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[Greiger]

You all have me beat.  I thought my simple little trash compactor design was really clever.  I don't like the massive profit from getting rid of goblin clothing via the trading method, so I designed a small 3x4 structure(that I usually make completely out of iron for some semi-realism value) vaguely shaped like a "G" with a 1x2 raising bridge in the middle.  When the bridge is raised a hole in the ceiling accessed via adjacent ramps allows citizens to drop garbage into the structure.  I dump all the junk from a siege inside and pull the lever.  The bridge closes, destroying the garbage, and the lever is pulled again to reset.   

Almost every 3D version fortress I made includes one of these.  It is simple to make and effective.  And unlike automatic systems it allows items to be salvaged if desired.  Which was a useful feature back when military gear needed to be dumped for the military to upgrade, no need to hassle with secondary dump zones.

I have attempted to improve the design a few times, but they have all ended up being more complicated than they are worth.  I donno, maybe I was born with an undwarven brain mutation. "simple and functional is good" seems to be what this is saying, but it's so... so... immune to catastrophic failure.  It just doesn't seem right.

[gtmattz]

Mine would be my standardized trade depot/drowning chamber which operates via one simple lever pull.  Pull once to shut and fill, pull again to open and drain.  Here is a post I made with some pictures and theory of operation...  I have since refined it a little and made a variation for using an aquifer, but the overall operation remains the same.

[DanielLC]

I designed, but never finished, a breeder machine considerably less advanced than the one mentioned here. Also, I made plans for something that automatically builds buildings inside a magma pipe, back when we had magma pipes.

I want to make a star fort.

[Huggz]

My last 40d fortress, before I stopped playing it through a combination of single digit FPS and the new version being released, had the following wonders:

[awesome]

I know you have posted how to do a couple of these, but tutorials for all of them would be good :O
Someone should put them on the wiki...

[Sphalerite]

The automatic butchering engines I built for Pagedslipped were pretty damn complicated, probably more complicated than they needed to be.  I've already figured out easier ways to build them.  The original design worked as follows:

Code: [Select]

              WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
              WbbbbbbbbbbbbbW
              WbWhWhWhWhWhWhWW
              WbW^h^h^h^h^h^hWW
    WWWWWW    WbWhWhWhWhWhWhW+WW
  WWW   WWWWWWWbW+W+W+W+W+W+WW+WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
++^hDbb+++^+++hbh++++++++++++++++++++++++^DDh^++
  WWW   WWWWWWWbW+W+W+W+W+W>WW+WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
    WWWWWW    WbWhWhWhWhWhWhW+WW
              WbW^h^h^h^h^h^hWW
              WbWhWhWhWhWhWhWW
              WbbbbbbbbbbbbbW
              WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

+ = floor 
W = wall 
h = floor hatch
D = door
b = retracting bridge
^ = pressure plate
> = stairs down

The machine relies on several aspects of how wild animals pathfind to control their movement through the machine.  Wild animals that have been around for a while eventually attempt to leave the map.  They will attempt to path through doors which are set to be unlocked yet closed to animals, and will pile up at such a door.  If you have a room full of wild animals with several exits locked to animals but open to dwarves, you can control which exit they crowd around by mechanically blocking and unblocking the path behind the exit door.  Our machine has two such exits, one on the left and one on the right.  The one on the right has two doors, one of which is open to dwarves and locked to animals, and the second of which is mechanically opened and closed by the water logic controlling the device.  This exit is used to cycle the animals in and out of the counter/sorter array in the center of the machine.  The exit on the left is the kill exit, used to lead excess adult animals out of the machine onto a repeating bridge over a fatal fall.  Both of the exits from the machine also have a safety system consisting of a pressure plate set to trigger for any friendly unit immediately followed by a floor hatch.  If a dwarf or tame animal tries to wander into the machine, the pressure plate triggers and open the hatch instantly, blocking their path.  Warrens didn't exist in 40d, and don't affect animals in DF2010 anyway, so this is how I stop friendly units from wandering into the machine.

The real key to the machine is the counter/sorter mechanism in the center.  This is a device which counts out exactly twelve adult animals, holds them in cells, and sends the remainder to the cull chute on the left.  This machine consists of twelve cells, each of which holds one adult animal.  Each cell is built as follows:

Code: [Select]

h
h^h
 h

The pressure plate in the middle is set to trigger for an adult animal of the species you're putting in the machine.  This requires you to look up the body size of that animal in the raws, and also means you have to know what kind of animal you're putting into the machine when you build it.  This pressure plate triggers the hatches on the north and south sides of the plate.  The pressure plates on the east and west side are controlled by the device mode logic.  When animals are filing into the counter/sorter, these pressure plates are open, preventing animals from leaving the cells.  One Z-level under these hatches there is a safe floor that leads back to a stair up to the entrance to the machine, so any animals that fall when these hatches open will land safely and be able to cycle back to the start of the machine.

