Airlock

The airlock circuit board turns a Console into a control panel for an airlock. It is made in the Electronics Printer at the first tier; for larger setups there is the Advanced Airlock. According to the game data it is flammable (flash point 393 K).

Setting it up: the screen lists every device on the console's data network as a button. One click links a device, a second click unlinks it. The first linked door becomes the outer door, the second the inner one. Add vents (Active Vent or Powered Vent), Gas Sensor units and, if you like, lamps and speakers as a warning. The board locks linked doors and vents against manual operation. It can only work with two doors, at least one gas sensor and at least one vent – otherwise it reports an error.

What the interface shows: a large cycle button with the target (“to exterior” or “to interior”) and a pressure display in kPa with a bar, averaged over all linked sensors. Pressing the button during a cycle reverses it. You can also start the cycle at a linked door itself.

The sequence according to the game code:

1. Lamps and speakers come on for 2 s, then both doors close.
2. To the outside: the vents suck the chamber empty until the pressure has been at most 0.005 kPa for 1 s. After a 1 s pause the outer door opens.
3. To the inside: the vents blow air into the chamber until 99 % of 101.325 kPa is reached, about 100.3 kPa. Then the inner door opens.

The air comes from the vents' pipe network and goes back there. So provide a supply that delivers enough air and does not overflow while pumping out.

If you want to program the airlock yourself, Controlling doors, gates and airlock doors has a program that interlocks the doors. The academy builds a complete airlock step by step, starting with the lesson airlock basics.