Production lines in Satisfactory can get long and complicated. With a bit of research, you can tailor some of those chains and recipes so they not only use fewer resources, but also require fewer steps. That’s where alternate recipes come in, which you unlock gradually as you play. Some aren’t great, while others can completely transform your late‑game factories. Here are the ten best options right now.
Unlocking Satisfactory alternate recipes: Hard Drives and the MAM
You unlock recipes by researching Hard Drives in the MAM. There are 118 Hard Drives in total, letting you unlock 108 of the 113 total recipes. The rest come from various MAM research trees. Each drive offers you two recipes to choose from, matching your current milestone.
You don’t have to pick immediately when researching. You can leave them in the MAM until you need them. That way they won’t keep reappearing in the pool and you’ll continue to get new recipes offered.
1. Cast Screws in Satisfactory: Screws without Iron Rods
Cast Screws are one of the first alternate recipes you can get—and they’re absolutely worth it because they skip an entire step. Normally you must produce Iron Rods and then turn them into Screws, which takes a lot of space in larger factories.
Later, the Steel Screw recipe is also solid, letting you make screws from Steel Beams. It looks costly at first, but it can greatly simplify large‑scale screw production.
2. Heavy Encased Frame: Best late‑milestone alternative
One of the best recipes in the game, because you’ll need these Heavy Encased Frames for many late‑game items. Make life easier from the start: this alternate completely removes screws from the bill of materials. Instead, it adds Concrete, which is far simpler to make. You even get more frames than with the standard recipe. Avoid Heavy Flexible Frame—it offers few real advantages.
3. Copper Alloy Ingot: Save copper with iron ore
Perfect when you have less copper but plenty of iron ore. Combine the two to produce Copper Alloy Ingots. Since you can unlock this by Tier 3, it’s particularly helpful early on, especially at locations with limited copper.
4. Heavy Oil Residue: Efficient oil processing from Tier 5
The next recipes chain beautifully into one production line and are available from Tier 5 with Oil Processing. You’ll refine Crude Oil into Heavy Oil Residue as usual, but also into Polymer Resin. That resin is key to making other alternates shine. Compared to the default, you get three times as much residue per cycle—so it’s 300 percent more effective. You can then turn Polymer Resin into Rubber and Plastic.
5. Diluted and packaged fuel: Maximum fuel yield
These two pair perfectly. First, unlock Packaged Heavy Oil Residue by combining your Heavy Oil Residue with Packaged Water, instead of using regular Fuel and Empty Canisters. Packaging is a bit fiddly, but it cuts multiple steps overall.
With Tier 7, switch to Diluted Fuel without packaging. Just combine Heavy Oil Residue with Water and you’ll produce Fuel efficiently. Together, these recipes help you process oil much more effectively.
6. Recycled Plastic and Rubber: A loop for double output
The third oil‑focused set are the recycled recipes for Rubber and Plastic. They let you build a loop that turns Plastic into Rubber and Rubber into Plastic with Fuel added, resulting in double output overall. The Polymer Resin from section 4 also fits in nicely, making this combo even better.
7. Pure Ingots and Wet Concrete: More output with water
From Tier 5, you can unlock a suite of alternate recipes that improve ore utilization. By adding water to each ore in a Refinery, you get more ingots. This works for everything from Iron and Copper to Caterium and Quartz. Even better is the Pure Aluminum Ingot recipe, which saves you Silica.
You can also enrich Concrete with water to increase yield. You unlock this alternate as early as Tier 3, but you’ll only be able to use it from Tier 5 once you unlock fluid transport. Since water is practically free, these pure recipes are extremely valuable.
8. Sloppy Alumina: Aluminum without silica overflow
Those improved Aluminum Ingots get even better with this alternate. Unlocked at Tier 7, it works like the standard Bauxite + Water route, but this time no extra Silica is produced. That’s one fewer by‑product to manage. Silica isn’t always helpful—although the next alternate might change your mind.
9. Silicon Circuit Board: Efficient boards with Silica
Instead of removing Silica with Sloppy Alumina, you can lean into it with Silicon Circuit Board. Combine Copper Sheets with Silica to make Circuit Boards efficiently. Pair it with Steamed Copper Sheet, which—like the pure recipes—adds water to boost output.
Circuit Boards are also a key component for our final recommendation. They’re crucial in the endgame, and you’ll need a lot of them.
10. Caterium Computer: Endgame recipe without cable clutter
Those Circuit Boards feed into Computers, so the pieces must interlock well. Computers are essential for many late‑game items. The Caterium Computer alternate not only avoids excess cable spaghetti, it also synergizes with Silicon Circuit Board. It pairs nicely with Recycled Rubber from section 6.
Alternatively, Crystal Computer combines Circuit Boards with Crystal Oscillators. Both options depend on your focus—Quartz or Silica.
Conclusion: Alternate recipes for efficient Satisfactory factories
Alternate recipes are a core part of Satisfactory. They let you simplify or otherwise optimize your production lines. Preferences vary, but the options above should spark ideas for adapting your factories. For example, the oil‑recycling loop is incredibly strong once it’s up and running.
You can also try new alternates by renting your own Satisfactory server from us: rent your own Satisfactory server. Out of the 113 possible recipes, there are many more that can make your work in Satisfactory easier.
