Minecraft Bone Blocks: Automate Bone Meal to Bone Block!

Minecraft Crafter: Automating Bonemeal to Bone Block Conversion

This article details how to automate the conversion of bonemeal into bone blocks in Minecraft using the Crafter block, streamlining resource management and potentially unlocking large-scale farming projects. We’ll examine the necessary components, the optimal setup, and common pitfalls to avoid.

Understanding the Core Mechanics

Bonemeal Production Fundamentals

Bonemeal, a critical resource for accelerating plant growth, is primarily obtained through:

• Bone Conversion: Skeletons, found commonly in the Overworld and especially in the Nether, drop bones upon death. These bones are crafted into bonemeal.
• Composting: Certain plant-based items, such as seeds, saplings, and crop remnants, can be composted into bonemeal. Composting provides a sustainable, automated source.
• Wandering Trader Exchange: Wandering Traders occasionally offer bonemeal for emeralds. This is less efficient than other methods.

The Crafter Block: Automation Enabler

The Crafter, introduced in Minecraft 1.21 (Tricky Trials Update), is a block specifically designed for automating crafting recipes. It functions by:

1. Receiving input items from hoppers or other item transport methods.
2. Confirming the input items match the defined crafting recipe.
3. Crafting the output item (in this case, bone blocks).
4. Outputting the crafted item through a hopper or other item transport system.

Bone Block Crafting Recipe

The crafting recipe for a Bone Block is simple:

• 9 Bonemeal are required.
• The bonemeal must be arranged in a 3×3 grid within the crafting grid.

Designing the Automated System

The optimal automation system involves a bonemeal generation source, a delivery system, and the Crafter itself.

Bonemeal Generation and Delivery

Several bonemeal generation methods can be employed. Here are two common strategies:

1. Composter-Based System:

   • Build a large composter array.
   • Feed the composters with automatic farms (e.g., wheat, carrot, potato farms).
   • Use hoppers under the composters to collect bonemeal.
   • Transport the bonemeal to the Crafter using hopper lines or water streams with flowing hoppers.

   [Automatic Farm] -> [Composters] -> [Hoppers] -> [Item Transport (Hoppers/Water)] -> [Crafter]

2. Skeleton Farm and Bone Conversion:

   • Construct an efficient skeleton farm.
   • Use hoppers to collect the dropped bones.
   • Transport the bones to a crafting table or an area where players can easily craft bonemeal. This method typically requires additional manual processing and therefore is not ideal for true full automation. A "bonemeal generator" is needed here. Some datapacks add bonemeal generators to accomplish this task.

Crafter Configuration and Placement

• Placement: Position the Crafter in a location accessible to item input and output. Typically, it’s placed directly above a hopper that extracts the bone blocks.
• Recipe Setup: Program the Crafter with the Bone Block recipe. This involves:
  • Opening the Crafter interface.
  • Placing 9 bonemeal in the crafting grid.
  • This teaches the Crafter the recipe.

Example Setup: Hopper-Based Automation

This is a highly reliable and scalable method.

1. Input: Nine hoppers feed into the Crafter’s crafting slots. Each hopper is dedicated to one slot.
2. Output: A hopper is placed underneath the Crafter to collect the bone blocks.
3. Bonemeal Source: The nine input hoppers are fed by a central bonemeal storage system, ensuring a consistent supply. The storage can be achieved by having several hoppers feeding into these nine from several composter outputs.

Example Visualisation

[Bonemeal Storage System]
| | | | | | | | |
V V V V V V V V V
[Hopper] [Hopper] [Hopper] [Hopper] [Hopper] [Hopper] [Hopper] [Hopper] [Hopper]
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \
--------------------
| [CRAFTER] |
--------------------
|
V
[Output Hopper]

Troubleshooting and Optimization

Common Issues

• Item Congestion: Ensure your item transport system can handle the rate of bonemeal production and bone block creation. Item overflow can halt the process.
• Incorrect Recipe Configuration: Double-check that the Crafter has the correct Bone Block recipe programmed.
• Power Requirements: The Crafter requires Redstone power to function. Use a lever, button, or Redstone clock circuit to provide constant activation.
• Input/Output Blocked: Confirm that hoppers are not blocked by adjacent blocks or full inventories.

Optimizations

• Speed Enhancements: Use faster item transport methods (e.g., minecart-based systems or water streams with ice) to minimize delays.
• Parallel Processing: Build multiple Crafter setups to increase bone block output.
• Redstone Efficiency: Implement Redstone circuits that only activate the Crafter when all 9 bonemeal input slots are filled, preventing unnecessary power consumption.

Alternative Methods (Limited Automation)

While the Crafter is the ideal solution for full automation, certain approaches can provide partial automation.

Dropper-Based Systems (Manual Crafting Required)

• Use droppers to dispense bonemeal onto a crafting table. This approach still requires a player to manually trigger the crafting process and collect the bone blocks. This approach is impractical for a dedicated bonemeal-to-boneblock system.

Villager Trading (Limited Availability)

• Set up a Villager trading hall focused on librarians offering bone blocks. This is dependent on RNG and trader availability, which makes it impractical for large scale production.

Alright, now you’re all set to automate your own minecraft crafter bonemeal to boneblock setup! Go build something awesome and have fun!