How to Automate Serving in PlateUp! | Guide & Tips

PlateUp! features a robust automation system that is extremely efficient, if you’re willing to learn how to work all the intricacies and invest in all the necessary equipment. Here are some tips on how to automate serving in PlateUp!

The Basics of Automation in PlateUp!

Every day in PlateUp!, your restaurant gains a random assortment of blueprints. Blueprints can be purchased to get new kitchen equipment, so before you can even think about automating your kitchen, you have to hope you get the blueprints you need. As such, automation is usually not feasible until the later half of your run.

All the Blueprint Cabinet and Desk blueprints can help you save and get the automation blueprints you need. The Blueprint Cabinet can store a blueprint for you between rounds, and the various Desks can copy, upgrade, or discount your blueprints.

The core of automation lies within the Conveyor blueprint and its upgraded forms. Ingredients and dishes can be placed on Conveyor belts to send them to a destination without having to move there yourself, freeing up some valuable time for you.

The upgraded form of the Conveyor is the Grabber. Normally, items have to be placed directly on Conveyors in order for them to move, meaning that Conveyors cannot grab ingredients from boxes or appliances. The Grabber fixes this issue by being able to grab stuff off of boxes, appliances, and counters.

The first upgrade of the Grabber is the Smart Grabber, which functions similarly to the normal Grabber, but with a filter. Smart Grabbers can be “trained” by placing a sample item on them, at which point the Smart Grabber will grab only that type of item. This is useful for the more complex recipes.

The second upgrade of the Grabber is the Rotating Grabber, works just like a normal Grabber but can turn. This can help you create more intricate layouts, or just save on space.

There are many other appliances that you’ll probably need as you’re creating your automation setup, but nothing is possible without a basic Conveyor system.

By the way, if you’re looking to get rich quick, check out our PlateUp! guide on the most profitable dishes to earn lots of coins.

Automating Serving in PlateUp!

Because of all the different recipes in PlateUp! and multiple ways of building automation plans, we’ll go over a simple automation plan for serving, then you can fine tune it however you want.

The first step is to have an easy way of taking orders. The easiest solution to this is grabbing the Instant Service card, but if you don’t end up rolling that, you can also buy an Ordering Terminal. These allow you to instantly take orders without having to go to the table.

The second step is to automate your food preparation. This involves building a network of Conveyors, Grabbers, plus whatever cooking appliances you need, such as Hobs, Heated Mixers, Combiners, Auto Platers, and so forth.

The third step is to have a Conveyor system running adjacent to customer tables. The Conveyors can be anywhere adjacent to the table, and customers can grab their food, no matter where they’re sitting. If you want to get creative, you can throw in Teleporters or Dumbwaiters to make the process even better.

The final step is to have another Conveyor system that clears the table and sends the dirty dishes to the kitchen. One important thing to keep in mind here is that the dirty dishes appear on the last placed table on a dining table set. The piece with the seating number over it is the last placed piece.

Unlike prepared food, Grabbers need to be directly in front of dirty dishes in order to pull them, so you’ll need to place a new set of Grabbers just for dishes. Once the dishes are back in your kitchen, you can route them into Soaking Sinks for automated cleaning.

And that’s the basic premise of automating ordering. As we mentioned, the fun of creating your own automation system is that it’s fully modular. Feel free to experiment with pieces and change things around if they’re not working to your favor.

More Resources for Learning Automation in PlateUp!

Since the automation aspect of PlateUp! is so intricate and deep, it actually has a pretty sizable community dedicated solely to optimizing kitchens. As such, there are plenty of resources for further reading about automation in PlateUp!, if you want to know more. Here are a couple:

• PlateUp! Wiki Automation: A fantastic place for learning every single aspect of automation. We recommend starting here.
• Elseediem’s Automation Guide: A collection of automated layout examples, covering every dish in the game. Look here if you’re looking for inspiration or ideas for optimization.
• PlateUp! Discord Server: The official PlateUp! Discord server has a channel just for automation setups.

We hope this guide helps you get started with automated serving in PlateUp!, and remember that experimentation is key. If you have any other questions or tips, let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to check out the rest of our PlateUp! coverage.