I am struggling with powering workshops. I have been scanning the manual and I notice that it says power goes in through edges. I have tried this with no results.
Maybe I just don't understand power fully (I have not used it extensively), if so, please forgive my ignorance and explain anyway.
Thanks.
TLDR: How do I power my workshops?
Power goes in through the gear-looking corners, not the entire edges. You can connect an axle or a gear (but not a roller) to the 'gear' of the machine.
You can also power the machine from above or below, which makes the designing much easier. The floor need not to be channeled(and it can't, you need the floor to build the machine) to transmit power. In this way you can connect a vertical axle or a gear below/above the center or the corners.
So in sum there are 18 positions that can transmit power, 8 around the corners, 5 below and 5 above.
Be ware of the vertical connectivity, you may accidentally power the machines in case that you want to build some other (safe) mechanisms 1 level above or below them.
And if things are going wrong, type 'mechina' (without the quotes) in dfhack window to refresh all machines.