When animals are going into the sorter/counter, the machine looks like so:

Code: [Select]

              WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
              WbbbbbbbbbbbbbW
              WbWhWhWhWhWhWhWW
              WbW^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ WW
    WWWWWW    WbWhWhWhWhWhWhW+WW
  WWW   WWWWWWWbW+W+W+W+W+W+WW+WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
++^hDbb+++^+++hb ++++++++++++++++++rrrrr^DDh^++
  WWW   WWWWWWWbW+W+W+W+W+W>WW+WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
    WWWWWW    WbWhWhWhWhWhWhW+WW
              WbW^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ WW
              WbWhWhWhWhWhWhWW
              WbbbbbbbbbbbbbW
              WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Animals (rabbits in this case, but any wild non-buildingdestroyer should do) see a path to the outside through the left of the machine.  They wander from their gathering point on the right and then take one of the twelve paths to the exit.  Whenever an adult animal steps on one of the pressure plates, the floor hatches adjacent to the plate open and trap it there.  Any animals standing on a plate when it opens fall to the catch floor one level down, and then make their way back to the stairs up to try again.  This goes on until all twelve cells are full.  Each cell's pressure plate is also linked to a 12-input water logic AND gate elsewhere.  When all twelve cells have animals in them, a floor hatch closes, permitting passage from the center of the machine to the exit on the left.  The machine now looks like so:

Code: [Select]

              WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
              WbbbbbbbbbbbbbW
              WbW W W W W W WW
              WbWr r r r r r WW
    WWWWWW    WbW W W W W W W+WW
  WWW   WWWWWWWbW+W+W+W+W+W+WW+WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
++^hDbb+++^+++hbh+rr++r+rrr++r++++++++++^DDh^++
  WWW   WWWWWWWbW+W+W+W+W+W>WW+WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
    WWWWWW    WbW W W W W W W+WW
              WbWr r r r r r WW
              WbW W W W W W WW
              WbbbbbbbbbbbbbW
              WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Twelve rabbits are stuck on pressure plates in cells, and a handful of mixed adults and kits are wandering around the center of the machine.  Baby animals try to stay near their parents, and don't leave the center of the machine.  Any excess adults do try to leave, marching right out to the left side of the machine.  There is a door they can't pass through on the left side, and a bridge over a deep pit with weapon traps at the bottom just before it.  The bridge cycles automatically, and any animals that try to leave get dropped and automatically butchered.

As animals walk down the path to the left exit, they step on a pressure plate which changes the machine mode.  The bridge around the outside of the cells retracts.  The hatches between the cells close.  The rightmost door opens.  The machine now looks like this:

Code: [Select]

              WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
              W             W
              W W W W W W W WW
              W WrhrhrhrhrhrhWW
    WWWWWW    W W W W W W W W+WW
  WWW   WWWWWWW W+W+W+W+W+W+WW+WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
++^hDbb+++rrr+  h++r+r++r++++r++++++++++^D+h^++
  WWW   WWWWWWW W+W+W+W+W+W>WW+WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
    WWWWWW    W W W W W W W W+WW
              W WrhrhrhrhrhrhWW
              W W W W W W W WW
              W             W
              WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

The rabbits in the center of the machine can't path to the left exit anymore.  They do however see an apparant exit on the right side of the machine, since a door is now open there.  And the hatches make paths between the cells and the right side exit, so all the rabbits can leave the machine center and head back for the start of the machine on the right side.  When the first one of them reaches the pressure plate just before the non-pet-passable door, it resets the machine state, closing the right-hand door, opening the left passage, and resetting the cells to count a dozen animals again.

Meanwhile the rabbits who have exited to the left are automatically killed and butchered.  The fall kills most of them, the weapon traps kill any who survive the fall.  The bottom of the pit is surrounded by refuse stockpiles and butcher's shops.  You can see two copies of this machine in Pageslipped ( http://mkv25.net/dfma/map-8247-pagedslipped ) near the center of the pyramid on levels 21 through 24.  The lower machine used wild rabbits, the upper used wild mountain goats.

