When entertainment activities around the world resume, professional stage lift manufacturers will prepare for them. Julian Champkin looks at the latest products and recent shows that happened before Covid-19.

Switzerland-based GIS has launched two new products for the entertainment market-before the coronavirus stops their plans, the company will showcase them at Prolight & Sound in Frankfurt.

Despite this, hundreds of units have been sold within a short period of time after they went on the market.

What makes them special is their light weight-it can be said that they are extremely light. "The customer told us that the existing crane is too heavy," the company said, and he was obviously proud of his achievements: "The net weight of the two motors is surprisingly low relative to the lifting capacity." GIS added, These hoists have the lowest self-weight among similar products: each hoist can lift more than 40 times its own weight.

The smaller capacity version, called LPML, weighs 12 kg (or 20 kg, with a chain, and a lifting height of 18 meters) and has a lifting capacity of half a ton. The larger 1t LPL is fully equipped, which can lift a lifting height of 18m and weighs only 30kg. The aluminum casing and cover can reduce some weight; more comes from the surface-hardened profile chain, which has the same nominal diameter as the round steel chain and can provide about 15% of the capacity.

This series is specially developed for the entertainment industry and complies with the German D8 standard of the industry. They have IP65 dust and water jet protection, which makes them suitable for both outdoor and indoor use. The skeleton load hook has a guided safety hook and a damping system for maximum safety; a second DC spring brake can be easily installed on the existing shaft. There are options for low voltage control, high and low hook position limit switches, and GIS load and path (LPM) measurement system.

Both models are designed to be most suitable for traditional beams; the overhang is very small, and they can be transported between sites while being installed to save space. Modularity and low maintenance requirements are other design considerations, and GIS provides a three-year extended product guarantee.

Lightweight is also a feature of Kito theater cranes. Their TNER series was originally launched in North America and is now also available in the Japanese market. A typical use is to connect them to the stage superstructure to elevate trusses that have already installed lighting and audio equipment. Since the gourd is small and hangs upside down, the dead angle above it can be minimized. Their design is both compact and lightweight, and the lifting speeds of the 500kg and 1,000kg versions have been unified in line with industry standards.

The black non-reflective fuselage and chain make the audience invisible to them as much as possible. Light weight and small size are typical characteristics of stage elevators, and TNER is no exception. Kito uses grease lubrication instead of oil to prevent any leakage from damaging the stage costumes or scenery. The case study below shows how many stage lifts are needed today to work in an automatically synchronized manner to achieve the spectacular results demanded by audiences and promoters.

Columbus McKinnon's CM-ET Lodestar series has a long history of stage improvement. They recently introduced digital load sensing technology as an optional feature on all new Lodestar units or as a field-ready retrofit kit. This technology is designed for entertainment applications where multiple cranes are used in tandem; it helps ensure that all cranes bear the same load, thereby preventing a single crane from overloading and the safety issues that follow.

The system is fully integrated inside the housing, which means that the load cell is not affected by external factors, and there are no dimensional changes or headroom changes. Rigging workers will not add extra trouble and expense due to new road conditions. The manufacturer said that in the field, it can be easily connected to the existing controller through internally installed circuit board components, no matter what brand or manufacturer, it can prevent wiring errors. The internal load cell provides /2% accuracy of full scale output.

After two years of technical design work and research on current market demand, Verlinde has just announced the expansion of its new series of Stagemaker electric chain hoists dedicated to the entertainment industry. They added Stagemaker SL5 and SL10 models with load capacities from 500 kg to 1,000 kg (one fall) and 2,000 kg (two falls).

They said that Stagemaker is the only crane on the market that comes standard with dual brakes, protective rubber pads and retractable handles, the latter being designed to make crane transportation easier. The gourd shell is protected by 70 black epoxy powder coating, which can withstand extreme environments as low as -10C°. Each model has two versions, the "A" version with forward voltage and the "B" version with low voltage. The Limitflux electromagnetic limit switch is the standard configuration of all B-type hoists in the SI range. These lifting devices are an upgrade to the previous SR5 and SR10 versions, making this series of products more complete.

