How to Craft Proto Armor
Prepare the Components
Proto Armor is a lighter build than Magitek Armor and uses its own dedicated parts. You need a Proto Armor Chassis and a Proto Armor Leg. Both are shaped recipes that consume Iron Gears, so smelt and craft enough Iron Gears before you start. Keep an Iron Wrench in your inventory as the working tool for these recipes.
Build and Deploy
Craft the Proto Armor Chassis first, then craft the Proto Armor Leg. With both parts in your inventory, combine the Proto Armor Chassis and the Proto Armor Leg in a crafting grid to produce the Proto Armor. Place the finished Proto Armor to deploy it. Because Proto Armor uses fewer components than Magitek Armor, it is the faster build to reach when you are short on Iron Gears. If the final combine fails, check that you crafted the Proto Armor Leg and not a Magitek Armor Leg, as the two are separate items and do not substitute for each other.