Customised actuators close simulator door problem

When Crawley based Camber Entertainment wanted to solve a door closing problem on their new Morphis ESP range of entertainment simulators they turned to EMS for the solution

When Crawley based Camber Entertainment wanted to solve a door closing problem on their new Morphis ESP range of entertainment simulators they turned to Aldermaston based Electro Mechanical Systems Limited for the solution.

Founded in 1996 by five Managers from Thomson Training and Simulation, the UK arm of the French company, Thomson CSF, Camber Entertainment spent over 12 months developing their first products, a 2-seater capsule simulator and a mighty 20-seater unit.

These market leaders of the entertainment world use oil-based hydraulic and air-based pneumatic technologies as well as electricity which is fine on externally sited units but are sometimes perceived as noisy, dirty and difficult to service if an internal siting is envisaged.

Chris Chaddock, Sales and Marketing Director of Camber Entertainment was part of the team that embarked on developing a new, mid-range capsule simulator that would satisfy the concerns of purchasers as to cleanliness, noise and ease of servicing and have a smaller footprint and lower ceiling height requirement needed for indoor use.

The brief to the engineering department was to develop an 8-seater unit that performed all of the functions of its predecessors but that would use only electricity for power.

Interestingly, all of the technical problems were overcome without too much difficulty - with the exception of one! Almost all competing units have an operator standing by who opens and closes the door between rides, thereby allowing loading and unloading of the occupants.

The 8-seat Morphis ESP unit however was to have an electrically driven door which was to be remotely operated from the unit's control panel at the end of each operating cycle.

From the outset, the Morphis ESP unit was to be the most attractive ever designed.

The company employed a renowned automotive stylist to design the GRP capsule which uses an MPEG2 digital video and surround sound audio/visual system within to create the ultimate simulated experience.

For the door operating mechanism, Camber Entertainment engineers looked at rotary and linear actuators from a variety of sources.

No obligation talks commenced with a number of suppliers and manufacturers to investigate the available options.

It became apparent that only one supplier's product and approach fitted the bill precisely and that was Electro Mechanical Systems Limited.

Chris Chaddock takes up the story.

"My engineering colleagues were adamant.

EMS offered us outstanding technical support throughout the design stage.

Their whole approach was much the same as our own and we instinctively worked very well together.

Although they were not the cheapest, they were by far the best.

They satisfied the technical criteria very well and adapted a standard product to meet our needs exactly, lowering the door closing cycle from 22 to 12 seconds by amending the gear ratios during the development.

One problem with the linear actuator was the limit switching.

Traditionally, linear actuators are fitted with limit switches which isolate the power supply at each end of the movement cycle, a disadvantage in this application because they were regarded as being slightly vulnerable.

EMS designers collaborated fully with Camber Entertainment engineers to use an over-current sensing board embedded within the control panel as an electric cut-out, thereby stopping the door at precisely the correct open and closed positions.

Although not yet four years old, Camber Entertainment has placed itself firmly at the head of the capsule simulator industry.

So much so, that four of these state-of-the-art, US$150,000 units have just been installed at the world famous Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC to give visitors the thrill of their life on either a 'Mission on Mars' experience or a 'Ride with the Blue Angels' America's answer to our own Red Arrows.

'Mission on Mars' uses data only recently sent back from the Red Planet itself.

The space probe data was then digitally converted into high quality computer graphics and motion cues which are integrated with a high fidelity sound track.

As the graphics play out on the screen, the control motion cues move the simulator so that every bump seen on the display translates itself into simulator movements which are felt by the passengers.

With the soundtrack added, the result is an awsomely accurate representation of a ride on the Mars Rover, an experience that few will forget! Equally impressive in its own way is the 'Ride with the Blue Angels' in an F/18 fighter! Although launched only last November, twenty Morphis ESP units have been delivered to science, information and entertainment based clients around the world including the Fort Lauderdale Discovery Centre, Florida, the Film, Photographic and Television Museum in Bradford, the Blue Planet Aquarium in Ellesmere Port, Liverpool and another to the Austrian Tourist Board.

In addition to these, other important buyers have elected to buy the company's 20-seater simulator capsules including the US Space and Rocket Centre, the US Astronaut Hall of Fame.

the US Airforce Museum in Dayton, Ohio, the PIMA Air Museum in Arizona, the US Space and Rocket Centre and the US Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Indeed, some 90% of the company's production is exported.

Chris Chaddock concluded.

'EMS are now a preferred supplier to ourselves and will be invited to participate in all of our future development programmes.

Their technical support, technical skill, product quality and range are entirely in keeping with our company ethos.

They worked very well with us, especially as we had set ourselves an ambitious 6 month development programme which they helped us achieve.

EMS supplied Camber Entertainment with standard actuator units which were then customised to the clients specific application requirements.

The ASM 1504/600 actuators supplied lift an 85 kilogramme (static) weight door unit through just over 90 degrees with a 600mm stroke length covered at 45mm/sec and are 1055mm long in the closed position.

Although the door unit weighs 85 kilogrammes, the capsule design resulted in the actuator fixing points (on the door and the capsule) being in positions which, by gearing effect, increases the weight to be raised considerably.

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