This machine is almost certainly more complex than it needs to be.  I built it as a challenge to myself to see if it was even possible.  It only works with wild animals, since tame animals that die in falls can't be butchered.  I haven't bothered rebuilding it in DF2010.  Most wild animals don't seem to breed unless the dungeon master shows up, and I haven't managed to get him to show up in DF2010 yet.  Butchered animals also seem to generate vastly more items for hauling in DF2010, so I suspect that an operational automated meat engine would need an army of haulers to keep the butcher's shops cleared.  Besides which, since milking and cheese-making work now, I've turned to a cheese-based food production process instead.

[DanielLC]

Just looking at that: a simpler design that takes advantage of the fact that animals will take the shortest path:

Code: [Select]

#.#
#.#########
#.........#
#¢#¢#¢#¢#.#
#^#^#^#^#.#
#¢#¢#¢#¢#.#
#.........#
#.#########
#.#

There's still some chance that the animal will happen to wander onto the exit path, but I don't think it will be often enough to matter.

[Sphalerite]

Yep, that's one of the simplifications I came up with after building the breeding engine.  Like I said, the way it turned out is a lot more complex than it needs to be.

[Quatch]

you could probably simplify the water logic to a single hallway, infinite source at one end, sensor and infinite sink at the other. In between, one default closed gate (ie a door), linked to the animal is captured trigger in the cells. When all such triggers are captured water can flow from input to sensor.

it'd probably be a bit lag prone as the water would need to drain after one door closed, and that could be up to 11 tiles of water. Maybe a 7/7 sensor wouldn't trip.

[monk12]

All of my mechanical machinations are nowhere near as elegant or useful as the ones described here. It is always something I've been interested in trying, but I always get too caught up in my admittedly small scale projects (I have a fondness for castles, moats, and archery towers).

Sphalerite, that is some awesome engineering you did there. I don't suppose you'd deign to give some more detail on the Children's Academy? I can see various ways to funnel children into an area they cannot escape, but I cannot envision an effective way to automatically eject them once they mature.

[Sizik]

you then pull the drawbridges lever and make the bridges lower into the water,then rise and voila!you have fish.

Sadly, this is impossible.  Drawbridges can't actually lift animals.  As best, they can throw them sideways.

Huh?It works for me...But i am playing a mod so thats probably why.

Are the drawbridges in the water or above it?

[Greiger]

I've also seen drawbridges throw things upward.  If something ends up in my trash compactor when the bridge is down, when it gets lifted garbage sometimes ends up on the roof of the compactor.  its annoying because I have to reclaim the items one at a time and redesignate them for dumping.

I would hardly call such behavior controllable of course, stuff just seems to go in whatever direction it wants.  I just say that it seems up is an option.

[Medicine Man]

you then pull the drawbridges lever and make the bridges lower into the water,then rise and voila!you have fish.

Sadly, this is impossible.  Drawbridges can't actually lift animals.  As best, they can throw them sideways.

Huh?It works for me...But i am playing a mod so thats probably why.

Are the drawbridges in the water or above it?

They are built above water then lowered then raised.

[Kay12]

Well, during my newbie days I created a tunnel network that was very confusing to navigate and structured so that multiple creatures trying to get in at the same time would likely split up. There was also a lever that flooded the entire tunnel.

The tunnel network was my fortress, the lever was supposed to water the farm patch only and all my dwarves had great fun trying to get out.

[Sphalerite]

I've also seen drawbridges throw things upward.  If something ends up in my trash compactor when the bridge is down, when it gets lifted garbage sometimes ends up on the roof of the compactor.  its annoying because I have to reclaim the items one at a time and redesignate them for dumping.

Yep.  Retracting bridges will throw objects up to 3 tiles X,Y, and Z randomly when the extend or retract.  Raising bridges throw objects on them up to 11 tiles X,Y, and Z randomly when they raise.  Creatures standing on the bridges are thrown randomly X and Y, but not in Z.  Bridges can throw objects upwards, but not creatures.

They are built above water then lowered then raised.

Bridges don't work that way.  You can't build a bridge (or anything else) submerged in water, and bridges are always built in the extended position, which in the case of drawbridges is the 'lowered' position.  The best you could do is build a bridge on top of a river or brook.  If a creature was on top of the water (which swimming creatures sometimes are) you could possibly use the bridge to knock it sideways onto the land.  You still couldn't use that for fishing as such, since vermin fish can only be made into food if they're caught by a fisherdwarf performing the 'fish' job.  Throwing vermin fish onto land will just result in a 'remains' object, which is inedible refuse.  It might work against a carp or gar or other creature-type fish, which would then be butchered in a butcher's shop.

[Indricotherium]

What if you dammed the brook, built the bridge on the drained bed, and then released the brook again?

Hmmm... may have to give this a whirl after I complete my new entrance...