In
- Chemical Plant; Quantum Chemical Plant
- Inputs
- 6 Spiniform Stalagmite Crystal
- Outputs
- 2 Carbon Nanotube
- Base Time
- 4 s
- Unlocked By
- High-Strength Material
Crystal Explosive Unit
- Made In
- Chemical Plant; Quantum Chemical Plant
- Inputs
- 8 Explosive Unit + 1 Casimir Crystal + 8 Crystal Silicon
- Outputs
- 8 Crystal Explosive Unit
- Base Time
- 24 s
- Unlocked By
- Crystal Explosive Unit
Explosive Unit
- Made In
- Chemical Plant; Quantum Chemical Plant
- Inputs
- 2 Combustible Unit + 2 Plastic + 1 Sulfuric Acid
- Outputs
- 2 Explosive Unit
- Base Time
- 6 s
- Unlocked By
- Explosive Unit
Graphene
- Made In
- Chemical Plant; Quantum Chemical Plant
- Inputs
- 3 Energetic Graphite + 1 Sulfuric Acid
- Outputs
- 2 Graphene
- Base Time
- 3 s
- Unlocked By
- Applied Superconductor
Graphene (advanced)
- Made In
- Chemical Plant; Quantum Chemical Plant
- Inputs
- 2 Fire Ice
- Outputs
- 2 Graphene + 1 Hydrogen
- Base Time
- 2 s
- Unlocked By
- Applied Superconductor
Organic Crystal
- Made In
- Chemical Plant; Quantum Chemical Plant
- Inputs
- 2 Plastic + 1 Refined Oil + 1 Water
- Outputs
- 1 Organic Crystal
- Base Time
- 6 s
- Unlocked By
- Polymer Chemical Engineering
Plastic
- Made In
- Chemical Plant; Quantum Chemical Plant
- Inputs
- 2 Refined Oil + 1 Energetic Graphite
- Outputs
- 1 Plastic
- Base Time
- 3 s
- Unlocked By
- Basic Chemical Engineering
Sulfuric Acid
- Made In
- Chemical Plant; Quantum Chemical Plant
- Inputs
- 6 Refined Oil + 8 Stone + 4 Water
- Outputs
- 4 Sulfuric Acid
- Base Time
- 6 s
- Unlocked By
- Basic Chemical Engineering
Facility Type
Fractionation
Deuterium Fractionation
- Made In
- Fractionator
- Inputs
- Hydrogen moving through on a belt
- Outputs
- Deuterium (1% chance for each Hydrogen)
- Unlocked By
- Deuterium Fractionation
How Smelting and Chemical Recipes Work
Most smelting and chemical recipes follow the same basic pattern. You feed a machine a set list of inputs, and after a set amount of time it hands back one or more outputs. Smelting recipes run in smelters, and the Arc Smelter, Plane Smelter and Negentropy Smelter all handle the same smelting recipes. The Arc Smelter needs only electricity, since it's an arc furnace and doesn't burn fuel.
The recipes also link together into chains, so one output often becomes the input for the next step. Ore becomes ingots, and ingots become the parts that buildings need. On the oil side, crude oil becomes Refined Oil, and Refined Oil feeds the chemical recipes.
Oil refining happens in the Oil Refinery, and chemical recipes run in the Chemical Plant and the Quantum Chemical Plant. Some recipes give back more than one item, so you'll often have a byproduct to plan for. The Fractionator is the odd one out, since it works on Hydrogen as it passes through.
How to Unlock Smelting and Chemical Recipes
Some recipes are ready from the start. The basics, such as Iron Ingot, Copper Ingot, Stone Brick and Magnet, need no research, so you can start making them right away.
Most of the other recipes are locked behind technology research, and each one is tied to a specific tech. Until you research it, you can't make the recipe, so the order you research things decides when you can start. Smelting Purification opens Energetic Graphite, High-purity Silicon and Silicon Ore, while Basic Chemical Engineering opens Plastic and Sulfuric Acid.
It helps to look ahead at which tech unlocks the recipes your factory needs next, so research doesn't hold up your build. You can make the smelters themselves in an Assembler or by hand.
