Ammo Press

The ammo press is a machine that can be used to create ammunition upon completion of the quest Free Labor in the Fallout 3 add-on The Pitt. Access is given by either Werhner or Ashur.

Located overlooking The Pitt, the ammo press consists of a terminal used to operate the machine and a materials box at the bottom of the stairs where ammunition or scrap metal is placed. The amount of ammunition you receive depends on how much ammunition/scrap metal is inserted into the machine. There is a helpful table below that gives several examples.

Since 5mm cartridges are the most common in quantity, they are the most useful for use in the Ammo press as cartridges stocked will produce the value of cartridges divided by the value of the desired ammunition; for e.g. the player might have 4,254 5mm cartridges, using all these in the press will produce up to 2,127 10mms. This can be very useful instead of using scrap metal, since the value variable of scrap metal is 20 and 5mm is worth 1.

Any variety of conventional ammunition can be placed in the materials box, from 5mm round ammunition to .44 magnum. Once placed in the materials box, the ammunition inside can be melted down and re-shaped by the ammo press into any other variety of conventional ammunition by the terminal.

The ammo press makes outdated ammunition from the early game (10mm or .32 caliber, for example) into more useful ammunition used later in the game. It also makes ammunition not commonly used (for example, 5mm rounds not used by a Small Guns character) somewhat more useful than simply selling it. Unfortunately, the press is unable to create any energy weapon ammunition, only conventional ammunition.

In order to make ammunition, unused ammunition or scrap metal must be loaded into the materials bin. The bin is a rectangular box with a large X located at the front base of the press that is closest to the Ammunition Mill terminal. Once loaded, return to the computer to select the desired ammunition. After making your selection, return to the bin and retrieve your new ammunition.

The ammo press, combined with The Outcast Collection Agent quest, means player can build up a considerable amount of any type of conventional ammunition by simply farming Enclave outposts for weapons and power armor, and trading the hardware in for 5.56mm ammunition. The 5.56mm ammunition can then be recalibrated in the ammo press into new ammunition. Combined with the perk, Scrounger, it makes making ammo much easier.

Note: Any material may be loaded into the bin, but only scrap metal and conventional ammunition will be converted into new ammunition, the rest will simply remain in the bin unchanged.

Value table
To calculate how much ammunition of a given type the Press will produce, use the table to the right. For every kind of ammunition or scrap metal in the hopper, multiply its quantity by its value in the table, and add the resulting values up to get the total value of metal in the hopper. Then divide by the value of the type of ammunition you are pressing, rounding down; this is the number of cartridges the Press will make.

Formula

 * n= Number of Units Placed Into Hopper
 * v= Value of Individual Unit of Type That was Placed Into Hopper
 * p= Value of Individual Unit of Same Type as Intended Product
 * t= Total Number of Intended Product Capable of Being Made
 * (nv)/(p)=t
 * In Scenario In Which Multiple Types of Items Are Placed Into Bin at Same Time Use the Following Formula
 * s= Sum of all type's values times the number of each placed in hopper.
 * Example. 2 types of items place in bin would use (nv)+(nv)=s
 * s/p=t
 * Example. 2 types of items place in bin would use (nv)+(nv)=s
 * s/p=t

Example
Pressing scrap metal into 5.56mm rounds. If you have 10 units of scrap metal in the hopper, its value is 10 × 20 = 200 units. Pressing this into 5.56mm rounds gives 200 / 3 = 66.7 cartridges, which rounds down to 66. So pressing 10 scrap metal into 5.56mm rounds will make 66 cartridges. If you wanted to make .44 rounds instead, you could turn the same 10 scrap metal into thirteen .44 rounds (200 / 15 = 13.33, which rounds to 13). Meaning 15 5mm rounds can be transformed into one .44 round and vice versa, however 14 5mm rounds will get you 0 .44 rounds resulting in a complete loss of your 14 cartridges.

Replenish Depleted Ammunition - See the above example. Use debris ammunition to accumulate desired Ammunition type. For Best Results, First convert undesired ammunition into 5mm Ammunition. Then, keeping the Press Value in mind, go ahead with Conversion. In the above example, Convert 10Scrap into 200 5mm rounds. Now, we know .44 costs 15. So, use a multiple of 15 to maximize production. i.e., Press 195 (15*13=195) 5mm rounds to get 13 .44 and have remaining 5 5mm rounds as spare. If you had used Scrap to press directly, those five 5mm rounds would have been lost!

The 30-3 Rule - To prevent you from losing ammo through conversion you can follow this easy to remember rule of thumb. Only insert ammo in multiples of 30 and scrap metal in multiples of 3. Doing so won't waste any ammo as the press value's lowest common multiple across all ammo types is 30 (with scrap metal the press value's LCM is 60 which requires 3 scrap metal). Following this rule will allow you to change any ammo type into any other type without fear of wasting any potential rounds and is easier than remembering the entire value table.

Best Value for Money - Press any Ammunition into 5mm Ammunition, and sell it. Then, buy your required ammunition from Merchants (at Rivet City/Paradise Falls/Tenpenny Tower/Evergreen Mills/Lucky Harith). For best results, use .44 magnum to press into 5mm rounds.

^Pressing scrap metal into 5mm rounds will pay double of what Walter in Megaton gives you. But, you lose on Good Karma value, and freebies available with it from Megaton settler.

With 90 Barter skill a person can buy .44 Ammunition for 2 caps, press it into 15.5 caps worth of 5mm ammunition meaning 13.5 profit from every 2 caps invested in .44 ammunition.