larryjoe701
01-24-2009, 02:40 PM
I've started this thread to discuss a few ideas I've had concerning LBP. I'm going to define a few advanced topics and then describe a few uses. Once I've actually implemented some, I might move this over to the new Object Showcase thread. The concepts are very high level, like AND and OR gates. I'm not sure they're as useful but can get around a few limitations in the game.
Duty Cycle - A duty cycle is a signal (in LBP I've used directional signals) which is high/out/on for some % of the total time and low/in/off for the rest of the time. Typically you'll use a 50% duty cycle, meaning that it is high half the time and low the other half. The high/low/high/low pattern repeats regularly and has a frequency.
Frequency - The rate at which the duty cycle repeats itself. One divided by the time it takes to repeat. Though I'll talk about frequency, I'm not going to measure it much. Because the fastest a piston can perform its cycle is .1 seconds, the fastest frequency is 10 Hz.
Feedback - Taking a signal generated within a system and using it to help control said system.
To construct a 50% duty cycle you need a free piston and a piston controlled by feedback. Create a smooth channel (perhaps out of dark matter), and insert two glass cubes. Attach a piston to each cube, with the other ends attached to the ends of the channels. Set the Speed of the left piston to .3 seconds. Set the Speed of the right piston to 10 seconds. Place a green magnet on the left piston. The lengths of the pistons doesn't matter too much, I've usually done lengths of twenty for each (Max 25, min 5); it will depend on how long a channel you make. Both should be stiff. Place a green magnet sensor on the right piston. Set the sensor to inverted directional. Adjust the radius to be AROUND half of the length of the left piston. Attach the sensor to the right piston. Once things start up, the right piston will move in or out to find the right spot to generate a 50% duty cycle @ ~3 Hz (stems from the .3 second left piston speed).
Try making a piston arrangement to test out your 50% duty cycle generator. Make another channel with two glass cubes, but this time connect the left cube to the right cube with a piston and the right cube to the right wall with another piston. Make sure the lengths and speed of both pistons are the same. Set the right piston to BACKWARDS. Now if you start things up, the cube on the left should stay in place and the one on the right should oscillate back and forth. This is the property we're looking for: even though both pistons are moving our primary object (the left cube) is stationary. Wire up both pistons to the magnet sensor generating the 50% duty cycle. Again, the left cube stays stationary while the right cube moves back and forth, but just a little bit now. You can consider this the STOPPED state of the piston assembly. If this is the STOPPED state, with one expanding while the other contracts, you can easily see that both expanding would be the EXPANDING state and both contracting would be the CONTRACTING state. These two states can be achieved using AND and OR gates.
This assembly can now replace the 3-way switch with winches assemblies that people have had to use. I have not used the 3-way switch assemblies but the ones I have seen seem to have a little "jiggle" in them, where this system does not. There are also other uses which I'll cover in the future.
Duty Cycle - A duty cycle is a signal (in LBP I've used directional signals) which is high/out/on for some % of the total time and low/in/off for the rest of the time. Typically you'll use a 50% duty cycle, meaning that it is high half the time and low the other half. The high/low/high/low pattern repeats regularly and has a frequency.
Frequency - The rate at which the duty cycle repeats itself. One divided by the time it takes to repeat. Though I'll talk about frequency, I'm not going to measure it much. Because the fastest a piston can perform its cycle is .1 seconds, the fastest frequency is 10 Hz.
Feedback - Taking a signal generated within a system and using it to help control said system.
To construct a 50% duty cycle you need a free piston and a piston controlled by feedback. Create a smooth channel (perhaps out of dark matter), and insert two glass cubes. Attach a piston to each cube, with the other ends attached to the ends of the channels. Set the Speed of the left piston to .3 seconds. Set the Speed of the right piston to 10 seconds. Place a green magnet on the left piston. The lengths of the pistons doesn't matter too much, I've usually done lengths of twenty for each (Max 25, min 5); it will depend on how long a channel you make. Both should be stiff. Place a green magnet sensor on the right piston. Set the sensor to inverted directional. Adjust the radius to be AROUND half of the length of the left piston. Attach the sensor to the right piston. Once things start up, the right piston will move in or out to find the right spot to generate a 50% duty cycle @ ~3 Hz (stems from the .3 second left piston speed).
Try making a piston arrangement to test out your 50% duty cycle generator. Make another channel with two glass cubes, but this time connect the left cube to the right cube with a piston and the right cube to the right wall with another piston. Make sure the lengths and speed of both pistons are the same. Set the right piston to BACKWARDS. Now if you start things up, the cube on the left should stay in place and the one on the right should oscillate back and forth. This is the property we're looking for: even though both pistons are moving our primary object (the left cube) is stationary. Wire up both pistons to the magnet sensor generating the 50% duty cycle. Again, the left cube stays stationary while the right cube moves back and forth, but just a little bit now. You can consider this the STOPPED state of the piston assembly. If this is the STOPPED state, with one expanding while the other contracts, you can easily see that both expanding would be the EXPANDING state and both contracting would be the CONTRACTING state. These two states can be achieved using AND and OR gates.
This assembly can now replace the 3-way switch with winches assemblies that people have had to use. I have not used the 3-way switch assemblies but the ones I have seen seem to have a little "jiggle" in them, where this system does not. There are also other uses which I'll cover in the future.