Atomcraft Reactions Cheatsheet — Acids, Alloys, Reductions
Quick Atomcraft reaction cheatsheet for Sulfuric Acid, HF, Bronze, Steel, Aluminum, Silicon, Chromium, and related chemistry.
Atomcraft Reactions Cheatsheet
Use this Atomcraft cheatsheet when a forge is hot and your memory is not. It compresses the recipes expanded in Early Game Materials, Ores and Smelting, and Rare Elements. For physical layouts, open Builds; for tutorials, open Guides.

How to Read This Sheet
Each line assumes sorted reagents, adequate containment, and appropriate heat. If a line fails, debug temperature, contact, and contamination before assuming the wiki is wrong. Pipette with Left-Ctrl, pin ores in F1 Help, and keep Charcoal topped up.
Ignition and Fuel
| Reaction / process | Inputs | Output / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Firestarter chain | Flint, Pyrite (surface) | Ignition for campfires and forges |
| Charcoal | Wood piles + fire | Primary early forge fuel |
| Glass | Sand + melt heat | Clear structural / vessel material |
Soft Metals and Alloys
| Reaction / process | Inputs | Output / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Copper smelt | Cuprite + heat | Copper |
| Tin smelt | Cassiterite + heat | Tin |
| Bronze alloy | Copper + Tin | Mid hardness tools |
| Iron smelt | Hematite + heat | Iron |
| Steel | Carbon into molten Iron | Premium tools / structures |
| Lead path | Galena processing | Lead |
Acids
| Reaction / process | Inputs | Output / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sulfuric Acid | Sulfur + Water | Gateway acid |
| HF pathway | Sulfuric Acid + Fluorite | Unlocks Columbite processing |
Store acids in dedicated basins. Never pipette from an acid pool into a food or water stock without washing the selection habit out of your hands — meaning: consciously reselect materials.
High Temperature Reductions
| Reaction / process | Inputs | Output / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aluminum line | Bauxite → Alumina → Carbon reduce ~2300 K | Aluminum |
| Silicon | Sand + Carbon at ~2500–3000 K | Silicon |
| Chromium line | Chromite → Ferrochrome + Aluminum step | Chromium |
These are session-length projects. Clear your schedule, stock carbon, and verify forge geometry from Builds before lighting the long burn.
Specialty Minerals
| Target | Source / path | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Silver / Gold | Sylvanite | Pin the ore, not only the metals |
| Cobalt | Cobaltite | Mid-late discovery |
| Vanadium | Vanadinite | Process after mining |
| Germanium | Mine Sphalerite | Easy to overlook |
| Mercury | Near coal | Watch side pockets |
| Rubies | Limestone caves | Hardness gated |
| Borax | Buried City | Expedition item |
| Lithium | Lepidolite path | Multi-step |
| Ta / Nb | Columbite + HF | Acid gated |
| Noble gases | Cooling Element structures | Engineered harvest |
Field Debugging
No Firestarter? Return to surface Flint/Pyrite loops in Early Game Materials.
Ore will not break? Hardness gate — check Tools.
Melt sits inert? More Charcoal, better airflow, longer heat, cleaner ore.
Acid does nothing? Wrong rock, evaporated water, or you brought Fluorite without Sulfuric Acid ready.
No nobles? You are mining; you should be building cooling arrays (Builds).
Lost in caves? Map plus flashlight F and a timbered retreat shaft.
Production Order Suggestion
- Wood → Charcoal → Cuprite Copper.
- Cassiterite Tin → Bronze.
- Hematite Iron → Carbon Steel.
- Sulfur + Water → Sulfuric Acid; + Fluorite → HF.
- Bauxite Aluminum line; Chromite Chromium line.
- Columbite Ta/Nb; Lepidolite Lithium; city Borax.
- Cooling Element nobles; Silicon heats; Sylvanite precious metals as needed for ship goals (Walkthrough).
UI Speed Tips
Bind material slots you use every forge night: Charcoal, Copper, Iron, Carbon source, Sulfuric Acid, HF. Keyboard players rebind in settings; controller players use bumpers for tools and D-pad for materials — see Controls and Hotkeys. Enter interacts with machines; do not stand in the melt while mashing inputs.
Related Pages
- Materials Hub — directory.
- Materials Overview — mental model.
- Rare Elements — deep explanations.
- Guides — how-to steel, forge, electrolysis.
- Tools — interactive finders when available.
- Walkthrough — when each reaction becomes mandatory.
Print this page mentally before dangerous batches. Atomcraft rewards chemists who can recite Sulfuric → HF → Columbite while still remembering where they left the Charcoal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers tied to this page.
What is the Sulfuric Acid recipe in Atomcraft?
Combine Sulfur and Water in a contained setup, then store the acid away from soft stockpiles.
What is the Steel reaction?
Add Carbon to molten Iron. Both a hot Iron bath and carbon contact are required.
Sand is used for which reactions?
Melt sand for Glass, and combine Sand with Carbon at about 2500–3000 K for Silicon.
What unlocks Ta and Nb?
The Columbite plus HF pathway after Sulfuric Acid and Fluorite chemistry are online.
How do I get noble gases quickly?
You do not pick them like Copper. Build Cooling Element structures and run cooling arrays.