How to Automate Mining with the Anvil Cart and Piston Cart

Anvil Cart

The Anvil Cart is a minecart that carries an anvil. Push it along rails and it can flatten or damage entities in its path — useful for mob farms where you want a moving damage source, or for crushing items on a track. Place it on rails and give it a push; it behaves like a normal minecart but with the anvil's weight and effects.

Piston Cart

The Piston Cart carries a piston that fires as the cart moves. Combined with the Piston Minecart Controller Rail, you can trigger the piston at specific points on your track. This is the core of automated mining or block-breaking setups.

Building a Mining Setup

1. Lay a rail line through the area you want to affect.

2. Place a Piston Minecart Controller Rail at the point where the piston should fire.

3. Put the Piston Cart on the rails and give it momentum.

4. When the cart passes the controller rail, the piston extends, breaking or pushing blocks.

Tips

• Use Reinforced Piston Minecart Controller Rail for tracks that see heavy traffic.
• Pair with hoppers under the track to collect drops.
• Test your timing on a short loop before building a long line.