Wireless Monitoring of Fly Bar Rigging
Many overhead flying systems rely on a rigger's experience and knowledge of a building or site to ensure that hanging points are not overloaded and bars in flying systems are moved safely.
The Problem:
A ‘touring house theatre' with a motor-driven flying system was experiencing issues with a ‘visiting companys' overloading and snagging bars. The problems led to bars becoming bent and had caused damage to the flying system. Each bar had four hanging points with a weight on each point. The riggers had to ensure that the entire load of the bar was not overloaded and that weights were evenly distributed.
The Solution:
The system solution consisted of four T24 2.4GHz acquisition modules cased and coupled with four 2-Tonne S-Beam load cells. The acquisition modules were measuring the weights on each of the hanging points on the bar.
A handheld display was used to gather and sum the weights from the four acquisition modules. The display also allowed the user to scroll through each of the individual hanging loads. The handheld was able to take readings from up to 120 metres away. When dynamic loads, i.e. moving head lighting fixtures, were attached to the bar, data from the acquisition modules was monitored and logged on a PC which allowed riggers to view the effects of moving lights because the weight from each point is updated three times a second.
Load monitoring system for event riggers
In addition to the products below, we have designed a product specific for this use. BroadWeigh consists of Crosby safety bow shackles with high accuracy load-pins and a wireless handheld device which constantly displays the load of a rig up to 200 metres away.
Products used in this application:
Wireless Telemetry Handheld Display Unlimited Inputs
