Mining Laser Speeds

[Frenotx]

Was trying to hunt down info on the relative mining speeds of the different mining lasers, but wasn't able to find much. Did some quick'n'dirty tests in game, and figured I'd share my results here. For the sake of reference and discussion, I've created a new unit called "Mining Power" and set it to be equal to the output of one small mining laser.

Results:

	Fragments / Second |	| Mining Power
1 Small	0.16	1.00
2 Small	0.3	1.88
1 Medium	0.55	3.44
2 Medium	0.86	5.38
1 Medium + 1 Small	0.62	3.88

Interesting note: Adding multiple mining lasers together seems to have an efficiency penalty. 2 small mining lasers aren't quite twice as powerful as one, etc.


Caveats:

1. I only tested this in one place, so these speeds may vary when attacking different kinds of rocks.
2. I noticed some variability in the rate fragments were produced (as in they weren't streaming out at a perfectly regular rate), so these numbers are just approximate.
3. I only did one test for each combo, so further testing is needed for better numbers. Just didn't feel like doing a full-scale investigation for this one.

 

[YinYin]

Looks about right.

I only tested this in one place, so these speeds may vary when attacking different kinds of rocks.

As far as I know, they don't.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

Just keep an eye (or ear) on the Mining Lasers (any) occasionally hitting a Fragment. Makes a little noise but naturally it momentarily blocks it from hitting the Asteroid.
That can easily skew the Fragments/Sec. you're getting if you don't ensure this doesn't happen.
(I guess best way to test without this issue is "flat angle" mining with zero chance of a Mining Laser hitting fragments for prolonged times)

 

[YinYin]

Unfortunately the original post on reddit is gone (it had every possible configuration), but some values in a comment remain for comparison: https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteMiner..._use_numbers/cy9gl2l/?st=jdi0a7s0&sh=e6fa02ba

 

[Frenotx]

Unfortunately the original post on reddit is gone (it had every possible configuration), but some values in a comment remain for comparison: https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteMiner..._use_numbers/cy9gl2l/?st=jdi0a7s0&sh=e6fa02ba

Looks like they concluded that 1 medium is 3.5x as powerful as 1 small, so that's encouraging.

 

[DNA-Decay]

Unfortunately the original post on reddit is gone (it had every possible configuration), but some values in a comment remain for comparison: https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteMiner..._use_numbers/cy9gl2l/?st=jdi0a7s0&sh=e6fa02ba

So going up to three 2D mining lasers you're going to need a 7A or 8A power distributer.
Any stats on how many collector limpets you need to pick up 35 fragments in the same time? 28s & 22s

 

[YinYin]

Any stats on how many collector limpets you need to pick up 35 fragments in the same time? 28s & 22s

There are some in one of these reddit threads as well, but it highly depends on how perfectly you position yourself.

The generally accepted minimum is one active collector per WEP MW ( -> 3 per medium laser).

edit: although the server handshakes on every refinery action currently become the bottleneck beyond 2 medium lasers

3 and more might become efficient with the filters in beyond (on mixed asteroids at least) - don't think it was tested during beta

 

[Flin]

I think this is the thread with link to the master table:
https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteMiners/comments/3y2hsk/master_list_of_mining_speed_for_every_ship/

My setting is to use 3 medium lasers if I got the distributor or stick with 2.

 

[Darty]

I just did 4 mining lasers for 10 seconds and got 16 fragments. So 1.6 fragments a second or a total of 10 mining power.

 

[CMDR Corlas]

Small mining lasers really need a buff. T-7 would be quite a good miner otherwise.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Its not just how many fragments it makes. As i understand, small mining lasers produce smaller fragments, meaning you get more per rock requiring more work from collectors to collect all the fragments.

 

[Frenotx]

Its not just how many fragments it makes. As i understand, small mining lasers produce smaller fragments, meaning you get more per rock requiring more work from collectors to collect all the fragments.

I have not noticed that effect at all. I don't think the quality or quantity of fragments changes- just the rate there chipped off.

 

[Arkadi]

I'd also be interested how Torvals Mining Lance fits into this. Unfortunatly no time today (maybe in the evening) - but can test tomorrow - will edit, if I have anything.

 

[Mohrgan]

I don't always mine. But, when I do, I use Lasers. Fly safe Commanders. o7

Thanks for sharing. I wouldn't think of doing that research. I just shoot things up. We need thinkers.

 

[Vardaugas]

Now what we would also need is an estimate how quickly a limpet can collect fragments so we can synchronize the modules in the most efficient combination. Of course as limpets have varying travel time depending on where you are in relation to the fragment cloud the collection time would be a rough estimate.

 

[Frenotx]

I don't always mine. But, when I do, I use Lasers. Fly safe Commanders. o7

Thanks for sharing. I wouldn't think of doing that research. I just shoot things up. We need thinkers.

No prob. It's what I do.

Now what we would also need is an estimate how quickly a limpet can collect fragments so we can synchronize the modules in the most efficient combination. Of course as limpets have varying travel time depending on where you are in relation to the fragment cloud the collection time would be a rough estimate.

That is also going to depend on your orientation- turning with your belly to the pile'o'stuff (such that it's sitting right at that point underneath your ship the limpets fly to), they collect a good bit quicker.

 

[CMDR KRITIKOSK8]

I think the price of mineable stuff should get a huge buff. Mining don't pay that much if compared to other roles, even if you know how to find painite.

 

[Dagwit]

I first ran my otherwise unarmed T-9 miner with three mining lasers, but took one off (and added an extra limpet controller) when I realised that the rate at which I mined was determined by the rate at which the limpets picked up fragments, not the rate at which I chipped them off. All the extra laser did was drain the distributor faster, meaning I had to stop and start lasing more often.

 

[Stealthie]

Wut?

No data for the poor ol' Mining Lance?

I bought half a dozen of them recently, just 'cos I thought it'd be cool to fit them to my exploration ships so I could use them for mining and to fight off any, erm, very, very weak ships I happen to meet out in the Black.

They get criticised for being all kinds of useless but the one thing people don't seem to take into account is their increased range.
Sitting in front of a rock and firing, they're worse than a regular C1 mining laser.
However, when you consider the practical dynamics of mining - moving from one rock to another - the increased range makes them quite attractive for something like, say, an ASpX miner because they allow you to start blasting from 1km out, which means your collectors can start working sooner, which significantly reduces the time you're sat in front of each rock before moving to look for the next.

If only there were C2 mining Lance's to stick on my T9 miner. [sad]

 

[Frenotx]

Wut?

No data for the poor ol' Mining Lance?

I bought half a dozen of them recently, just 'cos I thought it'd be cool to fit them to my exploration ships so I could use them for mining and to fight off any, erm, very, very weak ships I happen to meet out in the Black.

They get criticised for being all kinds of useless but the one thing people don't seem to take into account is their increased range.
Sitting in front of a rock and firing, they're worse than a regular C1 mining laser.
However, when you consider the practical dynamics of mining - moving from one rock to another - the increased range makes them quite attractive for something like, say, an ASpX miner because they allow you to start blasting from 1km out, which means your collectors can start working sooner, which significantly reduces the time you're sat in front of each rock before moving to look for the next.

If only there were C2 mining Lance's to stick on my T9 miner. [sad]

Unfortunately / fortunately, I don't have any of those. I am interested to know how they compare to a regular small mining laser, though. It's easy to check. Just take one standard small and one lance to a belt, and compare their fragments / second rate. I depleted 1 rock from full to empty with each setup, and videoed the whole thing. Looked at the time difference between each first and last fragment, and counted how many fragments came out.