The smartest way to begin Immersive Engineering is to build one working system at a time. You do not need a giant factory on your first day: a small workshop can teach the same essential mechanics.
Read the Engineer’s Manual
Make the Engineer’s Manual as soon as your mod version allows and keep it nearby. It documents the important structures, tools and recipes, including patterns for multiblock machines. Recipes may change across versions and modpacks, so use the book for your own installation.
Gather materials with a purpose
Collect iron, copper and treated wood along with the usual materials shown in your recipes. Instead of stockpiling every item blindly, select your first project and gather what its crafting list requires.
Build your first power setup
Choose a simple power source, then identify where its output goes. Windmills and water wheels make the engineering visible and help teach how generation depends on a real structure in your world.
Connect and test one machine
Install compatible connectors and run a short wire to your first processing device. Test the input and output before building a large warehouse of additional machinery. One stable circuit is enough to learn the basics.
Think in production lines
After your first successful operation, connect machines with material transport and expand only when you know what each stage needs. The satisfying part of this mod is watching individual pieces cooperate into a complete industrial process.
For release-specific details, consult the published Immersive Engineering files before installing or updating your game.