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Running a workshop inMy Time at Sandrockis tough work, but when you first move to town and take over for Mason, the old builder, the gear he leaves behind is a bit basic. It works for the first few tasks you’ll handle after moving to Sandrock, but to really improve the town, you’ll need to improve your machines.
With the help of Qi over at the Research Center and a steady supply of resources, you’ll be on your way to dramatically improving your machines. Draw up some blueprints, get to crafting, and ramp up your Workshop’s production output.
Updated on July 05, 2025:As we press further into My Time at Sandrock and hear what you’re searching for in the game, we’ve updated our Machines guide for Sandrock to include which machine makes which materials. Now, you’ll find full tables that include which items each new machine upgrade is able to make, as well as the resources you’ll need to make each one.
Discover New Upgrade Prototypes At The Research Center
Once you’ve unearthed a number ofData Discsfrom the Abandoned Ruins on your mining expeditions (or bought them from Rocky at Eufala Salvage), you canhead to the Research Centerlocated in central Sandrock.
Here,Qiis the head researcher, and either byspeaking to Qiand choosing thedisc-shaped optionin dialogue with him or byinteracting with the machine in the lab, you’re able toresearch new machine upgradesthroughout My Time at Sandrock.
We’ve got a full breakdown of the costs to research everythingin another guide, butyou can’t build a new upgrade without first prototyping the build at the Research Center. Even if you have all the materials, you’ll need the actual blueprint, too.
New research is consistently available and blueprints take a few days to get back, soplan aheadon what you need to upgrade next and ask Qi to get into researching it for you. He’llmail you the blueprintafter a few days when he’s finished, and you may get started from there.
You can, however, anticipate what you’ll need and stash it in storage until you’re ready to upgrade.
Your builder will pull materials directly from storage when performing the update, so you don’t even need to worry about putting them into your inventory for the build, either.
Each higher-level machine can build everything from the machine before it, plus additional components. For example, the Civil Recycler can produce everything the regular Recycler can, but with a few new kinds of scrap as well.
Upgrade An Existing Machine, Or Build A Better One From Scratch
Once you’ve finished prototyping a new machine upgrade in My Time at Sandrock, the improved machine will belogged in your Handbookand can then beput onto the Assembly Stationto get started.
To do so,interact with your Assembly Stationand scroll through your blueprints until you’ve found the advanced recipe. You’ll see the full recipe breakdown on the page before being allowed tobegin making the recipeon the Assembly Station.
From here, the machine upgrade is built like any other blueprint - bymanually assemblingthe pieces on the transparent outline of the finished product.
On the other hand, if youalready have a basic version of what you’re upgrading, you can also choose to simplyupgrade that machineinstead of building an entirely new one.
Just be aware thatthe resources you’ll need are different for upgrades and fresh builds. Upgrades will require smaller components on the whole, it seems.
If you’d prefer to upgrade your machine, simplyinteract with the machineyou’re trying to improve and tab over to the icon on the very top of the screen that looks likean oval with two dots, and an upward-facing arrow.
This is theupgrade screen, where you can seewhat changes with the upgradeas well as the resources you’ll need to upgrade it from the existing one.
The icon with the arrow will feature moving orange upward-facing arrows when you’ve currently got every resource you need to upgrade, but it will be flat gray if not.
With this method of upgrading your machines,the machine upgrades automatically. After confirming that you’d like to expend the resources, the menu will close and the upgraded machine will be sitting exactly where the base model had been.
Every Machine Upgrade And Which Component It Produces
Below, we’ve cataloged every machine upgrade in My Time at Sandrock. This includeswhich materials each machine can make, as well aswhichmaterials you’ll need to craft everything.
Anything marked withan asteriskin the item name is something whose recipe must bepurchased in book formbefore you may use it.
We’ve opted to omit the Cooking Stations, though, as this is covered in our Cooking Guide.
3 MagnesiumOre
Silver Wire
1 Silver Ingot
*! You need to buy the Iron Latch recipe from the Commerce Guild before you’re able to craft it at your Civil Grinder, but there’s a bug that prevents the book from showing up when it should. It seems to unlock after you’ve fixed the water tower as part of the main story.
Nanomaterials
Nanotubes
Upgrading your machines in My Time at Sandrock may take some time, but upgrading them is essential to producing more advanced materials throughout the story.
