Pfaff-silberblau at Motek 2006, Hall 4, Booth 4327

Actuator Technology from Pfaff-silberblau Shelters Milan’s Lake Stage

Special worm-gear screw jacks raise and lower the stage roof, even in gusty wind and weather, and thus ensure top levels of stage safety

Friedberg, Germany, 26 September 2006 - The "floating" stage at Lake  Idroscalo in Milan, Italy, is equipped with a considerable amount of sophis-ticated technology, including a stage roof that - thanks to cleverly devised actuator technology from Pfaff-silberblau Hebezeugfabrik GmbH & Co. KG of Derching/Friedberg, Germany - can be raised or lowered as needed. This equipment, which was developed by the engineers from this Southern German drive technology specialist, not only meets the stringent safety standards (BGV C1) that are in place to protect the performers, it can also handle the extreme environmental conditions that arise there: The roof-lifting construction, which the operators can lift or lower using actuator technology from Pfaff-silberblau, resists precipitation and moisture from the lake, withstands tremendous heat and temperatures below the freezing point, and ensures absolute safety and smooth operation, even when heavy winds blow. The actuator system consists of four optimized size-100 worm-gear screw jacks (SHEs) with reinforced buttress-thread spindles and long, electrically monitored safety nuts. These special SHEs are mechanically coupled in pairs and installed at the double-scissors to the left and right of the stage. Since the space available in the scissor units is confined, the worm-gear screw jacks were reinforced to enable them to handle loads of up to 150 tonnes. As a result, the two power trains have an overall lifting capacity of 6,000 kN, which is distributed across the four lifting elements. This ensures that the worm-gear screw jacks – which offer an overall driving power of about two times 18.5 kW – can move a 500-t load at a lifting speed of ap-proximately 90 mm/min. The long, electrically monitored safety nuts ensure that the highest possible safety levels are maintained: If one of the nuts fractures, a mechanical limit switch with positive opening operation turns the system off. Electric syn-chronization of the actuators is accomplished with the aid of a pulse cam in the safety nut. This cam transmits a precisely defined number of impulses to the control unit across the entire stroke length via an inductive limit switch. These impulses are then evaluated in the SPC control unit, which was also supplied by Pfaff-silberblau. Infrared temperature sensors in the lifting elements automatically shut the system off when it is overloaded or overheated. For added safety, an equalizing cross beam ensures that the load is distributed evenly among the individual pairs of worm-gear screw jacks. At Motek 2006, at Booth 4327 in Hall 4, Pfaff-silberblau will be presenting technology that complements its outstanding actuator solutions (such as the equipment being used for the lake stage in Milan). The exhibits will in-clude, for instance, the company’s electromechanical linear actuators with extended standard options, KTA 1401-certified worm-gear screw jacks, worm-gear screw jacks and linear actuators that are protected against po-tentially explosive hazards, as well as the PHOENIX multi-stage telescopic lifting column from ALLTEC, a Pfaff-silberblau subsidiary.

About Pfaff-silberblau Pfaff-silberblau Hebezeugfabrik & Co. – established over 135 years ago – currently has approximately 325 employees and a group turnover in excess of 62 million euros (2005 fiscal year). The company is a leader in the fields of hoisting machinery and materials handling equipment, actuator technology/ worm-gear screw jacks, road & rail, and materials handling technology. Pfaff-silberblau is an experienced partner for solving any problem related to moving (turning, lifting, lowering, pushing, shunting) loads of up to 1,000 tons in any direction. The company has factories in Friedberg and Heilbronn (Germany), and is represented by subsidiaries in Switzerland as well as Austria, United Kingdom, the Benelux countries, Poland and Hungary. Beyond that, more than 40 affiliated representative offices are active for Pfaff-silberblau around the world.