Inertial dampeners

From Golems Universal Constructor

Inertial dampeners are rocket-powered devices that resist motion in any direction. They are quite simple to make, and can help to add stability to some machine designs.

An inertial dampener combines a multimeter with three rockets, in such a way as to create a negative feedback effect. The multimeter is set to its velocimeter mode, so that it reports the velocity at which it is traveling. It passes this signal to a rocket, which thrusts in the opposite direction, acting to slow down the motion. Note that the thrust of the rocket becomes zero when the dampener has stopped moving.

By setting the maximum thrust power of the rockets to a very high amount, the inertial dampener can be made to resist extremely large forces, without being static objects.

Under a constant force (such as gravity), the inertial dampener will reach a terminal velocity, rather than accelerate ad infinitum as a falling brick might. The terminal velocity can be made to be very small by increasing the thrust of the rocket to an extremely large number.

Examples

Oscillating Dampener

This is a wire diagram of a basic altitude sensor controlling a rocket.

This is a simple example of how multimeters can be used to send signals to other devices. In this case we're using a rocket to make an inertial dampener.

Explanation

The rocket is set to 50 N. This is enough force to give the rocket arial movement.

The multimeter is set to the Altitude setting with a minimum range of 10, and a maximum of 0. This will mean when the multimeter reaches these points it will switch the signal of the rocket sending it up or down. This is not helpful when you want a more stable application. This example is meant more to show the characteristics of Golems' position feedback system.

Stable Dampener

This is a wire diagram of a simple velicity feedback loop which will hold a rocket in a stable position.

This is a more applied use of sensors and fuctions being used together to achieve a more controlled result.

Explanation

The rocket is set to 50 N. This is enough force to give the rocket it's lift.

The multimeter is set to the Altitude setting with a minimum range of 10, and a maximum of 0. The output of the multimeter is sending it's signal to the function.

The Function's properties are set to the (Slope) setting. This will take the signal (from the multimeter) and outputs its rate of change then telling the rocket to react to that change.