Quick Answer

Choose a sensor by the signal you need. Presence Sensor stays On while anything is inside its 4×4 area. Signal Sensor stays On while the entire 4×4 area is full. Pulse Sensor sends one brief signal when the area becomes full and rearms after it is no longer full.

Wire with Signal Linker from sender to receiver. Green means On and red means Off. Use AND when every condition must be On. Use NOT to invert exactly one input; the official page says multiple inputs make its output Off.

Start with One Direct Wire

Before building an automated factory circuit, connect one known sender directly to one receiver. Toggle the sender or deliberately change one sensor area and watch the linker color. If the wire never turns green, the problem is upstream of any gate.

The official pages do not publish maximum distance, energy use, port count, tick delay, or compatibility with every machine. A green outgoing wire proves the sender state, not that the final device accepts signals.

Choose the Sensor from the Question

QuestionSensorOutput shape
Is any material present?Presence SensorConstant On while any element remains
Is the whole 4×4 area full?Signal SensorConstant On while full
Did the area just become full?Pulse SensorOne brief signal per fill cycle

The Pulse Sensor needs the observed area to become not full before another full-state event. If a circuit works once and then appears dead, inspect the area instead of immediately adding a timer.

Test Gates with Manual Inputs

Use two simple senders before connecting live production sensors. Feed both into an AND Gate and confirm the output becomes On only when both inputs are On. Then test a NOT Gate with one input. If NOT stays Off unexpectedly, count incoming linkers: more than one input produces the documented Off state.

This test removes material flow from the problem. After the truth rule behaves correctly, replace one manual sender at a time with a sensor.

Build Three Bounded Circuits

Stop an Input When Material Is Present

Use a Presence Sensor to detect material in a small buffer, then send that state to a receiver that your current game interface explicitly supports. The sensor behavior is official; the receiver compatibility must be verified in the current build.

Trigger Once When a Buffer Fills

Use a Pulse Sensor when one action should happen at the transition to full. Make sure the buffer later clears enough for the sensor to rearm. Do not invent a pulse duration; observe the current wire and receiving device.

Require Two Safe Conditions

Feed two verified sensor states into AND—for example, input present and destination ready. Only use labels that you can observe. A gate name does not make an untested receiver safe.

Learn from Community Examples Without Copying Blindly

A current Reddit examples thread shows players using logic for clog prevention, water control, and Voidbloom portioning. These are useful scenario choices because they connect signals to real factory boundaries. Their exact device placement, timing, and scale remain community-reported.

Rebuild the smallest part of an example: one sensor, one wire, one gate if needed, and one receiver. Confirm each state in your version before expanding it.

Troubleshooting Order

  1. Check the sensor's 4×4 condition.
  2. Read the outgoing wire color.
  3. Confirm sender-to-receiver direction.
  4. Test the gate with manual inputs.
  5. Count NOT Gate inputs.
  6. Verify that the final device accepts a signal.
  7. Only then add timers, latches, or larger automation.

Buffer, Toggle, Repeater, Signal Lamp, and the other gate families are not covered by the approved source set here. Their exact behavior remains Pending confirmation for this guide.

This independent guide is not affiliated with Lantto Games, Hooded Horse, Valve, Reddit, or the Sandustry Official Wiki.

Verified sources

  1. Sandustry Official Wiki — Signal LinkerOfficial
    Accessed: 2026-08-29 — Confirms sender-to-receiver wiring and red/green states.
  2. Sandustry Official Wiki — Signal SensorOfficial
    Accessed: 2026-08-29 — Confirms a constant signal while the 4×4 area is full.
  3. Sandustry Official Wiki — Pulse SensorOfficial
    Accessed: 2026-08-29 — Confirms one brief signal when the 4×4 area becomes full and the reset condition.
  4. Sandustry Official Wiki — Presence SensorOfficial
    Accessed: 2026-08-29 — Confirms a constant signal while any element is inside the 4×4 area.
  5. Sandustry Official Wiki — AND GateOfficial
    Accessed: 2026-08-29 — Confirms On only when all inputs are On.
  6. Sandustry Official Wiki — NOT GateOfficial
    Accessed: 2026-08-29 — Confirms inversion with exactly one input and Off with multiple inputs.
  7. Reddit — Sandustry logic examplesCommunity report
    Accessed: 2026-08-29 — Used to select practical scenarios; individual circuits remain community examples.