The mechanism which animates moving luminaires is a robotic
yoke
from which the luminaire is hung . The
yoke
allows movement on two axes - panning up to 3600 and tilting up to 1800.
Three dimensional
beam
movement requires delicate and detailed coordination of
pan
and
tilt
movements. This is achieved with great precision by step motors controlled by sophisticated software. Intelligent luminaires must be able to accelerate and decelerate quickly without jerking. The heavier the instrument, the more difficult it becomes to achieve smooth acceleration and deceleration.
In fixed luminaires with external moving mirrors, the weight of the luminaire poses no problem since the unit is stationary
and only the mirror moves; nevertheless, however the field of movement is often limited . Certain fixed luminaires with external
moving mirrors employ a periscope system which may cover 3000 to 3600 of the field of movement.
The movement angles of a mirror head of the SuperScan Zoom by Clay-Paky.
Golden Scan by Clay Paky
Mechanisms for moving luminaires are comprised of four basic elements:
* A mechanical
yoke
which enables spatial movement on two
independent
axes (pan and tilt).
* Servo electric motors and mechanical
transmission
systems.
* Transformers which regulate the electric power for the motors.
* Electronic
controller
circuits which provide two-way digital communication protocol between the servo motors
and transformers, and the computerized lighting console which monitors and controls the functioning of these systems.
