step by step planetary interaction setup

1. First i fly to a safe spot and cloak up. You can do multiple planets from one location while cloaked.
2. Second i plunk down my command center and upgrade to maximum (it'll only cost more if you upgrade by degrees)...I do this right away without moving the planet around - Just zoom in and plunk down. Hit submit
3. Third i place the rarer commodity's extractor first, whilst making sure i'm not too far away from the more abundant commodity's hot spots...I place them smack in the middle of the hotspot, assuming i need two commodity types that will combine to make a tier 3 item. Say like oxides (the one in the above picture example on a gas planet.) Hit submit
4. Fourth, starting from right next to the rarest commodity extractor, i place 2 basic, 1 storage facility, then 2 basic angled away then 2 advanced and 1 spaceport forming a "Y" with the second set of basics pointing towards the other extractor...I then create links between them in a chain (this saves pwr by using the diameter of the industry to save on link lengths, plus gives a visual guide to everything.) Hit submit
5. Fifth, i balance the output of the two extractors...Set the duration/size of the extractor heads to 5 days...Don't bother adjusting the head locations much beyond their default...Just make a simple pattern like the one in the picture.
6. Sixth, i begin the reaction sequence by routing the extractors' 'products' to the storage facility...Then the schematics for the advanced facilities with the route to the spaceport...Then the basic schematics routed to the storage facility. Hit submit.
7. Seventh, click on the 'routes' icon of the storage facility and adjust the 'quantity' column to sort high to low...Start routing the tier 1 items to their respective basic industry facilities...Then adjust the column to sort low to high...Route the tier 2 items to the advanced facilities. Hit submit.

stick a fork in it, it's done
sometimes i switch between routing the extractors' products and the schematics, in the sequence, but it still works just fine. let me know how you do your setup if you like.

EDIT (dec23rd'14) - i decided a week's duration is much better than 5 days