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Difference between revisions of "40d:Windmill"

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(Restructured article as part of general machinery cleanup.)
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A '''windmill''' is a [[machine component]] that provides [[power]] via wind on the surface of a fortress map.  The power produced by a windmill depends on the map; on some maps windmills produce 40 units of power, on some others 20, and some maps have no wind at all. Building a windmill uses 4 pieces of wood.
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A '''windmill''' is a [[machine component]] that provides [[power]] via wind on the surface of a fortress map.  The power produced by each windmill depends on your location: 40, 20, or 0.  Building a windmill uses 4 pieces of wood.
 +
 
 +
== When it works ==
 +
 
 +
A windmill generates power under the following conditions:
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# Its center tile is outside.
 +
# The map has wind.
 +
# : Some maps have strong wind (40 power per windmill), some have weak wind (20 power), and some have no wind at all.
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# It is not connected to frozen machinery, such as a screw pump or water wheel in ice.
 +
 
 +
When all of these conditions are met, the windmill will produce power at its center square.
  
 
== Construction ==
 
== Construction ==
  
To get some useful power out of a windmill:
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To place a windmill, all 8 of the outer tiles must have a floor {{verify}}, and the center tile places like other [[machinery]].  After the windmill is built, the 8 outer floors can be removed (if built) but cannot be channeled (if natural){{verify}}. A floor below the center tile will collapse if disconnected, causing structural failure even if the windmill itself is supported by machinery below.
# Build the windmill. Outside.
 
# Build a millstone or pump one z-level below the center of the windmill. You are done. No digging or rigging required.
 
  
Since this basic setup is usually not sensible, here are more complicated options:
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=== Variants ===
  
# "Excavate" a "path" one z level under the windmill, at it's center. (There are no paths - he talks about digging a channel?)
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==== Standard windmill ====
# Add a vertical [[axle]] or [[gear assembly]] there. It will have power. A [[gear assembly]] is required to change direction of power. A floor between the windmill and this is fine.
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# Build outside, on flat ground.
# Connect further gear assemblies or axles to transport power to its final destination. Avoid assemblies, they eat more power than axles.<br>
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# Channel out a single tile, leaving the 8 tiles around it intact.
You can build windmills underground if the central square in the windmill is "outside" (channel the roof away above it).<br>
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# Dig a tunnel to the channeled square and place machinery in it.
In rare cases, building a gear assembly before the windmill will not connect the gear assembly to the windmill. Simply reconstruct the gear assembly to connect it.<br>
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# Build the windmill on top of the channel.
Several windmills can be linked together via gear assemblies and axles.  Their total power output is additive (minus power lost to gear assemblies and axles.)<br>
 
[[Gear assembly|Gear assemblies]] can be used to transport the power back to the surface, if desired.<br>
 
  
== Windmill tower ==
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==== Windmill tower ====
  
 
The "windmill tower" option is useful if you can't dig below your windmill (if, for example, there is a room or underground river there). This option is also often more power-efficient, as it often eliminates the need to transfer power between [[z-level]]s.
 
The "windmill tower" option is useful if you can't dig below your windmill (if, for example, there is a room or underground river there). This option is also often more power-efficient, as it often eliminates the need to transfer power between [[z-level]]s.
  
# Build a 3&times;3 platform out of floors one level above the ground floor ''(technically not needed, as long as the gear assembly is planned/built a windmill can support itself on that alone, the dwarf just needs a place to stand to built it)''.
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# Build a 3&times;3 platform (or 8-tile ring) out of floors one level above the ground floor.
 
# Build the windmill on top of the platform.
 
# Build the windmill on top of the platform.
 
# Directly beneath the windmill, on the ground floor, build a gear assembly.
 
# Directly beneath the windmill, on the ground floor, build a gear assembly.
# Connect this assembly to horizontal axles, and power your machines. No digging required!
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# Connect this assembly to horizontal axles, and power your machines.
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# If desired, remove excess floors/stairs.
  
A windmill can also be built directly on top of a gear assembly, obviating the need for a platform.  However, if switched off via lever,  a windmill constructed in this fashion has a tendency to collapse.
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==== Sunken windmill ====
  
== How to transfer power between z-levels ==
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You can build windmills underground if the central square in the windmill is "outside" (channel the roof away above it).<br>
 
 
After you have a [[gear assembly]] in place on a level, you need to switch to the level above it and remove the floor between its tile and the tile above it. Then, build a vertical [[axle]] or a [[gear assembly]] above the first [[gear assembly]].
 
