Smelting Crucible

The Smelting Crucible is a machine added by GregTech 6. It is the core of GregTech's early-game progression and is used to melt materials (usually metals) and create alloys for use in ingot, component, and tool head casting. It requires heat, or HU, from a Burning Box, Electric Heater, or Heat Exchanger to operate.

Recipe
Stone Crucibles are made using 7 Stone blocks, a Hammer, and a Chisel.

Metal Crucibles are made using 7 Metal Plates of the same metal, a Hammer, and a Wrench.

Usage
As described in the Smelting Crucible Manual, the Crucible requires a heat source (such as a Burning Box). The heating rate of a Crucible is determined by the mass of material it contains. (The energy required to increase Crucible temperature by 1K equals 1HU per 100kg mass within the Crucible. Material mass can be checked via the F3+H extended debug display.) A full crucible holds 16 units of material and one item stack. The temperature of a Crucible can be checked with a Thermometer Sensor or Quicksilver Thermometer, however before one is available the best way to manage temperature is to carefully measure the fuel burned relative to the mass inserted.

The temperature of a Crucible can be decreased in three ways. First, if new solid material is inserted into a Crucible when it is heated, the material will be inserted at the environmental temperature (biome dependent; around 270K in temperate biomes), and then the temperature will be averaged based on the mass the Crucible contains and the mass of the material inserted. Second, if the Crucible temperature does not increase for, it will start cooling at a rate of 1K per. This means that a Crucible can be over-filled to the point that its heat source cannot heat it at all. Thirdly, a cold source of CU (such as the Thermoelectric Cooler) can be used. The CU will cool the crucible at the same rate HU would heat it.

Molten material can be poured out of a Crucible into adjacent Molds with a right-click on the side of the mold facing the crucible. Solid material can be extracted from a Crucible by a right-click with empty hand or a Shovel. If the Crucible contains several molten materials, the lightest material will be poured out first. This means melting unwashed, crushed ores will often cast a unit of Stone before the ore's material.

If a Crucible has been heated at all, it will cause damage to entities that touch it and can set nearby blocks on fire. If a Crucible is heated too far, the materials it contains may vaporize and be lost. If a Crucible is heated beyond its own melting point, it will turn into flowing Lava. The melting point of a Crucible is 25% greater than the melting point of the material from which it is made.

If provided oscillatory kinetic power, or KU, from a Steam Engine, Electric Engine, or Rotation Engine it will generate Air in the crucible (which is promptly voided, unless used in an alloying recipe.