Ever faster filming, ever higher resolution images - with digital progress in the studios of production companies and TV stations, the demands on the quality and safety of equipment are increasing. A market leader for camera, rail and crane systems takes no chances and relies on hydraulic safety shock absorbers for its braking technology.

"Solid support on every set" is the quality promise of Egripment, a global company that specializes in technical equipment for film and TV teams as well as related services. The Dutch experts underpin their mix of high-tech and services with a lifetime guarantee on their camera dollies, rail and crane systems. It is therefore not surprising that solutions from Egripment can be found at TV shows and events, both on outdoor sets and in studios. For example, the company supplies standing and suspended rail constructions and matching remote-controlled camera dollies. Other advantages that Egripment can contribute to any film set with its technical equipment include its design expertise. This is necessary because production companies and broadcasters have to respond to the increase in moving images in worldwide media use as well as to technical progress through ever better digital images for commercial and private use with more professionalism from A to Z.

Rick Velthof, Egripment's global sales manager, uses this comparison to illustrate the demands placed on Egripment's designs: "Whereas not so long ago it was still possible to end camera movements using electronically controlled stops and to secure the remote-controlled camera dolly on the rail system in the end positions using rubber buffers, today's speeds in studios or on sports broadcasts are too high for this type of safety element. This also applies to the resolution that can be achieved by recording and playback devices, which is 8K. Under these conditions, hardly any production can afford to spend a lot of time recalibrating the rest of the equipment, such as the control monitors and the lighting system, if a camera carriage crashes into the rubber bumpers due to operating errors or a power failure and then bounces off again, especially as this can take up to three days in some cases."

In addition to unacceptable downtimes in the visual area, there are also auditory aspects, because the braking movements of most servo motors and especially rubber buffers are not noiseless and disturb the sound engineers in their work. The main concern is to prevent even more costly damage if the dolly and camera are seriously damaged in a collision at the end of the track. To prevent this type of accident on set, the team at Egripment looked at the market for safety products in linear technology and became aware of ACE Stoßdämpfer GmbH from Langenfeld. This was partly due to the online presence and the wide range of solutions in the field of damping technology at www.ace-ace.de and partly due to the personal presence of the ACE sales team in the Netherlands.

The last man standing

Rick Velthof from Egripment: "In addition to the good impression we already had on ACE's Dutch-language homepage, Ralf Küppers from the company's technical field service was quick to respond and willing to visit us at short notice, take a close look at the design and offer us a perfectly suitable hydraulic damping solution."

On site, in Nederhorst den Berg in the north of Holland, which is in the immediate vicinity of Hilversum, internationally known for its TV and radio station, Ralf Küppers familiarized himself with the various rail systems and dollies as well as the key data regarding weight, speed and distance to be covered thanks to the Egripment technicians. "As a sports fan who had already seen the modern remote-controlled cameras in action, for example, which travel with the swimmers during competitions, I went to Egripment with a rough idea of the performance of the linear technology and the deceleration power required for it. There I realized that in this case everything had to run smoothly and silently during an emergency stop - and quickly." Accordingly, he used the ACE design software at www.ace-ace.de/de/berechnungen/sicherheitsprodukte/online-berechnung.html#step2-horizontal, entered the key data for mass, speed and distance and suggested the trial installation of two SCS33-25EU safety shock absorbers at the end of each of the rail structures set up for test purposes.

These hydraulic machine elements, which have a service life of up to 1,000 load cycles and are designed purely for emergency stop tasks, reliably provide their services in thousands of industrial applications as the last man standing to protect linear structures. On the other hand, they serve as an airbag for sensitive components such as carriages and for the components mounted on them, which are accelerated on the track and, if necessary, have to be braked to 0 km/h immediately and without rebound effect when passing the end position. So there was nothing to stop these safety forces, which are also used in gantry and conveyor systems, machining centers or automatic placement machines, from making their debut in film and television.

Silent Movie

Thanks to their compact design with a size of M33x1.5 and the continuous thread, the safety elements, each weighing 0.5 kg, could be quickly integrated into the construction and, with their dark outer bodies made of hardened steel, cut a fine figure in the anthracite-colored or grey equipment environment of a film set.

Rick Velthof and his team have received good feedback from customers about the increased safety and additional usage options thanks to the hydraulic damping technology. This not only shows its strengths at full camera movement and maximum speeds of 0.5 m/s, but also impresses at the other end of the speed scale, as the safety shock absorbers from ACE can be retracted at a minimum of 0.02 m/s at creep speed. No dynamic pressure builds up in the body, so that the remote-controlled approach against the shock absorbers can be carried out linearly, almost as if in slow motion and almost silently by the team on set. With today's highly automated technology and the high sensitivity to noise in the studio, this is a further advantage over the old-looking solid-state dampers of the previous generation.