Story
I have an automatic anvil replacement system using redstone. An observer detects when the existing anvil breaks, and then the ceiling opens up allowing one anvil to fall down.
Problem
The replacement anvils fall from the ceiling which is about 20 blocks high. From that height, the anvils almost always end up chipped after they fall.
I want to add some redstone near the bottom that will stop an anvil from taking damage after it falls 20 blocks.
I have tried a dispenser that shoots out water as the anvil gets close, but it seems that water doesn't break an anvil's fall.
I also had pistons that pop out of the wall one by one, but it takes way too much time for an anvil to reach the floor.
Core question
Find a way to stop an anvil from taking damage when it hits the floor using a redstone contraption.
Mobs spawn in this gigantic tower...
...and hit these fences. The water then funnels the items into the middle (which then connects to another stream flowing the lava you can see, to kill any mobs that fell through the middle).
Best Answer
The Wiki states:
So dropping it from 20 blocks height practically assures damage.
Unfortunately, slime blocks on moving pistons only exacerbate the problem - the entire 'downwards' route of an anvil is counted, so dropping it onto a well-timed pushed slime block even a short distance, and then bouncing it several times will lead to the damage.
Summing up, the only way is to drop it one block at a time.