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[Urist McManiac]

Hi dwarfs,
how do I connect a vertical and a horizontal axle?
I tried do connect them via a gear assembly, but it did'n work.
Even if I build them near eachother ( =o ) it wont work.
Is there any way, how I can connect them?

[Antioch]

You have to connect the ends with a gear assembly

[Myroc]

Code: [Select]

Z-level 1
....
.*=.
....

Z-level 2
____
_o__
____

* - Gear assembly
= - Horizontal axle
o - Vertical axle
. - ground
_ - Open space

[Mraedis]

Are you perhaps mistaking the vertical axle for a N/S axle?

You need to use a horizontal axle and press s to make it a N/S axle. 

[kefkakrazy]

Yeah, that gets me too, sometimes. We're used to thinking of "vertical" and "horizontal" a certain way in relation to 2d, but DF is NOT a 2d game, it takes place in a three-dimensional setup, and vertical and horizontal retain their true meanings. Vertical is a cheaper way than gear assemblies of transferring power between several z-levels.

[Urist McManiac]

No, I understood the part with the 3D. I build it like Myroc, but how do I connect the vertical axle on Z-Level 2 with a horizontal axle on the same level? I have a water whell on Z-Level 1, and I must bring the power to 3 screw pumps on different levels....

[Exponent]

If the z-levels are adjacent, then you don't need a vertical axle.  All you need are two gear assemblies, one immediately above the other (and with no floor in between, naturally).  Machines and horizontal axles can be placed next to these gear assemblies on either level.

Vertical axles are only used when power needs to be transferred two or more z-levels, and nothing on the middle levels need the power.

[Livonya]

No, I understood the part with the 3D. I build it like Myroc, but how do I connect the vertical axle on Z-Level 2 with a horizontal axle on the same level? I have a water whell on Z-Level 1, and I must bring the power to 3 screw pumps on different levels....

I just dealt with this myself.  I was building a pump house to force water up 10 z-levels.  I tried using a vertical axle, but that didn't work.

I found a design for a pump house that did this, but of course it doesn't work.

The gear assembly is all you need.  Just channel out the ground and stack them on each z-level just like you would stairs.

It appears to me that the vertical and horizontal axles are pretty pointless, even more so for the vertical axle as you have to build each piece one at a time.

[Myroc]

It appears to me that the vertical and horizontal axles are pretty pointless, even more so for the vertical axle as you have to build each piece one at a time.

An axle has a power requirement of 1. A gear assembly has a power requirement of 5.
A 10 square line of axles: 10 power requirement.
A 10 square line of gear assemblies: 50 power requirement.

THAT'S why.

[Livonya]

It appears to me that the vertical and horizontal axles are pretty pointless, even more so for the vertical axle as you have to build each piece one at a time.

An axle has a power requirement of 1. A gear assembly has a power requirement of 5.
A 10 square line of axles: 10 power requirement.
A 10 square line of gear assemblies: 50 power requirement.

THAT'S why.

That is true, but the vertical axle is still only usable if you need to pass through a z-level.  If you want power to be available on each z-level then the vertical axle can't be used.

It seems to me that the vertical axle would be a lot more useful if the gear assembly could take power from it at any point rather than just at the ends.

In a pump house for instance the vertical axle is useless as you need power on every level.

[Martin]

You realize that if you build a pump ladder, then you can just deliver power to one pump, and the pumps will transmit power to each other - no power loss to axles and mechanisms?

[AncientEnemy]

That is true, but the vertical axle is still only usable if you need to pass through a z-level.  If you want power to be available on each z-level then the vertical axle can't be used.

It seems to me that the vertical axle would be a lot more useful if the gear assembly could take power from it at any point rather than just at the ends.

In a pump house for instance the vertical axle is useless as you need power on every level.

well as for pumps, you can build pump towers that will transmit power from one pump to the next with no extra axles/assemblies.

but the point of axles is to transmit power over distances. they do it at a bargain in the energy department, at the cost of only linking up at the ends. just like it would be in real life. try linking up two axles at right angles without gears, it doesn't really work.