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[Brian]

Up high upon a mountain I have a pair of screw pumps side by side.  They are supported by constructed..constructions.  Above one of them I have a gear assembly.  Above that I have a windmill (directly connected thru Z level).  At first everything works correctly.  The windmill spins, the screws pump and the lava flows over my enemies from above.

Dumb part: I have a lever attached mechanically to the gear assembly.  If I start in the off-position and turn it on, everything works.  When I turn it off, the windmill reverts to its previous form (wood).  I haven't been watching to see if this is done automatically or if my dwarves decide to disassemble it.

What I've tried: I added a vertical pipe above the gear assembly, and below the windmill.  Pumping still worked correctly, but turning off the gear assembly devolved the pipe and the windmill into wood.

I haven't tested this too much yet because it is very far out of the way for my dwarves to build constructions and rebuild the windmill over and over.  I really have no idea what's going on here.  I don't believe the fact that I am pumping lava has anything to do with it as I never have to remake mechanisms and the lava never gets above the output side of the screw pumps.  The screw pumps and the gear assembly never seem to get hurt.


What's going on, and what are my options?
Thanks

[winner]

Disconnected gears

Gears can be "disconnected" by being connected to a lever, and then activating that lever. However, be warned that devices connected vertically to a linked gear may collapse when disconnected. The same is true of a horizontally connected hanging device. An example is a windmill built directly on top of a gear: in this case, disconnecting the gear via the lever will cause the windmill construction to collapse.

In order to avoid this, create a second gear adjacent to the linked gear but not otherwise connected to the system; This gear will support the windmill if the linked gear is disconnected, but will not transfer power, since it only draws it from the now-disconnected gear.


Note that the above is only necessary if the windmill is entirely unsupported outside of the gear on which it rests. Windmills (and other components) which have "Stable foundation" in their q view should not collapse if a gear beneath them is disconnected.

more info

[Akhier the Dragon hearted]

actualy i think this has to do with how the windmills work. when you build the gear assembly then the windmill the windmill does not need anything supporting it. this works for any other mechanism like gear assembly to. when you disconnect the gear assembly which was holding it up the windmill reverts. if you built the windmill without a middle floor tile or any floor tile under it when the gear assembly goes so does your windmill. because the windmill is already gone this is an easy fix. just make sure the is a floor tile under each section of windmill. the power does go through it.