Basic Machine Frame
This block’s primary role is as a crafting ingredient for all of the other machines in this mod. The config file lets you enable an alternative crafting recipe in case this one conflicts with another mod.
Iron Furnace
The Iron Furnace uses BuildCraft energy to cook items. The interface shows a temperature dial. The more energy you give the Iron furnace, the hotter it gets. The hotter it gets, the faster it smelts (although it becomes a little less energy efficient). However, the Iron Furnace needs to reach a minimum operating temperature to cook. If the dial is in the blue, then it is not hot enough to cook anything.When hooked up to a single Stirling Engine (the BuildCraft engine that burns coal for energy), the Iron Furnace is slightly faster and more efficient than a vanilla Minecraft furnace, but only when smelting more than 20 items (otherwise, the time it takes to heat-up contradicts the increased speed).
A redstone comparator attached to an Iron Furnace outputs a signal proportional to the number of items in the input slot of the Iron Furnace. Applying a redstone signal to this machine disables it (you can put a lever directly on this block). The use of this is demonstrated below in the Storage Cell section.
Storage Cell
The Storage Cell stores up to 10 000 MJ (exact number subject to change). The top and bottom (blue) are input and the sides (red) are output. The interface uses a dial to show the amount of charge and two linear gauges to show how much current is flowing in (left, blue tick) and out (right, red tick). Applying a redstone signal stops the Storage Cell from sending out energy, but does not stop it from receiving energy. A redstone comparator attached to the Storage Cell will put out a signal proportional to the charge of the storage cell. Picking up a storage cell discharges it.
The utility of this block is demonstrated in the images below. In this build, the stirling engines are automatically activated to recharge the Storage Cell, which only outputs energy when there are sufficient items in the Iron Furnace ready to be smelted.
Charger
The Charger uses BuildCraft energy to recharge pneumatic tools. The energy per point of charge is very high (8 by default, configurable), keeping the rechargeable tools from being overpowered. You can feed-in items that need to be recharged with a hopper/pipe. When the item is fully charged, a hopper underneath the charger (or a wooden transport pipe) will take the item out. A redstone comparator next to this machine will output a signal proportional to the level of charge of the tool inside. Like all machines in this mod, you can stick a lever directly on the block and disable it with a redstone signal.
You can use the charger with other mods by adding the item ID of repairable/rechargeable items as a comma separated list in the [tt]additional_Rechargeable_Items[/tt] property of the config file (e.g. [tt]additional_Rechargeable_Items=283,284,285,286[/tt] will make all gold tools repairable in the charger).
Light Box
The light box simply uses a small amount of BuildCraft energy to light-up an area. You can use is as an indicator or pair it with a storage cell to make a long term lighting system. Like all machines in this mod, you can stick a lever directly on the block and disable it with a redstone signal.