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[floundericiousWA]

So how am I supposed to do this?  I have huge stacks of charcoal...when I designate a copper cap, for example, to be melted...I go to the smelter and add an order for "melt object" only to get an error for "needs melt-designated item"

Does anyone have a quick checklist of what to do for melting objects?

[zelpao]

A quick checklist:
Designated object to melt (metal)
A smelter
Fuel (if it is not magma powered)
Give task to melt object (can be orders).


If all of the top is satisfied, it could be the distance between the object and the smelter being too far.  Try bringing the objects in question next to the smelter and see what it does then.

[krenshala]

press [k], find the item you want to melt and press [m].  it should then look like "copper item  M".  once you have that, queue up a "melt item" order at your smelter.
you can also designate items to be melted from the stocks screen.

[NecroRebel]

Forbidden items marked for melting won't be melted until they're reclaimed. Also, items that are currently being held by a creature won't be melted until they're dropped; this is relevant if you're trying to melt something one of your soldiers has equipped. It's also possible that the smelter and the marked items aren't accessible to one another.

[lazygun]

Things are also blocked from being used if they are currently tasked to be moved elsewhere, even if no dwarf has yet taken up the job.

There's a trick I use in situations like that. It's less useful for melting when I can't select a particular item to use in the job, but great for things like forcing a forge job to use the bars that have just been created in the neighbouring smelter. I pause the game, forbid the item in question, unforbid it, create the job that uses it, then unpause.

And if that isn't the reason for your problem, perhaps it's something to do with burrows.

[floundericiousWA]

Thanks, all... I did follow the basic steps, then... I'll experiment with garbage dumping them next to the smelter and forbid/reclaim to clear the item's queue

Thanks again!

[Garath]

Got the same problem as you have, my smelters smelt the items to bars for a while and then suddenly stop for whatever reason. in my case I know the items are not forbidden, that is easy to see in the stock menu (with TAB) and the smelter is sitting right underneath the main stockpile, nothing is more than a few steps away.

[Tolisk]

All your urists are having a party or are sleeping.

[knutor]

I'm having them cancel melt object /R aswell, when atleast two dozen items are marked M in stockpile.  I think its just a matter of too much going on, of more priority.  *shrug*  Not sure, but I have that same issue in my 34.05 fortress right now.  I used t and marked items M, that came out under excellent, right in his magma workstation.  Two steps from the magma smelter, so its definately not a matter of it being equipped or forbidden...  I think if its not a prioritization issue, its gotta be a CLUTTER issue.  Smelters fill up fast once ya start rolling out raw ore to bars.  Knutor

[Naryar]

why are you wasting coal on melting small copper items ?

[Drawde]

Check burrow restrictions, including the military alert one.

If your dwarves are restricted to a burrow and either the items or the forge isn't in it, your dwarves won't smelt the item.

Commonly happens when you restrict your dwarves to a burrow due to a siege and forget to unrestrict them after it's done.  Or you forgot to put the stockpile in the burrow.

[Garath]

why are you wasting coal on melting small copper items ?

'cause trees grow back but metal ores don't

or in the case of magma smelters: 'cause I want to.

[cancel.man]

Zoom to the melt designated item from the stocks menu. Weapons in weapon traps won't be melted. Cages with prisoners or built won't be. Built furniture won't be. Arrows and bolts often end up in unreachable spots where your dorf can't access them. And of course if you shut the front gates and stuff is outside... That's a problem.

[Garath]

I always use the tab to look at each seperate item, so I never mark ones that are in a construction.