Moog at Wimbledon

2nd Quarter 2012 Electrical switching & drive systems & components

This challenging and high profile project required great expertise in electric actuation as well as the highest level of project management. It involved creating a control architecture for the actuated elements of a moving roof on the Centre Court at Wimbledon.

The 1212 ton retractable roof consists of two sections, which together support 5200 square metres of fabric when deployed above the centre court. Moog’s technology moves the two sections of roof along two sets of parallel rails over a span of 77 metres – within a tolerance of 2 to 3 millimetres – in under 10 minutes. The retractable roof’s 10 trusses each weigh 121 tons.

To generate the force to open and close the roof so precisely and efficiently, Moog designed a solution that includes 148 axes of control, comprising 108 electric actuators (35 tonne and 14 tonne force capability) and 40 servomotors, which power wheeled carriages running on the rails. Each axis requires a corresponding servodrive as well as 20 real-time Moog Servo Controllers (MSC) and 20 programmable logic controllers (PLCs) with software, all of which are housed in 40 control cabinets. Moog equipment and software provides closed-loop control for the roof movement, which includes operating the trusses’ end arms, restraint arms and carriages, while the PLCs provide the supervisory and data acquisition element.

“This was a unique challenge that brought together engineers from our facilities in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the United States to design a motion control solution that is highly efficient and reliable, by drawing on our 25 years of experience designing electric actuation solutions for motion control,” said Steve Huckvale, president of Moog Industrial Group.

For more information contact Willie Steyn, Moog, +27 (0)12 653 6768, [email protected], www.moog.com

Further reading:

Magma X100 delivers AMB systems for wide range of industrial machinery
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
SpinDrive launches Magma X100 controller, bringing active magnetic bearing technology to a new generation of industrial applications. The Magma X100 expands SpinDrive’s oil-free, frictionless AMB technology to applications below 150 kW, unlocking new addressable markets.

Read more...

---

Mammoet completes major bridge replacement at Amsterdam Centraal Station
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Mammoet completes the second of five major bridge replacements at Amsterdam Centraal Station, transporting steel deck sections by water to keep the station open throughout the works.

Read more...

---

Compressorless hydrogen turbine generates electricity using detonation waves
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have demonstrated a hydrogen gas turbine that generates electricity without a mechanical compressor.

Read more...

---

Why lubrication fails in mining and what to do about it
Editor's Choice Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Lubrication Engineers explains the recurring failure points behind mining lubrication problems and how the right product, storage and application practices can improve equipment reliability.

Read more...

---

Echain protects cables in cleanrooms
igus Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Advanced polymer manufacturer igus has developed a new cleanroom energy chain with an innovative guide system that allows for abrasion-resistant travel over distances of up to 30 metres.

Read more...

---

PowerFlex drives cut energy use by up to 30% amid rising costs
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Rockwell Automation’s PowerFlex 755TS variable frequency drives are delivering energy reductions of 10 to 30% in Africa’s industrial operations, with adaptive control and predictive maintenance features that cut downtime by up to 50%.

Read more...

---

Next-generation oil-free motor systems with active magnetic bearings
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
WEG and SpinDrive are collaborating to integrate SpinDrive’s AMBs and built-in IoT condition monitoring into WEG’s market-leading electric motor offering, creating an oil-free, maintenance-free drive solution.

Read more...

---

Direct drive with integrated control
Vepac Electronics Electrical switching & drive systems & components
The PSD 40 direct drive is a mechatronic system with integrated control, bus interface and absolute measuring system, with no battery required.

Read more...

---

AI-powered on-premises analytics for industrial drives
Siemens South Africa Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Siemens is introducing a new on-premises analytics solution for industrial drive systems. The software enables users to evaluate drive data entirely within their own infrastructure and meet stringent data-sovereignty requirements.

Read more...

---

Hydrostatic machine base for ultra-precision grinding centre
Electrical switching & drive systems & components
Hyprostatik Schönfeld has developed a high-precision hydrostatic machine base for a new ultra-precision grinding centre for Optotech. The machine platform enables a previously unattainable combination of dimensional accuracy, dynamics and surface quality in the ultra-precision grinding of optical surfaces.

Read more...

---