Why does my deep drill only make chunks in RimWorld?

The local DeepDrill def says it yields stone chunks if no resources are present. If chunks start coming out, the drill is no longer covering the buried deposit.

Do deep drills use Mining or Research work?

Deep drills use Mining work. Ground-penetrating scanners use Research work.

Can mechs operate deep drills or scanners in RimWorld 1.6?

Not in the local Core WorkGiver defs. Both Drill and scanner work givers set canBeDoneByMechs to false.

Can you put a scanner or deep drill on a bridge?

A standard bridge only provides Light affordance. Deep drills need Light, so they can sit on bridges. Ground-penetrating scanners need Heavy, so bridges do not support them.

How to Use Deep Drill in RimWorld (1.6) | Safe Setup + Planner

Patch-Aware 1.6 • Core Def Planner

How To Use Deep Drill In RimWorld Without Wasting Power, Time, Or Pawns

Research DeepDrilling and GroundPenetratingScanner, place the scanner unroofed on heavy-support terrain, overlap the deep drill radius with the buried deposit, then keep Research and Mining split across the right pawns. This page is built around local Core defs for costs, power draw, work types, infestation timing, and deep resource lump values, with 1.6 patch-aware notes where players keep getting tripped up.

Deep drill: 100 steel + 2 comps • 200W • 2.6-tile radius

Ground scanner: 150 steel + 4 comps + 1 adv • 700W • 3d MTB / 6d guaranteed

Work split: drill = Mining • scanner = Research • both no mechs

Quick-Fix Flow: First Working Drill In 5 Steps

Research The Chain

DeepDrilling costs 1000. GroundPenetratingScanner also costs 1000 and requires deep drilling first.

Place Scanner Right

The scanner is 3x3, must stay unroofed, and needs Heavy support terrain, not a wood bridge.

Drop The Drill

The drill only needs Light terrain, so bridge placements work. Keep its 2.6 radius on the deposit and leave the interaction tile clear.

Use The Right Pawn

Scanners are Research jobs. Drills are Mining jobs. If a pawn priorities are wrong, the setup looks “broken” even when placement is fine.

Plan Bugs Early

Base drill infestation pressure is 20 days MTB per active drill before the storyteller factor. Use the slider instead of guessing.

Placement & Coverage Blueprint

Scanner + Drill overlap Keep the green cells inside the drill radius. When the drill falls off the deposit, the local def says it falls back to stone chunks.

Bridge edge case Bridge gives Light terrain affordance, so the drill can go here. The scanner cannot, because it needs Heavy.

Exact Placement Rules

Deep Drill1x1 footprint, 1 interaction tile, Light support

Scanner3x3 footprint, front interaction tile, Heavy support

Roof RulecanBeUsedUnderRoof=false on the ground scanner

Display RadiusspecialDisplayRadius=2.6 on the deep drill

If you can place a drill but not a scanner, the terrain support difference is usually the reason.
If you can place the scanner but it never works, check for a roof first.
If placement fails around rivers, use the scanner on shore and the drill on the bridge tile if the deposit crosses water.

Patch-Aware 1.6 Notes

Sea ice: on 1.6 it behaves like the no-bedrock scanner exception, so ground scanning there is the main break from the normal loop.
Chunks on purpose: if you are off-deposit, the drill can be used as a controlled chunk source for nearby stonecutting.
Mechs: the local Drill and GroundPenetratingScan work givers both set canBeDoneByMechs=false.
Work priorities: scanner time competes with other Research jobs, while the drill competes with wall mining and chunk cleanup.

Drill Planner & Resource Portions (Core 1.6)

Resource

Deposits found

Lump size

Active drills

ResearchSpeed

Deep drilling infestations slider

100%

Yield Estimate—

Core Build Budget—

Scanner ETA—

Bug Pressure—

Work Split—

Placement Reminder—

Resource	Per Portion	Lump Size	Deep Commonality
Steel	45	20-30	4
Plasteel	10	2-10	1
Silver	70	2-10	0.5
Uranium	15	4-10	1
Gold	8	1-4	0.5
Jade	15	1-4	0.5

Planner assumptions: one ground scanner is included in the budget, scanner timing scales with ResearchSpeed, and lump output uses each resource's local deepCountPerPortion and deepLumpSizeRange.

