From Minerals to Mighty Starships
Manufacturing is one of the core pillars of Frontier’s economy and progression. Everything; from small Fittings to massive Hauler Ships comes directly from player-driven production. By Mining, Refining, and Manufacturing, you can carve out your path as an Interstellar Industrialist, a Shipwright, or even a Vendor supplying entire Tribes with the tools of survival.
Once you’ve gathered your resources, the next step is to refine them into usable materials. If you need guidance on how to mine and acquire these resources, be sure to check out the Mining Guide article.
Step 1: Refining Ores into Materials
Raw ore must be refined before it’s usable in manufacturing. Deploy a Refinery at your base to process your haul. Frontier offers different Refinery structures, each with greater efficiency and throughput:
Field Refinery - A core structure for early-game refining.
Refinery - An industrial upgrade for increased efficiency.
Heavy Refinery - The pinnacle of refining, capable of handling complex ores at the highest efficiency.
Drag your ore into the Input Slot before starting the refining job. Once the process completes, you’ll receive refined materials ready for manufacturing.
Step 2: Starting Your Manufacturing Jobs
With refined materials in hand, it’s time to turn them into useful items. This is done through Printers; specialized structures designed for different production scales:
Field Printer - Core structure for basic items in the early game.
Mini Printer - Produces essential items efficiently.
Printer - Unlocks a broader range of manufacturable items.
Heavy Printer - The most advanced printer, capable of producing complex, high-tier items.
Materials needed for the selected blueprint are now pinned to the top of the inventory view, making it easier to see both required inputs and expected outputs.
You can also remove input materials from a manufacturing assembly at any time, even if the job has already started giving you more flexibility when adjusting or correcting production plans.
Step 3: Assembling Modules and Ships
Once you’ve manufactured materials, you can move on to Assembly. Using Assembler you’ll be able to combine items into modules. These modules can then be fitted to your ships, providing tactical advantages in combat and exploration.
High-tier Materials play a key role in this process, as they can be integrated into both Ships and Modules, increasing their performance and value.
Important Note
If you decide not to continue a job, you can remove your input materials safely.
However, canceling an Active Manufacturing Job will still destroy any Output produced up to that point.
With the right balance of mining, refining, and production, you can rise from a lone miner to a master manufacturer shaping the economy of Frontier and fueling the fleets of your Tribe.