 
 
== Construction Example ==
 
1. A Pond To Drain <br/>
 
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2. Add Some walls to control output, and an access ramp (leaving access is a good idea)<br/>
 
{{qd|cols=9|≈|.|.|.|.|.|▲|.|.|≈|≈|≈|.|o|═|═|═|═|≈|≈|≈|.|.|.|.|.|.|≈|≈|≈|o|═|═|═|═|═|≈|.|.|.|.|.|.|.|.}}
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. add 3 floor tiles above the gap, then build your windmill<br/>
 
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4. build a lever and gear assembly, then link your lever to the gear<br/>
 
{{qd|cols=9|≈|.|.|.|ò|.|▲|.|.|≈|≈|≈|.|o|═|═|═|═|≈|≈|≈|.|.|&#42;|.|.|.|≈|≈|≈|o|═|═|═|═|═|≈|.|.|.|.|.|.|.|.}}
 
 
 
5. Finally, throw the lever, add your screw pump and the final wall section<br/>
 
{{qd|cols=9|≈|.|.|.|ó|.|▲|.|.|≈|≈|≈|o|═|═|═|═|═|≈|≈|≈|%|%|&#42;|.|.|.|≈|≈|≈|o|═|═|═|═|═|≈|.|.|.|.|.|.|.|.}}
 
  
=== Alternatives ===
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==== Windmill farm ====
* Skip the lever and gear and power the pump directly, "always on".
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Several windmills can be linked together via gear assemblies and axles.  The first windmill needs a gear assembly beneath it.  After that, each windmill will require one gear assembly beneath it and two axles to connect to the next windmill.  On high-wind maps, this gives 35 power for the first windmill, and 33 power for each extra windmill. On low-wind maps, this is reduced to 15 power for the first and 13 power for additional windmills.
* The "Blowback" wall method:
 
{{qd|cols=9|≈|.|.|.|ó|.|▲|.|.|≈|≈|≈|o|═|═|═|═|═|≈|≈|≈|%|%|&#42;|.|.|.|≈|≈|≈|o|.|╔|═|═|═|≈|.|.|╚|═|╝|.|.|.}}
 
  
This allows water to flow past the pump when the pump is off, allowing for two pumps to use a single set of walls to contain the flowing water, with the direction based on which pump is on.  It also allows for maintenance access from the pipe, at the cost of 3 extra wall sections and one extra floor.
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== Using the power ==
  
=== A simple pump b/w lever ===
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Getting power out of a hanging windmill is straightforward.  As long as the machinery it's hanging on is a vertical axle, gear assembly, or screw pump, it will be powered.
  
Side view:
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Windmills with stable foundations are harder.  A vertical axle or gear assembly beneath the center tile should always be powered, but the actual behavior seems buggy or non-intuitive; if it doesn't work, try re-building the machinery below the windmill.  A screw pump beneath the center tile does not seem to get power{{verify}}.
  
      =O=   <- windmill supported by unlinked gear assembly
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== Construction Examples ==
      **    <- two gear assemblies: left gear is linked to lever
 
      @@    <- screw pump
 
~=~=~#####  <- water
 
##########
 
  
The right gear does not need to lie on the screw pump, as long as it's orthogonal to the gear that -is- placed over the pump.
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See [[Machinery/Examples]].
  
 
[[Category:Constructions]]
 
[[Category:Constructions]]
 
[[Category:Machine components]]
 
[[Category:Machine components]]

Revision as of 00:04, 27 March 2008

A windmill is a machine component that provides power via wind on the surface of a fortress map. The power produced by each windmill depends on your location: 40, 20, or 0. Building a windmill uses 4 pieces of wood.

When it works

A windmill generates power under the following conditions:

  1. Its center tile is outside.
  2. The map has wind.
  3. : Some maps have strong wind (40 power per windmill), some have weak wind (20 power), and some have no wind at all.
  4. It is not connected to frozen machinery, such as a screw pump or water wheel in ice.

When all of these conditions are met, the windmill will produce power at its center square.

Construction

To place a windmill, all 8 of the outer tiles must have a floor [Verify], and the center tile places like other machinery. After the windmill is built, the 8 outer floors can be removed (if built) but cannot be channeled (if natural)[Verify]. A floor below the center tile will collapse if disconnected, causing structural failure even if the windmill itself is supported by machinery below.

Variants

Standard windmill

  1. Build outside, on flat ground.
  2. Channel out a single tile, leaving the 8 tiles around it intact.
  3. Dig a tunnel to the channeled square and place machinery in it.
  4. Build the windmill on top of the channel.

Windmill tower

The "windmill tower" option is useful if you can't dig below your windmill (if, for example, there is a room or underground river there). This option is also often more power-efficient, as it often eliminates the need to transfer power between z-levels.

  1. Build a 3×3 platform (or 8-tile ring) out of floors one level above the ground floor.
  2. Build the windmill on top of the platform.
  3. Directly beneath the windmill, on the ground floor, build a gear assembly.
  4. Connect this assembly to horizontal axles, and power your machines.
  5. If desired, remove excess floors/stairs.

Sunken windmill

You can build windmills underground if the central square in the windmill is "outside" (channel the roof away above it).

Windmill farm

Several windmills can be linked together via gear assemblies and axles. The first windmill needs a gear assembly beneath it. After that, each windmill will require one gear assembly beneath it and two axles to connect to the next windmill. On high-wind maps, this gives 35 power for the first windmill, and 33 power for each extra windmill. On low-wind maps, this is reduced to 15 power for the first and 13 power for additional windmills.

Using the power

Getting power out of a hanging windmill is straightforward. As long as the machinery it's hanging on is a vertical axle, gear assembly, or screw pump, it will be powered.

Windmills with stable foundations are harder. A vertical axle or gear assembly beneath the center tile should always be powered, but the actual behavior seems buggy or non-intuitive; if it doesn't work, try re-building the machinery below the windmill. A screw pump beneath the center tile does not seem to get power[Verify].

Construction Examples

See Machinery/Examples.