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The Eldar trade, and resources are important to them. Yet we don't have much background on their infrastructure other than vague mentions of "psychoplastics". What do they use for glass? What do they use for fabric, or armour plating? Do they use metals in construction other than for blades? Where do they get these resources? Do they mine them? How are the raw materials processed, and who does it? If we assume that they make great use of advanced plastics (ie "psychoplastic" means "advanced polymers that are designed to react with psychic pressure"), this means they require certain elements, like carbon (or silicon), a lot of which they can get in high quantities from space. We can assume that they are extremely efficient at processing such things, and a lot of the workflow would be automated.

We know that Wraithbone isn't their only material (it seems to be to the Eldar what ceramite or adamantium is to the Imperium), and the "calling it into being" is questionable, as we know they don't have unlimited access to it; plus, spontaneous generation of matter via the Warp is never so stable in the rest of the entire setting (Daemonic Instability, whereas Warp-changed realstuff is stable). Being shaped by psychic pressure is one thing, but being entirely called into existence from nothingness opens up a whole lot of problems. I would love for Wraithbone to be grown like crystal, perhaps in chambers similar to those for Markers in Dead Space 2 (of which there are no good images, it seems).

Then we have manufacture and engineering. Do we know anything about how they produce/assemble their technology? Do they have engineers other than Bonesingers, and how do they work? What is the Eldar equivalent to this, or this? They must have some form of factory complex, which undoubtedly looks like a work of art.

What do they use for power sources (if it's just "the Warp", then they must have some limited method of drawing it in, or else they could just project battleship-scale power from infantry weapons)? Are there any fluff examples of batteries, reactors, generators, etc? Preferably ones with more relevance to modern depictions of the Eldar, as opposed to say, Battlefleet Gothic. Their power and energy weapons tend to have little bulbs that suggest a power source/battery, although I don't think there's any information on how they are recharged or their operational time (likely very long, knowing Eldar). They might use a form of compact fusion reactor (incidentally, like UC Mobile Suits) in their vehicles and constructs, knowing their advanced technology.

Long story short, I'd like as many fluff sources as I can get regarding these matters. I'm writing a lot of my own fluff anyway, but I want to try and fill in gaps rather than directly change things (unless they need changed).

EDIT: Forgot about the Necrons. So, not everything is Living Metal, exactly, and we know their machines have working parts. Do they build them somehow? Spyders suggest that they don't just materialise things like a Star Trek replicator, but do at least some work physically. Do they ever acquire new resources, or do they just recycle what they already have? They must have some manufacture capability, but how much, and with what?

From what I have read there are only 4 materials used, Wraithbone, Crystals, Spirit Stones and Iron

The iron is only found in the Avatar of Khaine, see codex Craftworlds

Spirit Stones are gathered from crone worlds by Wraithknights see codex Craftworlds

Crystals are grown, for Prism weaponry for Fire Prims, see codex Crafworlds

Wraithbone is basically what everything else is made of, I'm not sure how it starts but I know it is grown by Bonesingers who literally sing to it, as the name suggests.

Read the Path of the Eldar series, in the first book the main character is actually a sculptor and you will get a lot of good information about what they use in their day to day lives, there are also Bonesingers and a number of other different paths mentioned in the story

The Eldar trade, and resources are important to them. Yet we don't have much background on their infrastructure other than vague mentions of "psychoplastics". What do they use for glass? What do they use for fabric, or armour plating? Do they use metals in construction other than for blades? Where do they get these resources? Do they mine them? How are the raw materials processed, and who does it? If we assume that they make great use of advanced plastics (ie "psychoplastic" means "advanced polymers that are designed to react with psychic pressure"), this means they require certain elements, like carbon (or silicon), a lot of which they can get in high quantities from space. We can assume that they are extremely efficient at processing such things, and a lot of the workflow would be automated.

We know that Wraithbone isn't their only material (it seems to be to the Eldar what ceramite or adamantium is to the Imperium), and the "calling it into being" is questionable, as we know they don't have unlimited access to it; plus, spontaneous generation of matter via the Warp is never so stable in the rest of the entire setting (Daemonic Instability, whereas Warp-changed realstuff is stable). Being shaped by psychic pressure is one thing, but being entirely called into existence from nothingness opens up a whole lot of problems. I would love for Wraithbone to be grown like crystal, perhaps in chambers similar to those for Markers in Dead Space 2 (of which there are no good images, it seems).

I think the problem sometimes is that we want to apply our own idea about how Tech should work based upon our own current level. We want to believe that our way of creating things is the only way and that everyone else no matter how alien must have used the same methods that we ourselves employ. The Eldar tech in 40k is more or less space magic; to the Eldar art, nature and technology are one in the same, there is no difference in the Eldar mind between them that could distinguish one from the other. Pretty much the majority of the materials that they use to build and create are either grown or brought into existence by methods that are entirely alien to us. They do use materials that are more familiar to us like metals and glass but there is no need to mine or trade for them as whatever they need the Craftworld itself will provide (Let’s put it this way you can fit whole mountains, swamps or whole deserts within an Aspect shrine). Wraithbone itself is a psycho-plastic material and is indeed grown and as such is in no way a material in limited supply but it does require the psychic manipulations of the Bonesinger to make it into something useful.

Then we have manufacture and engineering. Do we know anything about how they produce/assemble their technology? Do they have engineers other than Bonesingers, and how do they work? What is the Eldar equivalent to this, or this? They must have some form of factory complex, which undoubtedly looks like a work of art.

