Shaker Guide

The first gold machine in Sandustry — a Tier 1 building that turns Wet Sand into Residue with a 25% chance to extract Gold. Here is how it works and how to lay it out properly.

Overview

Shakers are the first way to obtain Gold. Drop Wet Sand on top: every pixel always becomes Residue, and one in four also drops a Gold that falls through the machine and out the bottom. Everything that is not Gold stays on top until it is pushed off the side.

Research: Tier 1 — 20 Gold ("Unlocks the Shaker, which can separate Gold and Residue from Wet Sand.")
Input: Wet Sand (dropped on top)
Outputs: Residue (always) + Gold (25% chance, falls through)

How It Works

Each Wet Sand will always turn into a Residue but only has a 1/4 chance to also drop a Gold. The only solid pixel that can pass through the Shaker is Gold — everything else rests on top.

The Shaker has a built-in conveyor: Residue is very slowly pushed off the top, like a Conveyor Belt. If you drag non-gold material into the body of the machine, it becomes trapped until you remove it manually.

Current Mechanic and Version Boundary

The live official Shaker and Wet Sand pages checked August 24, 2026 agree on Residue plus an exact one-in-four Gold chance. This replaces the 2025 demo wording that used Slag and a 20–25% range. Official v0.5.4 and v0.5.5 notes do not identify a Shaker change, so the current wiki rule is used without claiming a specific patch introduced it.

The Diagonal Staircase Layout

Because Shakers push Residue along extremely slowly, the official wiki recommends placing them in a downward diagonal from your Wet Sand supply. Wet Sand is denser than Residue, so as you pour more in, it flows down the staircase and settles on each Shaker in a thin layer — raising the Residue to the top, where it flows on toward your output. A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt-lWz4TqCU&t=186s">current compact-layout demonstration</a> also shows that the long diagonal is not the only workable geometry: preserve useful contact/travel length, test with real Wet Sand, then tile the verified module.

Troubleshooting

Residue is not leaving the top

Check the Shaker facing direction and give the output side free space. The built-in push is officially described as very slow; a downward diagonal lets denser Wet Sand raise lighter Residue toward that output.

Material is trapped inside the Shaker

The official Tips section warns that mouse-dragging non-Gold into the machine body traps it. Remove the material manually and feed Wet Sand from the top instead.

Gold output looks inconsistent

Gold is a per-pixel one-in-four chance, not one guaranteed Gold for every four consecutive pixels. The official sources do not publish the RNG sequence, interval or short-run variance.

Data Table

Field	Value
Research cost	20 Gold (Tier 1)
Input	Wet Sand
Output — always	1 Residue per Wet Sand
Output — chance	1 Gold (25% / one in four)
Passes through	Gold only
Built-in conveyor	Yes — pushes Residue off the top (very slow)

Shaker FAQ

What does one Wet Sand pixel produce?

It always becomes one Residue and independently has a one-in-four chance to also produce one Gold.

What material can pass through a Shaker?

Gold is the only solid pixel the official page says passes through and exits below; other material remains above or can become trapped if dragged into the body.

Is the old Slag and 20–25% description current?

No. It is demo-era wording. The current official pages use Residue and a specific 25% or one-in-four Gold chance.

Sources & Freshness

This machine starts your whole gold loop

The Residue the Shaker produces is not waste — burn it into Burnt Residue and press it in a Kinetic Press for guaranteed Gold and Seeds. A Shaker line feeding a burner feeding a press is the core Sandustry factory.

Next Steps

Kinetic Press Guide

Turn the Residue chain into guaranteed Gold.

Gold Production

The full loop with ratios and layouts.

Need Help?

Just getting started? Beginner Guide