A strong, safe alternative to 'home made' drop arms, which until now have been the only option for riggers, the system uses tried and tested connectors to give a SWL of 100kg and enables the safe and speedy rigging of luminaires from truss or fixed tubes or barrels. It also provides for a range of configurations to open up the possibility for highly innovative lighting design.
The Modular Rigging System uses 48mm diameter aluminium barrels in conjunction with a truss style conical coupling and is designed as two parts - Modular Drop Arms, which are single arms designed to be suspended with a coupler, and H-Frames, which can be suspended or floor-standing with tank traps.
Mark Chorley, design engineer at Doughty, explained, "The Drop Arm range comprises a collection of aluminium sections which connect together to make varying lengths, with a coupler fitted at one end and a 'T' or stirrup at the other. This allows a luminaire to be suspended from a truss or barrel easily and safely. The H-Frames work in a similar way, made up from H shaped frames which can be used for larger moving lights or a row of smaller luminaires. These can also be mounted in tank traps to create a floor standing structure."
Manufactured from high tensile aluminium, the Drop Arms come in lengths of 250, 500, 1000 and 2000mm which can be connected using conical couplers to create larger drops of approximately 6metres. H-Frames are 415mm and 1000mm high, with connectors available in 250, 500, 1000 and 2000mm. All have a safe working load (SWL) of 100kg and all are available in powder coated silver or black finishes.
Mark added, "Time and time again we have seen lighting designers and riggers make their own version of a Drop Arm out of whatever bits and pieces they had lying around. Some would be grossly engineered and others quite the opposite. As simple as our new range might seem, surprisingly there is no other way to suspend lights in an artistic manner, without using complex structures and no other company manufactures anything similar. We identified the gap in the market and worked on developing it into a modular system so the range would not only be flexible in size but could also be used by hire companies."
Julian Chiverton, sales director at Doughty, concluded, "Judging by response to date, everyone sees a need and a use for this range. We are delighted to be leading the way in providing a safe, attractive and user friendly piece of kit that will allow lighting designers to become ever more innovative and creative."
(Jim Evans)
