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[necrodoom]

ive searched for anything that says about how to build an atomsmasher, but all i got is few mentions of a draw bridge, what ever that is. so i have some questions:

1. how do i build an atomsmasher?
2. how do i operate it?
3. is it still possible to use the items after they got atomsmashed? 

[Alastar]

1. It's a regular drawbridge.
2. Close while something is under it
3. No, they are compacted to miniature singularities which then eat themselves.

[necrodoom]

err, how do i close a draw bridge? i selected it with "q" but it only lets me destroy it.

[Sphalerite]

1. how do i build an atomsmasher?

Dig a room somewhere out of the way in your fortress.  Build a raising drawbridge ('g' under the build menu, and to make a raising bridge select a direction) filling the room.  The direction it raises doesn't matter for this.  The material also doesn't matter.

Create a mechanic's workshop.  Build three mechanisms.  Make one mechanism in to a lever (press 'b', then 'T', then 'l').  Link that lever to the bridge with the remaining two mechanisms.

Once the bridge is built and linked to the lever block off the passage to the bridge room with a wall or locked door.  You don't want anyone wandering in there by accident.

Dig a tunnel on the level above the drawbridge.  Channel out one hole in the floor directly above the bridge.  Designate a dump zone (press 'i', select the zone area, enable as a garbage dump) on one or more square adjacent the zone.

Pull the lever once to raise the drawbridge.  Your atomsmasher is now ready for use.

2. how do i operate it?

Designate the object you want destroyed for dumping.  A dwarf will grab it, take it to the garbage zone, and throw it in.  It will land under the raised drawbridge.  Tell a dwarf to pull the lever.  The bridge will lower and destroy the dumped object.  Pull the lever again to raise the bridge.

3. is it still possible to use the items after they got atomsmashed?

No.  Atomsmashed objects are permanently gone.  That's the whole point.

[dwarfhoplite]

does this thing help for fps?

[NecroRebel]

does this thing help for fps?

Atom smashing items, dumping them into magma-covered semi-molten rock, trading them away, or dropping them into eerie glowing pits utterly destroys the item, removing it from play. It is generally believed that more items in play reduces FPS.

This is anecdotal evidence at best, but in one fort in version 40d I had low FPS, tens of thousands of stone, and a chasm (which worked identically to eerie glowing pits). I set a very large number of stones for dumping, and gradually experienced FPS gain, on the order of 1 per 1500 stones eliminated. Given that many forts have hundreds of thousands of useless items, including stones, atom-smashing unwanted things can at least delay the inevitable FPS death of a fort.

[drseptapus]

err, how do i close a draw bridge? i selected it with "q" but it only lets me destroy it.

You have to link it to a lever. Also make sure it is a drawbridge not a retractable bridge.

[brucemo]

I don't mean to be a snot, but the way you ask this question it's like you're asking about four-wheel drift and then you ask how to put the car into gear. You should learn to drive without accidentally going sideways before you ask about how to go sideways on purpose.

Bridges are useful, as is the notion of connecting things to levers, as are zones, especially garbage dumps.  You should take advantage of these features now, probably before building an atom smasher.

I'm not ignoring your question, which looks like it has already been answered.

[shmelse]

Designate a dump zone (press 'i', select the zone area, enable as a garbage dump) on one or more square adjacent the zone.

I feel pretty dumb, but what do you mean by this?  When I try to put a zone over the channel, it won't let me select a garbage, only pit/pond, and you can only pit/pond units, not stones or crappy furniture.  How can the zone be adjacent to itself?

[CapnUrist]

You want the zone to be on a square next to the hole. When dwarves dump items at such a zone, they'll toss them into the hole; the zone designation just shows them where to stand. What Sphalerite is probably suggesting is include the hole as well as any adjacent tiles in the zone (you can set them just like digging designations) to make sure that dwarves throw stuff in the hole, though it's not entirely necessary.