Troubleshooting Matrix: 10 Fast Fixes

Symptom	Likely Cause	Fix
Only chunks coming out	The drill is no longer on the deposit.	Move it back so the `2.6` radius covers the scanned cells again.
Scanner shows nothing	No power or a roof above the scanner.	Restore power and unroof it. The local scanner def explicitly disallows roofed use.
Scanner will not place on water	It needs `Heavy` terrain support.	Put the scanner on shore or real flooring, not on a standard bridge.
Drill will not place near river	Interaction spot is blocked or the target tile has no valid support.	Rotate it, clear the front tile, and remember the drill only needs `Light`, not `Heavy`.
Pawns ignore the drill	Mining priority is too low or another Mining job wins.	Set Mining high and strip out competing quarry, chunk, or wall orders.
Research pawn ignores scanner	Scanner work is under Research, not Mining.	Raise Research priority or free that pawn from benches and papers.
Trying to use tunnelers	The work givers disallow mechs for both scanner and drill jobs.	Keep a human researcher and human miner on the loop.
Bugs keep spawning too often	Too many active drills or a high storyteller factor.	Reduce active drills, wire flick switches, or lower the slider before you scale.
Need plasteel or gold fast	Ground scanner cannot target a specific ore.	Use long-range mineral scanner for targetable off-map lumps instead.
Sea ice colony feels blocked	1.6 scanning behavior on no-bedrock biomes is the exception.	Rely on trade, long-range finds, or already-found nodes instead of expecting a normal scanner loop.

Useful Links & Optional Mod Lane

Open In This Site's Wiki

Jump straight to the objects that define placement, work, and scanning.

Deep Drill Ground Scanner Long-Range Scanner

Follow-Up Guides

Use the drill loop where it matters most: steel, plasteel, and chunk supply chains.

Steel Plasteel Stone Blocks

Optional Mod Lane

Clear non-vanilla picks players usually want after the basic loop feels solved.

Drill Until Better Ground Scanner Deep Drill QoL Packs

Fast FAQ

Do I need a scanner every time? You need one to reveal fresh buried deposits. The planner budget assumes one active ground scanner in the colony.
Why do I get chunks instead of ore? The local DeepDrill def says chunks are the fallback when no resource is present under the drill.
Can I put the scanner on a bridge? No. Standard bridge only grants Light, while the scanner requires Heavy.
Can I put the drill on a bridge? Yes, because the drill only needs Light support.
Why do pawns walk to the wrong bench? Scanner work pulls from Research priority. Drill work pulls from Mining priority.
How do I hard-stop drill bugs? Set the storyteller factor to 0%. The range input above mirrors the same logic instead of burying it in prose.

Exact Source Files

The numbers and job logic on this page are grounded in local RimWorld files, not guessed.

ResearchProjectDefs/ResearchProjects_3_Microelectronics.xml
  DeepDrilling: baseCost 1000
  GroundPenetratingScanner: baseCost 1000, prerequisite DeepDrilling
  LongRangeMineralScanner: baseCost 2000

ThingDefs_Buildings/Buildings_Production.xml
  DeepDrill: 100 steel, 2 components, 200W, construction 4
  specialDisplayRadius 2.6
  terrainAffordanceNeeded Light
  interactionCellOffset (0,0,-1)

ThingDefs_Buildings/Buildings_Misc.xml
  GroundPenetratingScanner: 150 steel, 4 components, 1 advanced, 700W
  scanFindMtbDays 3, scanFindGuaranteedDays 6
  canBeUsedUnderRoof false
  terrainAffordanceNeeded Heavy

WorkGiverDefs/WorkGivers.xml
  Drill: workType Mining, canBeDoneByMechs false
  GroundPenetratingScan: workType Research, canBeDoneByMechs false

Storyteller/Storytellers.xml
  StorytellerCompProperties_DeepDrillInfestation: baseMtbDaysPerDrill 20

Misc/DifficultyDefs/Difficulties.xml
  deepDrillInfestationChanceFactor:
  Peaceful 0, Builder 0.25, Adventure 0.75, Rough 1, Blood 1.1, LIF 1.3

ThingDefs_Items/Items_Resource_Stuff.xml
  Steel: 45 per portion, 20~30 lump size, commonality 4
  Plasteel: 10 per portion, 2~10 lump size, commonality 1
  Silver: 70 per portion, 2~10 lump size, commonality 0.5
  Uranium: 15 per portion, 4~10 lump size, commonality 1
  Gold: 8 per portion, 1~4 lump size, commonality 0.5
  Jade: 15 per portion, 1~4 lump size, commonality 0.5

TerrainDefs/Terrain_Foundation.xml
  Bridge affordance: Light only