Let's support a mod with auto grid insertion: https://mods.factorio.com/mod/equipment-gantry?from=search
Add two new recipes for each equipment items that support it - rotate to alt version and backward
I think Assembling Machines 2 should be enough.

Why: automating the production of off-the-shelf cars/tanks/spidertrons for warfare

Hmm, I think that makes sense, I'd have to hide the recipe from players (since it's redundant). I'll look into it.

I was trying to fit some equipment in my remote spidertron and rotation wasn't doing anything, so I went back to my character to test and it appears that this works by crafting a replacement for the item held in your hand, meaning you need to be actually holding an existing item to rotate. So you cannot pipette an equipment and rotate the ghost in my remove view case.

If that can't be worked around, this would be an argument for both having AND displaying the redundant rotated recipes, so at least you can build and place them just like regular equipment. Having a recipe to just rotate equipment is manageable.

Both of these have been resolved in 0.2.2.

Ghost placement of equipment works the same as normal in map view.

I added new recipes in their own crafting group that are shown only when Equipment Gantry is loaded. I also disabled how rotated equipment rotate back in the player's inventory when both mods are loaded. Info on this has been added to the mod portal.

If there are other mods that would benefit from having those available then let me know and I can add them as well.