I think the Path series of books goes into good detail about life upon a Craftworld and I would strongly recommend them if you really wanted to get a clearer idea about what their daily lives are like. Eldar society does not function the same way ours does as they do not have jobs (Nor money for that matter) only paths, such as the path of the poet or sculptor, there is even the Paths of service in which they dedicate themselves to the service of the other Eldar in order to teach themselves humility. Nor are they restricted to a single path as an Eldar can change their chosen path whenever they feel that they have learnt all they can from that particular aspect of life. To keep it simple it all depends upon what path an Eldar has chosen to follow at that time. Bonesingers are responsible for the creating and shaping of all the different psycho-plastic materials that are the foundation of all Eldar tech; for example they would construct the body of a Wraith construct but it would be those walking upon one of the paths of Vaul who would create and then install the constructs weapons.

What do they use for power sources (if it's just "the Warp", then they must have some limited method of drawing it in, or else they could just project battleship-scale power from infantry weapons)? Are there any fluff examples of batteries, reactors, generators, etc? Preferably ones with more relevance to modern depictions of the Eldar, as opposed to say, Battlefleet Gothic. Their power and energy weapons tend to have little bulbs that suggest a power source/battery, although I don't think there's any information on how they are recharged or their operational time (likely very long, knowing Eldar). They might use a form of compact fusion reactor (incidentally, like UC Mobile Suits) in their vehicles and constructs, knowing their advanced technology.

As for how they power their tech the simple answer is “Space Magic”. The long answer is not quit as simple, for example you could consider the Eldar Guardian themselves as the power source for their own weapons and armour. If an Eldar Guardian was to hand over their shuriken catapult to a human it wouldn’t work and would be little more than a pretty piece of sculptor but in the hands of an Eldar the catapult comes “alive” when it comes into contact with the Eldar’s psychic presence. The Path series has a Craftworld stop off at the nearest star in in order to soak up the solar energy like it’s some kind of monstrously large plant before it once again travels back into the void. And let’s not forget that the spirits within the infinity circuit also act as a form of power source.

Hope that's helpful.

For a species as psychically-advanced as the Eldar, I have no problem with them being able to conjure material directly out of the Warp that then takes on stable properties in physical space.

There are mentions of Scorpion Chainswords being diamond-tipped in the codexes, so they do use some minerals for certain things as well - but otherwise, they seem to be able to produce the majority of their resources pretty much from thin air. They're effectively post-scarcity in most regards, it seems.

There's no indication of what they use for energy generation anywhere, as far as I can tell, apart from that they've clearly mastered fusion. Then again, given that they're quite capable of converting energy from another dimension into matter, I lean toward the idea that psychic energy also provides their energy requirements, given how their vehicles and weapons' internal mechanisms work.

I think in the Path series Alaitoc itself is powering up from a nearby star so they use Solar.

Also a lot of their ships have solar sails too I believe?

The Solar Sails are primarily for propulsion, and the ships still function fine even when the sails are blown apart, so I don't think that's their primary method of ship-borne energy generation.

Necron Living Metal isn't actually any one particular material. Any material that the Necrons have made capable of self-repair, whether by it crawling with repair nanites or using a short temporal shift to bring an undamaged vesrsion of itself from the past etc, is defined as "Living Metal" (Necron codex pg 28).

Robin5t wrote:
There are mentions of Scorpion Chainswords being diamond-tipped in the codexes, so they do use some minerals for certain things as well - but otherwise, they seem to be able to produce the majority of their resources pretty much from thin air. They're effectively post-scarcity in most regards, it seems.

There's no indication of what they use for energy generation anywhere, as far as I can tell, apart from that they've clearly mastered fusion. Then again, given that they're quite capable of converting energy from another dimension into matter, I lean toward the idea that psychic energy also provides their energy requirements, given how their vehicles and weapons' internal mechanisms work.

When you've got sixty-plus million years to faff about with, you eventually construct enough additional pylons to do whatever it is you desire, and never need build another.

 Psienesis wrote:

Robin5t wrote:
There are mentions of Scorpion Chainswords being diamond-tipped in the codexes, so they do use some minerals for certain things as well - but otherwise, they seem to be able to produce the majority of their resources pretty much from thin air. They're effectively post-scarcity in most regards, it seems.

There's no indication of what they use for energy generation anywhere, as far as I can tell, apart from that they've clearly mastered fusion. Then again, given that they're quite capable of converting energy from another dimension into matter, I lean toward the idea that psychic energy also provides their energy requirements, given how their vehicles and weapons' internal mechanisms work.

When you've got sixty-plus million years to faff about with, you eventually construct enough additional pylons to do whatever it is you desire, and never need build another.

You must construct additional pielons...

Keep in mind that Wraithbone, or even Necrodemis, may well be a complex of materials with a wide variety of properties rather than a simple element or alloy like iron and steel. There may well be transparent varieties of Wraithbone that function like glass, or they may psychically shape crystals to fill that function.

To my knowledge everything the Eldar use appears to be artisan crafted over millennia by bonesingers. They appear to have no factories, automated or otherwise, only workshops. That would make replacement of equipment as slow and difficult as replacing Eldar slain in battle, which fits with their vibe as a 'dying' race.

By contrast, Necrons seem to be able to convert matter to energy and back. Energy is probably the common currency of manufacture, easy to store and transport (for them). Their factories are probably energy conversion fabrication units, which may well be constructed as large factory-like structures to gain efficiencies of scale. They'd also probably be clean, quiet and efficient compared to Imperial Manufactora.

My two cents.