It depends on what kind of factory system you're talking about. If you're talking about a factory with a set income, giving you x/hour indefinitely, then that would screw up the economy really badly. If you're talking about a factory that you gather materials for, then why not just have a workbench like in Terraria? No need to go through all the factory construction and stuff, just build the item and sell it to a vendor. Of course, you can devise a tycoon-like economy, but unless the Devs are going to incorporate a massive economic system, then I don't think that's gonna happen.
But idea of taking time for something to craft is good. For example you have 400 sand blocks and you want 200 glass blocks, you go to your factory, put there all 400 sand blocks, and the factory with production speed of 20 glass blocks/minute starts to work. And viola within 10 minutes you will get your 200 blocks of glass.
I like the idea of mass production, but I agree with the guy who said it's not something that should really be 'Early Game' material. Factories are a big deal. They require materials, labor, and a lot of both. They require someone calling the shots who KNOWS what will sell, and at the very least a reliable buyer to sell the product you're producing. Factories aren't the kind of thing you use to supply ONE person. Factories are the kind of thing you build when you're in the business of quantity. No one Starbound voyager is going to need five thousand suits of protective body armor. But someone running a Security Company might. Some planets with law enforcement agencies might. Some pirates and mercenaries might be looking to buy in bulk. This is where factories shine. Whereas a small factory, such as the one on your station, might be capable of keeping your CREW outfitted... the idea of building a planet-side (or in my case 'Orbital') factory and assembly structure isn't about keeping a single person or group supplied. It's about producing a large amount in an efficient amount of time, for the purpose of selling to distributors and retailers. And I, for one, really hope that this game has a rich economy. Terraria's biggest flaw (obviously, the comparison is because of their many similarities and a shared developer) for me was that there was a clear, linear progression of equipment... and once you had 'the best', there was never any reason to use anything less. Which is a shame. There's no such thing as 'the best' in life. It's always a give-or-take between what effects and abilities will win out on a situation-by-situation basis. I'm hoping that this is something that is remedied here in Starbound. Otherwise, crafting overall will become rather boring and linear quite quickly.
You all have good points, but when I talk about a factory, I more mean a specialized work place where you can craft special gear. Simply put, one does not simply craft a high-precision plasma rifle on an anvil.
Factory - is for mass production, in case if you have army of mercs/player to invade planet. Workshop - is for creation of one-time difficult prototype items like High-Precision Plasma Rifle.
That is an excellent point, in which case you might wind up using a factory on a populated, industrialized world in place of a workshop.
