There is no single cauldron speed. Recipe time is a property of the recipe: 6 s for the Obsidian/Marble byproduct, 30.9 s for Ruby, 38.2 s for Sapphire, 45.5 s for Emerald and 60 s for the Philosopher's Stone. The only global lever is Factory Efficiency research, which raises device production speed and heat consumption together.
Confirmed craft times
| Recipe | Device | Time | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian and Marble | Advanced Athanor | 6 s | Obsidian 50% / Marble 50% |
| Obsidian and Volcanic Ash | Advanced Athanor | 6 s | Obsidian 50% / Volcanic Ash 50% |
| Shattered Crystal | Refiner | 3 s | 1 Shattered Crystal from 2 Dull Shard |
| Vitality Essence | Paradox Crucible | 5.1 s | 1 Vitality Essence |
| Oblivion Essence | Paradox Crucible | 8.7 s | 1 Oblivion Essence |
| Ruby | Cauldron | 30.9 s | 1 Ruby |
| Sapphire | Cauldron | 38.2 s | 1 Sapphire |
| Emerald | Cauldron | 45.5 s | 1 Emerald |
| Philosopher's Stone | Cauldron | 60 s | 1 Philosopher's Stone |
Why your line feels slow
- You are measuring the wrong end. The Cauldron's gem recipes are 30–60 s each, and the stone needs one of each gem. One Philosopher's Stone therefore costs ~3.5 minutes of Cauldron time plus the input chains.
- Input starvation looks like slow crafting. A 30.9 s recipe that fires once a minute is starved, not slow. Watch the input buffer before you add machines.
- Factory Efficiency is multiplicative on both production and heat. Raising it speeds the craft and drains fuel faster — plan the fuel line first.
Throughput of the rest of the line
| System | Base rate | Raised by |
|---|---|---|
| Conveyor belt | 60 items/min | Logistics Efficiency |
| Catapult | 60/min | Throwing Efficiency |
| Cannon | 120/min | Throwing Efficiency |
| Device production | 100% | Factory Efficiency |
If the belt moves 60/min and a Cauldron recipe takes 60 s, the belt is never the constraint on a single cauldron — which is the other reason “slow cauldron” complaints usually end at the input line. Compare station choices in catapult vs cannon.
All times, belt rate and upgrade effects: DATAMINED from build 1.1.5024. The 3.5-minute stone estimate is arithmetic on the listed times.
Independent fan reference for Alchemy Factory. Game data refers to the current official 1.0 build (Steam, PC). Field-level evidence is flagged on each page with OFFICIAL / OBSERVED / COMMUNITY badges; amounts shown without a badge come from the official 1.0 patch notes or store descriptions.