How to unlock the Grinder in Lightyear Frontier

Finding resources in Lightyear Frontier is one thing, but breaking down your existing materials to make flashier and shinier resources is my cup of tea, and unlocking the Grinder in Lightyear Frontier will do just this.

The joy of Lightyear Frontier is the adulation as you finally gather enough resources to access your next big-time piece of machinery. Whether it’s an upgrade for your mech or a new contraption designed to speed up crafting, everything matters—which is where the Grinder comes into the equation.

The Grinder can turn unwanted resources into new and better resources, so let’s find out how to obtain this handy piece of machinery.

How to make a Grinder in Lightyear Frontier

The Grinder can be unlocked and made in Lightyear Frontier using 12 Stone, four Copper Wire, and four Aluminum Rods, using the game’s build function, after first restoring the Edge Cliffs region.

You need to advance through the first few hours of Lightyear Frontier until you get to the point of being able to craft the Grinder—as it’s not an immediate feature. However, its access depends on how quickly you venture out and restore the land as it’s available once you complete the “Restore the Edge Cliffs” objective.

Here’s a complete guide to the Grinder and unlocking it:

1. Head to the south of the map once you’ve rebuilt the mech and use the Irrigation Hose to get rid of Noxious Slime around the Edge Cliffs.
2. Each time you run out of water, find your nearest source of water, equip the Vacuum Harvester, and suck up water until the supply is full.
3. Once you’ve got rid of all the slime, the game indicates that you have 100% cleared the area of Noxious Slime and restored it.
4. Now, go to sleep or wait for a day to pass.
5. The day after, Copper Ore should now appear in the Edge Cliffs area for you to harvest.
6. Collect at least eight Copper Ore and also stock up on 12 Stone and four Aluminum Rods.
7. Go back to your base, and use the Assembler to turn two Copper Ore into one Copper Wire, and repeat this there times.
8. Then, open the Build menu, and select the Grinder—remember, it requires 12 Stone, four Copper Wire, and four Aluminum Rods.
9. Build it, and you now have access to the Grinder.

Once you’ve assembled the Grinder in Lightyear Frontier, you can now break down existing resources and make entirely new ones out of them. For example, one Stone can be ground down into Stone Dust, or a Red Crystal turns into Red Crystal Dust, and so forth.