Movecat accepts award at presentation ceremony in Baden-Baden
The team from Think Abele was distinguished this year with the VR Innovation Prize Mittelstand 2015 for its Movecat Load Control (LoCo) System and is understandably delighted to have received the coveted award. Described as „the special prize for craftsmanship of the cooperative financial group Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken“, the award was presented to the company on 25 June 2015 in the course of a ceremony in Baden-Baden. „We are absolutely delighted by this distinction,“ commented Andrew Abele, who founded the company 28 years ago with his brother Thomas. „It is the first time one of our developments has received an award from a neutral quarter. It is far harder to interest those outside the industry in some detail of events technology and to convince them that a load measuring system such as the LoCo really does constitute an innovation than insiders who work with this equipment on a day-to-day basis.“
With the kinetic solutions for the stage and studio of the brand Movecat, Think Abele has already developed numerous attention-grabbing new products. The prize-winning LoCo system with its shackle-mounted, active load-measuring sensors is merely the latest example. The LoCo LCS consists of standard load shackles (with EU factory certification) that can also be used as such. The important difference, however, is that the standard load pins here have been replaced by load-measuring pins made from a special, high-quality steel with an integrated active measuring system employing sensor elements. These determine the forces applied by the suspended loads and transmit the data to electronics that are also integrated.
Depending upon the model, the rated loads for the LoCo LCS system are either 3.25 or 4.75 metric tons with a safety factor of 5:1 throughout. Currently the LoCo LCS series comprises three models: the LCS-AX is the basic implementation, derived from the LMS-M series from Movecat, with analogue signal transmission complying with the industry standard (4-20 mA); the LCS-DX model is equipped with both digital and 4-20 mA analogue outputs as well as a rechargeable battery; whilst the LCS-RF can be operated according to choice in either radio or digital cable mode, it, too, being equipped with a rechargeable battery. The DX and RF models are furnished with 8-character liquid crystal displays with RGB backlighting to indicate the status, and their batteries, in combination in Wake-On mode, guarantee up to 30 days‘ stand-alone operation or longer. The proprietary test and calibration system offered by all three models has the decisive advantage of allowing self-testing to proceed without first unhooking the load.
Presented for the first time at the spring trade fairs Prolight + Sound and Stage Set Scenery – and therefore brand new – the two R3 LoCo models are designed for the supervision of complex load systems. The LoCo R3 load measurement controller is ready for web server operation as an independent function unit and equipped with a 4.3″ RGB touch screen, a navigation unit in combination with a rotary/push-button encoder and two function keys for data input as well as status LEDs on the front and rear panels. Data can be transmitted to tablets and smartphones without any need for additional apps. A keyboard mouse and trackball can be supplied as options. Mixed operation of the two R3 models is also possible.
The receivers can interpret, display visually and compile the data from a total of 48 load-measuring sensors – up to 12 of them analogue. The R3RF model is equipped with two integrated transceiver modules operating in the 868 MHz ISM band and can process the data from a maximum of 48 LCS-RF sensors even in wireless mode.
Safety in the R3 models is assured by a microcontroller-based safety unit in accordance with EN 138491; this provides for the evaluation of the signals and the supervised implementation of the safety-relevant external signals. Direct circuit integration in hoist systems or machine control systems for which Stop Category 0 safety shutdown is required is therefore assured. A variety of potential-free relay outputs as well as 24 V DC outputs for a traffic-light module or warning signal generators are available.
Furthermore, by means of DIG-Link, up to four R3 receivers can be combined in a load-measurement network, which means up to 192 sensors can be used simultaneously. Via the tried-and-tested M-Link system, the direct integration into Movecat MPC E-, I- and T-series control networks is also possible. The stipulations of IGVW SQ P2 for the avoidance of overload conditions with indeterminate load networks are therefore met in full. The display and evaluation of data on a central PC connected via USB or Ethernet represents a further option.
Caption: Movecat LoCo distinguished at awards ceremony in Baden-Baden, The Movecat Booth at the awards ceremony in Baden-Baden (Photos: Think Abele – may be reproduced freely provided source is named)
Think Abele GmbH & Co. KG
Rudolf-Diesel-Straße 23
71154 Nufringen, Germany
Contact: Andrew Abele
Phone: +49 (0) 70 32 / 98 51-0
Internet: www.movecat.de
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