The hall is 27.5m long by 29m wide and can be divided into soundproofed halves if necessary. It is equipped with 12 longitudinal trusses, which are held by a total of 24 GIS LP500 D8Plus electric chain hoists. From the hall ceiling, the supply for each truss is provided by a foldable energy chain. The basic equipment includes lights and loudspeakers.
Each GIS hoist is suspended from the ceiling as a climbing hoist; each can be controlled individually. Grouping them together enables the synchronous lifting and lowering of the trusses. Excellent synchronization guarantees precise positioning. The control system monitors each individual load and logs all movements. In case of overload, lifting is blocked, but controlled lowering is still possible.
The electric chain hoists are D8Plus versions, so people are allowed to stand under the resting load. An independent, second DC spring-loaded brake and a chain safety factor of 8:1 are essential for this. Two emergency stop contacts complement the geared limit switches for upper and lower hook positions. Each motor contains both a load sensor for load monitoring and an absolute encoder for measuring the lifting height. It has its own IP address and a TCP/IP communication interface integrated into the housing, with an external RJ45 socket.
The brain of the rigging system is in an adjoining room, which includes a 19ft rack, with server, network switches and ports for the hoists. Cable-based communication gives interference-free data traffic between the control panel, server and climbing hoists via the LAN. The system is operated on a tablet computer called the ‘touch controller’ and is completed by an emergency stop switch and a green ‘go’ button. After its network cable is connected to one of three communication sockets in the hall, the motors are displayed with current lift height and load, for the entire event hall or only one of the two halves, depending on the socket selected.
The target height for a single or a group of chain hoists is entered on the touch controller. Five predefined combinations can be selected quickly and conveniently. The operator can also compose a group individually. Scenes can be programmed. With the desired lifting heights, they can be easily called up later. After the presettings have been made, lifting or lowering is performed by keeping the ‘go’ button pressed.
Provisions for remote maintenance and a service contract with GIS ensure care-free operation of the rigging system for the future.
