Modpack version
1.76a

Issue
I just crafted my first rod for the Manufactory, and the Aluminum Rod recipe through me completely off.

I assumed it wouldn't use up the Redstone or Piston, kinda like recipes that use Water Buckets. But when I crafted it in a Crafting Station, I lost them! That means that one Aluminum Rod costs 10 Redstone, 36 Cobblestone, 3 Treated Wood, and an Iron Plate. That's insane.
I understand that there are alternate recipes for it, like IE and AR (which honestly is a bit overpowered; a piston plus three iron ingots for all the things that it does, WITH NO RF COST). I would suggest either making that recipe not use up those parts, or simply removing that recipe entirely. Also maybe adding a recipe for it using IC2, probably with the Metal Former.

This isn't an issue, this is making the recipe more expensive in the beginning, and after you have more infrastructure, the costs goes down.

Indeed, this is a an attempt to make the player use the AR press. I suppose removing the recipe and adding a tooltip would be better though.

In that case, I suggest making the AR press more expensive. A piston plus three iron ingots is arguably cheaper than a piston plus a block of redstone, and it works without RF which means you would never really need to use the IE one.

The AR press even gives more rods per ingot than IE. But IE is just so much more convenient, and you already need multiple for wires, gears and plates

I know, and yet it remains largely unused - I want people to make the AR press over the IE press, in order for them to try to automate new things.