How does the splitter work?

How do I build a 1-to-5 balancer?

You do not place one magic block. The pages describe chaining 1-to-2 splits: two outputs, then those outputs split again. A 1-to-4 is two layers. A 1-to-5 is the same idea with a loop or a merger pulling a belt back so five consumers each see a share. I have not found a diagram with measured item timing, so I will not publish a tick count. The question 'why is there no divider' is answered by the missing part: the splitter is the divider.

Mergers are the opposite port, joining belts. They snap port to port with splitters. If a line looks uneven, check that every output arrow actually enters a machine and not the ground. Item speed through the splitter is asked often and is not given a separate meters-per-second on top of the belt's 1.1. I assume, and I label this as an assumption, that the piece does not add its own pace. The assumption is not a measurement.

What I would not automate yet

Priority split, filtered split, and overflow split are words from other factory games. They are not columns on this wiki row. If your sand and dust need different destinations, use two belts from two Packagers rather than a filter this menu does not list. The $5 price makes experiments cheap. The footprint is 2.45 by 3.34 meters and 1.21 meters tall, large enough to block a curve if you drop it on an existing arrow.