Walhberg Motion Control Products

[chawalang]

http://wahlberg.dk/

I was curious if anyone here has had any experience with these automation products. I talked to someone at Rose Brand and they told me they are to be used in applications for drapery, décor, small lighting and small scenic applications. I was curious what peoples thoughts were on these products. The application would be for corporate shows, genereal sessions, galas, museum events and the like. I am also curious about peoples thoughts with it being DMX controlled and nothing in the system to feedback any errors.

ANSI E1.11 DMX 512-A standard contains the following paragraph:
1.5 Classes of data not appropriate for transmission over links designed to this Standard
Since this Standard does not mandate error checking, DMX512 is not an appropriate control protocol for
hazardous applications.

Please let me know your thoughts, I know for anything that requires major automation, call a company like Creative Conners to rent out a gear and to hire a tech.

Thanks

 

[danTt]

I don't like them. You've seen what happens when a DMX cable goes bad and lights start flickering. Do you really want to see what happens when a dmx cable goes bad and motors start "flickering"? Do a search, I feel like this has been discussed before on here as well...

When I asked the Rose brand/wahlberg rep at USITT a few years back about the use of DMX controlled rigging, they suggested that the products only be used in circumstances where life safety is not an issue/concern. I'm stil waiting to hear back from them about what use of winches they have where this criteria is met..

 

[porkchop]

My only hands on experience is some time in their booth at LDI a few years in a row and some second hand knowledge from a friend who programmed with them. For the speeds and capacities that these are designed for they are light duty at best, and although DMX control isn't my favorite control solution there are far more dangerous standard practices in our industry than lifting 50 lbs at 12"/s via DMX. Run the power through an e-stop so the supply can be cut to the unit in a worst case scenario and you should be more than protected. In general I think of their line as having a really high price tag for what you get with that money, but probably no more expensive than a well built home brew solution with all of the same features.

I also understand that the user experience is fiddly if you're used to more automation focused systems. Winch position and soft limits must be reset every time you cycle power to the winch, the SWR termination in the field is rather large and ugly for something that is made to hang props and light scenery, and the available lifting height is so short that your options for rigging are very minimal.

 

[MNicolai]

I ran into a few of these today and asked the TD at the venue about his thoughts. He said he hates them.

First issue is that DMX doesn’t translate well to movement in ft/inches so the positioning is finicky if you’re looking for a specific effect.

2nd issue is reliability. He said the way that they use them, for show automation, the way the wires pile on the drum makes them prone to getting completely gakked up. In a more controlled application though like for an Austrian curtain, he suspected they would be fine.

 

[chawalang]

i talked to a rep form Rose brand earlier this week and he was very adamant that these were not to be used for show automation. He told me it is for lighter movement where larger heavy duty scenic automation is not needed. Mainly for drape and decor applications, I'm curious if the TD you ran into was told about the intended application for these products.

 

[BillConnerFASTC]

Wish they would put in big print "NOT FOR OVERHEAD LIFTING" in their literature.

 

[icewolf08]

I ran into a few of these today and asked the TD at the venue about his thoughts. He said he hates them.

First issue is that DMX doesn’t translate well to movement in ft/inches so the positioning is finicky if you’re looking for a specific effect.

2nd issue is reliability. He said the way that they use them, for show automation, the way the wires pile on the drum makes them prone to getting completely gakked up. In a more controlled application though like for an Austrian curtain, he suspected they would be fine.

i talked to a rep form Rose brand earlier this week and he was very adamant that these were not to be used for show automation. He told me it is for lighter movement where larger heavy duty scenic automation is not needed. Mainly for drape and decor applications, I'm curious if the TD you ran into was told about the intended application for these products.

There is something mildly ironic in that RoseBrand says they are "not for show automation" but they are OK for austrians. What do they think "show automation" is? It doesn't matter if it is a curtain or a wagon, if it operated by a machine and controlled by a computer, it is show automation. Picking up a curtain is not any less dangerous than picking up any other payload over people's heads, especially if that curtain is in any way weighted at the bottom edge (pipe or chain in the pocket).

I actually took apart one of these machines when we were looking at competitive products to our own. Suffice it to say, I wouldn't really want to use them. Not to mention that most of the machines are not zero-fleet, so whatever you are moving s going to drift a few inches during travel. Plus, there is that whole stipulation that DMX is not to be used for automation control. I am also very biased, given who I work for... Just sayin'.

The problem is that there are not really any other companies who make an automation product like Whalberg and come in at such a low entry level cost. There are solutions from other major companies (iWeiss comes to mind) that can do the same thing, but you are going to pay a much higher premium. Of course, we (TAIT) could also build you a solution, but most people are not always looking for the "Ferrari option" (meaning our entry price point is high).

 

[JohnD]

Comparing the Tait Nano Winch to the electrified Walhberg winch is rather like comparing apples and radishes. I am waiting for someone to pay homage to(OK steal the look) of the RHCP vast moving thing or the Phish umbrellas and being very disappointed when they try it with the Walhbergs. As an aside, that Tait Rollio looks very interesting. Lot's of amazing possibilities there.

 

[icewolf08]

Comparing the Tait Nano Winch to the electrified Walhberg winch is rather like comparing apples and radishes. I am waiting for someone to pay homage to(OK steal the look) of the RHCP vast moving thing or the Phish umbrellas and being very disappointed when they try it with the Walhbergs. As an aside, that Tait Rollio looks very interesting. Lot's of amazing possibilities there.

Rollios are cool, but we don't speak of them ;-). Which ones did you see, the Faith & Tim version or the Rodger Waters version?

I don't know that there will ever be a kinetic ceiling that comes close to RHCP. In the US, that was over 1100 active axes. However if you want to see another very cool use of Nanos, check out the Intel Keynote from CES:

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Here the nanos interact with Intel's motion capture and positioning system.

We also modified some nano drive sections to run roll drops for Justin Timberlake.