REDSTONEPEDIA › Circuits › Piston extenders

Piston extender

reach 5 · 31 blocks

Turn the input on and a block is pushed 5 blocks out; turn it off and the block comes back exactly where it was. It goes out in 50 ticks (2.5 s) and comes back in 55 ticks (2.75 s).

fits in 15×4×1

has its own lever

reach 5Piston extender3D view loading (or not available in this browser)

Every size 11

The best design for each size: pick one to see it.

sizeblocksnumbers
reach 28 blocksout in 9 ticks (0.45 s), back in 9 ticks (0.45 s)
reach 318 blocksout in 27 ticks (1.35 s), back in 27 ticks (1.35 s)
reach 422 blocksout in 38 ticks (1.9 s), back in 38 ticks (1.9 s)
reach 5 (this page)31 blocksout in 50 ticks (2.5 s), back in 55 ticks (2.75 s)
reach 637 blocksout in 59 ticks (2.95 s), back in 63 ticks (3.15 s)
reach 744 blocksout in 70 ticks (3.5 s), back in 76 ticks (3.8 s)
reach 852 blocksout in 87 ticks (4.35 s), back in 95 ticks (4.75 s)
reach 959 blocksout in 94 ticks (4.7 s), back in 104 ticks (5.2 s)
reach 1069 blocksout in 107 ticks (5.35 s), back in 119 ticks (5.95 s)
reach 1175 blocksout in 123 ticks (6.15 s), back in 135 ticks (6.75 s)
reach 1282 blocksout in 127 ticks (6.35 s), back in 145 ticks (7.25 s)

Try it

Flip the lever marked IN (or tap IN under the view): turn it on and watch the block go 5 blocks out; turn it off and it comes back. Press play under the view to watch a demo on a loop; touch any other control to take over.

How this design does it: Pushes a block out five cells from a one-block-wide wall, 31 blocks in a 15x4 box: a line of five sticky pistons with a slime block between each pair; each piston fires itself whenever it is moved (an observer rides on top of the slime behind it), and the blocks on the two rows above, run by a chain from the lever, start each wave of pushes (out) or grabs (back).

Build it

Download .litematic Download the design as text

The .litematic opens in Litematica (Minecraft 26.3): every block of the design in one region. The text file is the same build written as plain text, block by block.

Blocks used: gold block observer piston repeater slime block sticky piston

Details: how it works, measurements and properties

In depth

Turning the input on pushes a block 5 cells out of the machine; turning it off brings the block back exactly where it was, with nothing left behind. A plain piston only reaches 1.

Extending takes 50 ticks (2.5 s), retracting 55 ticks (2.75 s).

How to try it

Press play under the view to watch the demo on a loop (the badge reads demo with the step it is on; the same sequence is drawn as a timing diagram below). Touch any control to stop it and try the circuit yourself.

To try it: click the lever tagged IN (or the IN button of the bar) to switch it on or off.

Inputs and output over time

The input follows this schedule (the 3D view's demo plays the same). Lime: an input is on; orange: the output is on (taller = a stronger signal, 1 to 15). Blue: where the pushed block is, 0 = home, up to N = fully out (the dashed line); it must reach N while the input is on and come all the way back. Time runs left to right in game ticks (20 ticks = 1 s).

cycle 1cycle 2cycle 3flip 20flip 16flip 12flip 10flip 8flip 6flip 5flip 4reflip 20reflip 16reflip 12reflip 10reflip 8reflip 6reflip 5reflip 4after flipsINPAYLOAD5N = 5ticks4017030043056069082095010801210134014701600173018601990212022502380251026402770290030303160

Swipe the diagram sideways: the whole sequence lasts 3242 ticks (2 min 42.1 s).

PAYLOAD: out to N = 5 in 50 ticks (2.5 s), back in 55 ticks (2.75 s).

Step by step (5 lines)
cycle 1: extended at +50 ticks (2.5 s), restored 55 ticks (2.75 s) after the off edge
cycle 2: extended at +50 ticks (2.5 s), restored 55 ticks (2.75 s) after the off edge
cycle 3: extended at +50 ticks (2.5 s), restored 55 ticks (2.75 s) after the off edge
flip 20: on 20 ticks (1 s) then off: the rest state does not come back (left: [3, 1, 0] slime_block, [3, 2, 0] observer[facing=up,powered=false], [4, 1, 0] sticky_piston[extended=false,facing=east])
after flips: a full cycle fails

Measurements

metricvaluewhat it means
N5the reach: how many cells the block is pushed out
extend50 ticks (2.5 s)game ticks from switching the input on until the block is fully out
retract55 ticks (2.75 s)game ticks from switching the input off until the block is back

Notes from its designer

Pushes a block out five cells from a one-block-wide wall, 31 blocks in a 15x4 box: a line of five sticky pistons with a slime block between each pair; each piston fires itself whenever it is moved (an observer rides on top of the slime behind it), and the blocks on the two rows above, run by a chain from the lever, start each wave of pushes (out) or grabs (back).

Properties

StudyPiston extenders
KindPiston extender
Blocks placed31
Box15×4×1 (60 blocks of space)
Made of (the blocks that change state)gold block, observer, piston, repeater, slime block, sticky piston
Inputs / outputsIN (lever) (no output: it moves blocks)
Flagsits own lever as the input
Design filepext-n5-flat-cascade31-15x4

The design file

on GitHub

Design file (31 lines)
# Piston extender: reach 5 · 31 blocks
# https://vjeux.github.io/redstonepedia/circuits/pext/pext-n5-flat-cascade31-15x4.html
name: pext-n5-flat-cascade31-15x4
circuit: piston-extender 5
travel: 1 0 0
port input: 13 3 0 lever
port payload: 10 1 0
origin: 1 0 0
palette:
  A minecraft:observer[facing=up,powered=false]
  B minecraft:observer[facing=west,powered=false]
  C minecraft:sticky_piston[extended=false,facing=up]
  D minecraft:sticky_piston[extended=false,facing=west]
  G minecraft:gold_block
  L minecraft:lever[face=wall,facing=east,powered=false]
  O minecraft:observer[facing=down,powered=false]
  P minecraft:piston[extended=false,facing=east]
  R minecraft:repeater[delay=2,facing=east,locked=false,powered=false]
  S minecraft:slime_block
  o minecraft:observer[facing=east,powered=false]
  p minecraft:piston[extended=false,facing=west]
  r minecraft:repeater[delay=4,facing=east,locked=false,powered=false]
  s minecraft:sticky_piston[extended=false,facing=east]
layer 1:
  sSsSsSsSsG
layer 2:
  .A.B.A.A
layer 3:
  A.ACA.A..p.pL
layer 4:
  rSo.Roo.PDoO