The new model meets the IP66 protection standard and also complies with the D8 standard: the positioning of the clutch in the gearbox ensures that the load is held by the brake under any hoist operating conditions.

The design of the chain sprocket has been paid attention to. The ChainFlux chain guide allows the chain to flow more flexibly horizontally when it leaves the lifting load wheel. The low coefficient of friction simplifies the passage of the chain when it is ejected. Like the entire Stagemaker series, the SL5 and SL10 are equipped with PerfectPush, a five-bag crane load wheel concept designed to enhance chain guidance and prevent the so-called "polygon" effect, in which the movement of the chain links around the sprocket creates a The effect of different diameters causes the linear speed of the chain to also change.

The hoist can be operated in a standard automatic climbing configuration or an industrial suspended hoist configuration; the change can be realized by simply turning the chain bucket without any modification. They operate at a traditional lifting speed of 4m/min, but they are also available at 8m and 16m/min. They run quietly, with a noise level of only 60dBA.

Verlinde, a French company, recently formed a partnership with Cast Swiss Light Consulting to expand its distribution in Switzerland.

The American company Tait Stage Technologies has long been involved in large and spectacular entertainment events. Their Nano winches are mainly designed for dynamic lighting installations, making mobile light displays for concerts and dance venues, but can also be used for many other applications. It is a light-weight single-point winch; many of them can work together in automatically preset hoisting modes. A small frame (called a "lunch box") can support up to 10, and a large frame (called a "refrigerator") can support up to 40. Tait does say that up to 2,500 can be used in an installation.

Each Nano winch can lift objects weighing up to 10 pounds (4.5 kg) at a maximum speed of 10 feet per second (3 meters per second). It rises and falls on a multi-core braided cable that contains a conductive tape with wires that can send power and data to any LED or other fixtures it carries. It can send positioning data back to the control point, for example, a laser can be aimed at a moving load.

At the other end of the scale, Tait has their Big Tow winch, ranging from the lightweight BT250 Lite hoist to the BT2-490 winch, which is designed for high speed and high capacity and can carry more than two tons/s at 2m. Complicated setting changes and counterweight assistance are part of its role. The Big Tow series can also carry air performers for pantomime performances.

The patented zero fleet technology allows Big Tows to be easily installed in different directions without worrying about the angle of the fleet. The rotating elements of the winch are mounted on the shaft to allow the use of various gearboxes, brakes and drum lengths. The winch is powered by a brushless servo motor, and has a cross-slot detector, a rope slack detector and a load cell.

Thern, a crane and crane specialist based in Minnesota, has a market segment dedicated to theaters. Thern Stage Equipment's products include rope winches, pile drivers and rope lifts, self-climbing trusses and fire curtain lifts for front hall lighting equipment.

Their newly designed counterweight auxiliary hoist is suitable for stage theaters or other facilities equipped with counterweight rigging. It is an electric alternative to the traditional manual counterweight rigging device and must be adjusted every time the load changes. It provides control over any line setting of the scenery, lighting, orchestra shells and slats.

The lifting capacity is 1,500 lbs (680 kg). When it is connected to the counterweight mandrel, it provides safe and reliable control capabilities. Therefore, the mandrel with a load capacity of 1,200 lbs can be increased to a load of 2,700 lbs (1.2 tons). weight. When it is used alone, with 1,500 pounds of counterweight, it can safely lift stage slats that carry up to 3,000 pounds (1.4 tons) of lights, sounds, scenery, or curtains without having to move any of the counterweight bricks.

The hoist is suitable for refurbishment or new facilities. Multiple CWA cranes can be connected to an optional touch screen controller, and target positioning can be used to achieve precise and predictable performance.

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