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[Rowanas]

I've read the wiki article about windmills and how to get them powered up, but I can't seem to make it work for me. Can anyone see anything wrong with my setup?

a vertical axle
g gear assembly
m mill
  . . . .
  .m . .
  .g a .
  . . . .

The windmill shows power 40, the axle shows power 40 (needed 1)
The gear assembly shows 0.

I tried it originally without the gear assembly, since that should work. Why isn't it?

[thepuska]

I can't see how that axle could be getting any power at all nor why you would want to place a vertical axle there anyway.

[Rowanas]

Well at the very start I didn't have the axle there. It was just a mill underneath the centre tile of a windmill, but it keeps saying it need power, so I keep adjusting the setup.

[guale]

Get rid of the axle, put the gear assembly directly under the center tile of the windmill and put the millstone next to it.

[thepuska]

But I don't understand how the vertical axle could be getting power while the gear assembly is not. Possibly some kind of an odd bug. You'd want to use a horizontal axle to get power from the gear assembly if they're on the same Z-level. Vertical axles should be used for transporting power through multiple Z-levels in the form of a long shaft.

But axles are unnecessary if you don't need to use the power somewhere else than where you're producing it. Gear assemblies can be directly attached to machines that use power.

[Rowanas]

cheers. I was thinking that possibly the vertical axle was actually transferring power through that level, rather than to it.

[Sutremaine]

To power something directly by windmill you need to build the windmill last.

I was thinking that possibly the vertical axle was actually transferring power through that level, rather than to it.

That is correct. Vertical axles transmit power to tiles directly above or below them (z+1 and z-1, not north and south on the same level), so a machine or a horizontal axle next to a vertical one isn't considered to be connected. Gears can transmit power any way an axle can, but use more of it per tile.

[Iapetus]

But I don't understand how the vertical axle could be getting power while the gear assembly is not. Possibly some kind of an odd bug. You'd want to use a horizontal axle to get power from the gear assembly if they're on the same Z-level. Vertical axles should be used for transporting power through multiple Z-levels in the form of a long shaft.

But axles are unnecessary if you don't need to use the power somewhere else than where you're producing it. Gear assemblies can be directly attached to machines that use power.

A vertcal axle cannot transfer power to anything beside it.

I'm presuming the windmill is somewhere somewhere directly above the axle.  You need to replace the axle with a gear, and then use a horizontal axle to transfer power from it to the mill (or just put the mill right next to the gear).

That said, when you remove the axle, whatever is above it will most likely collapse, so you'll need to rebuild it all.

[Rowanas]

I got it working and didn't use an axle, just a gear assembly. I'm only going to need one mill, and I'm not screwing around with pumping water, so the 40 I've got is utterly surplus. At least it's up and running now. Thanks guys.

P.S. Know any good traps requiring pumps?

[Eidalac]

One alternative:  Put a gear one Z level down, under the axle.  It will get the power, and you can set the mill beside it.

Space permitting, this is probably the fastest fix.

In general, it's best to link power sources to a gear and then have axles that run from the gears.  Makes it easier to link machines/axles as well as provides a good spot to link a lever (or such) for an easy way to turn the whole system on or off.

P.S. Know any good traps requiring pumps?

Most of the best - Magma and/or Water flood devices.  Setup so that the last pump in the system is linked to a gear assembly you can switch on/off (or a floodgate, but I think that a direct power switch is a bit easier to manage), and that it pumps into a narrow access tunnel that can be sealed off via drawbridges when you flood them with the liquid death of your choice.

Just don't forget to include some kind of drain system, just in case.