Stage kinetics for the current „Laune der Natour“ tour
From mid October to the end of December 2017, German punk band „Die Toten Hosen“ visited major halls and arenas throughout the German-speaking world in the course of their „Laune der Natour 2017“ tour. The lavish, eleven-trailer tour was supported by kinetic equipment from Movecat.
Among the devices used were D8 1t and 2t chain hoists, D8+ 0.5t and 1t chain hoists as well as a larger number of the new VKM-S II 250 chain hoists from the kinetic specialists from Nufringen. The single-fall VKM-S motors are remarkable for their exceptionally flexible handling as well as an innovative feature set that meets the highest safety standards. The control of the D8 and D8+ hoists is implemented using R-series RMC radio motion remote controls. These wireless remote controls operate in the 2.4 GHz frequency band and, depending upon the model, are capable of controlling four, eight or twelve D8/D8+ motors.
For the VMK-S system control, an I-Motion Expert-T II system controller is used. This system makes the safe and user-friendly management of complex kinetic applications with up to 240 drives possible, allowing D8, D8+ and C1 fixed or variable-speed drives to be supervised and controlled intuitively.
Jan Kleinenbrands of the R-Project Group, the events technology engineer responsible for the kinetic equipment used on the tour, offers a cogent explanation for his decision to opt for Movecat material: „Admittedly, the 1t D8+ motors are very large in terms of pack dimensions and their unladen weight is considerable, but due to their single chains they are far easier to work with. After careful consideration we came to the conclusion that their advantages vis-à-vis conventional dual-fall 1t D8+ hoists outweighed any such drawbacks. It is admittedly a more expensive solution, because the material cannot be stacked in the trucks and more helpers are needed on site, but the probability of errors is reduced considerably.“
The I-Motion system provides for additional safety during setting-up as well as operation runs thanks to its optimized user comfort. „The I-Motion is probably the best system controller around right now for touring applications,“ states Kleinenbrands. „On this tour, we load the electronics onto a dolly specially designed by Lleyendecker to my specifications, so all that’s left hanging then in the rafters are the motors. This set-up is extremely convenient from the standpoint of cabling as well as being very easy to service. Furthermore, you can also suspend the VMK-S as a climbing hoist. That saves time and power in situations where high speeds are not called for.“
The Movecat RMC-R radio controllers also provide ideal visibility during lifting operations, as Kleinenbrands explains: „When rigging sound reinforcement equipment in particular, you can move right back for a better view without having endlessly lengths of cables in the load path next to the stage.“ Its reliability, certification and handling, taken together, made an irrefutable case for the use of Movecat equipment on the tour. The „Laune der Natour“ tour by the Düsseldorf punk rockers resumes this year as an open air and festival tour.
Caption: Movecat with the Tote Hosen tour. Copyright: Ralph Larmann
Movecat GmbH
Movecat is currently the only manufacturer of kinetic equipment for the stage anywhere in the world capable of offering practice-tested, certified and genuinely available integrated systems compliant with BGV C1 and SIL3 – these consisting of chain hoists, trolleys, band hoists, winches, turntables, load-measurement systems and networks. The company was founded in 1986 by Andrew and Thomas Abele. Movecat products are both developed and manufactured in Germany. Kinetic solutions from Movecat are widely used in big-name national and international shows, tours and TV productions. The company was recently distinguished with a TOP 100 award as well as winning the VR Innovation Prize for Medium-Sized Companies of the cooperative financial group Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken in 2015.
Movecat GmbH
Rudolf-Diesel-Straße 23
71154 Nufringen
Contact: Angelika Dallmann
Phone: +49 (0) 70 32 / 98 51-0
Internet: www.movecat.de
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