The Smelting Recipes Worth Learning First
Some smelting recipes get used over and over, so they're the best place to start. Iron Ingot and Copper Ingot come first, since iron and copper go into most early buildings and parts. Stone Brick is used for early buildings and the Foundation, and Magnet is the one you need for Magnetic Coils.
Energetic Graphite is the one to set up next once it's unlocked. It's the base for Plastic, Graphene and the standard Diamond recipe, so a lot of the chemical side depends on it.
Later in the game, Steel becomes important for mid-game buildings and parts, and Titanium Alloy goes into late buildings and ships. Both wait on their own research, so they come after the early basics.
Alternate Recipes That Save Rare and Bulky Materials
Later on, some recipes offer a second route that saves a rare or bulky input. The advanced Diamond recipe turns Kimberlite Ore straight into Diamond and gives two Diamonds for each ore. That skips the Energetic Graphite step entirely, so it's the better route whenever you have Kimberlite Ore on hand.
The advanced Graphene and Carbon Nanotube recipes work the same way. Graphene from Fire Ice also gives back Hydrogen, and Carbon Nanotube made from Spiniform Stalagmite Crystal skips the Graphene and Titanium steps.
Silicon Ore is a different case. It takes ten Stone to make one, and it's slow, so it's only a backup for when no silicon vein is nearby. On some planets, Organic Crystal and Sulfuric Acid can be had from nature, which makes the Chemical Plant versions a fallback.
Oil Refining Recipes and the Oil Refinery
The Oil Refinery turns crude oil into the materials the chemical side needs. Plasma Refining is the main oil recipe, giving you Refined Oil with Hydrogen as a second output. Since Refined Oil feeds much of the chemical side, this is the recipe that keeps the rest of your chemical production supplied.
Reformed Refinement uses Coal and Hydrogen to turn Refined Oil into more Refined Oil. Paired with Plasma Refining, it lets you make Refined Oil without leaving Hydrogen behind as a byproduct.
X-ray Cracking takes Refined Oil and Hydrogen and gives back Energetic Graphite along with more Hydrogen than it started with. Its main purpose is producing the materials for Energy Matrix, and outside that job, simpler and more power-efficient ways exist to get Hydrogen and Energetic Graphite.
Combining Reformed Refinement and X-ray Cracking, after a one-time start of Refined Oil and Hydrogen, lets Coal become Energetic Graphite at a 1:1 ratio. The standard smelting route needs two Coal for each Energetic Graphite, so this is a real saving.
Chemical Processing Recipes and What They Make
The chemical recipes run in the Chemical Plant and the Quantum Chemical Plant, and many of them start from oil products. Plastic and Sulfuric Acid are the first step beyond Refined Oil.
On the standard routes, Organic Crystal, Graphene and Carbon Nanotube each build on the products made before them. That means one missing link can hold up the rest, so it pays to set up the chain in order.
The explosive recipes lead toward the combat side. Explosive Unit is used in shell and missile sets, and Crystal Explosive Unit is the top-tier version used in the strongest shells and missiles. Together they support the combat materials used against Dark Fog.
Fractionation and Deuterium
The Fractionator works differently from the other machines. Hydrogen moves through it on a belt, and each piece of Hydrogen has a 1% chance of turning into Deuterium as it passes. The rest keeps moving on as Hydrogen.
Each piece gets its own 1% chance, so there are no set batches, and only a small share of the Hydrogen that passes through turns into Deuterium. You unlock it by researching Deuterium Fractionation.
FAQ
How many smelters do I need in Dyson Sphere Program?
Plan for more than you expect. The average game needs hundreds of smelters, and it's normal to underestimate how many a new mining base will need. Automate making smelters early so you're not crafting each one by hand, and bring a decent stock of finished smelters plus the materials to make more, especially Stone Bricks, when you head to a new planet.
Where can I get Sulfuric Acid and Organic Crystal without a Chemical Plant?
Some planets have acid seas, and a Water Pump can extract Sulfuric Acid from them. Organic Crystal can be mined on some planets as well. Either way, you can skip making it in a Chemical Plant.
