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Verlinde is Equipping Hangar 23
40 Stagemaker chain hoists are used to manage the stage effects in the modulable auditorium, called "Hangar 23", in Rouen, France. An original arrangement of motors, connected to the computerised control and computerised power-assisted Stagemaker R8CPU by Verlinde enabled the time taken to assemble and disassemble the grids to be reduced by half. The auditorium operators can in this way programme more shows and increase their variety, to the great satisfaction of the public.
To the west of Rouen, a programme to develop 800 hectares of unused industrial and port land has been in progress for several years. This is where Hangar 23 is located, where the Duchamp-Villon Theatre has been running its programme since 2001. Hangar 23 is a place that has become inescapable in the cultural landscape of Rouen and its surrounding areas. Creation is to the fore there with a fine selection of music from all over the world, topical music, jazz, contemporary and urban dancing. Hangar 23, with a floor area of 4000 m sq, can seat up to 500, and about 1000 standing. Eventually, additional work is planned (more terraced seating), to increase the seating capacity to 1000 places.
As this was an industrial building, the IPN have been attached to the framework of the building, to take the technical equipment at a height of eight metres. The 300kg cranes, which make up the grid, are suspended to the IPN by Stagemaker chain hoists. Depending on the show, the mobile chain hoists are attached to the IPN by industrial clamps. This original configuration makes it possible to manage all the operations for the assembly/disassembly of a show from the ground, the cranes being in a low position, and therefore with increased safe working comfort and, of course, rapid execution. The times taken for assembly and disassembly are accordingly divided by two, going from two days to one day, in this way making the planning more flexible and reactive.
Therefore, there are Stagemaker SM5 motors (capacity 500kg) and 33 Stagemaker SM1 (capacity 125kg) equipping Hangar 23. The SM5s are positioned on the right-hand side of the stage, and with all the light cables in particular at the ends of the cranes. Eight R8CPU control centres drive all the chain hoists. "We very often carry out assemblies where about 30 motors are driven simultaneously by the R8CPU controllers. This is a device that has saved us a lot of time. Its software interface is really very ergonomic and easy to program" recounted Mr. Struillou, technical director of Hangar 23.
The R8CPU as well as their CC48 based on a specially equipped standard PC, provide the greatest flexibility for use. Each controller can drive eight motors. The same PC can drive up to eight controllers, in this way enabling 64 motors to be controlled simultaneously. Each motor can be added or removed easily. The R8CPU controller has the distinctive feature of being able to work with variable speed motors at the same time, and also with single or double-speed chain hoists, simply fitted with a Harting connector and an incremental encoder. The motors can then be programmed in advance and controlled individually or in groups. The pre-selection, height adjustment, delays and synchronisation of groups can be adjusted separately to enable a large number of combinations of stage effects to be created depending on the various shows and auditoriums.
"We have been working with Verlinde for a long time. They have the advantage of having a very wide range of motors available, and then, it's Verlinde! They are really reliable. Eventually, we are planning on installing about 20 more, which must give us even greater possibilities in stage effects" concluded Mr. Struillou.
20th May 2009
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