Six ABB drives will be controlling a spectacular water feature on the opening set of Take That’s stadium tour this summer.
Working closely with the band’s choreographer Kim Gavin, specialist company Water Sculptures are utilising the drives to create the perfect atmosphere for the performance of “Back for Good” during the first part of the show.
The 3 kW ABB component drives are interfaced to the lighting control desk via a communications protocol, DMX512-A, used to control stage lighting and effects. Water Sculptures have developed a custom built interface, converting the digital DMX signal to an analogue 0-10 volt reference signal and voltage free start relay contact.
The water cascades are controlled from faders on the lighting desk and to prevent risk of audible noise, ABB have also provided RF132 1st environment filters.
As the artists come on stage for the number, the lighting engineers turn on the water cascades at full effect. With two nozzles on each of the six pumps, twelve jets of water, slightly angled towards the audience, rise six to seven metres into the air.
The water disperses into small droplets, creating a light drizzle over the crowd to resemble the rain scene from the “Back for Good” video. Following the initial impact, the cascades are gradually lowered during the song. In windy conditions, the height can be reduced to prevent the crowd getting too wet.
“The drives control the reduction in speed really well. They also give a rapid yet controlled acceleration from zero to 100% speed at the beginning,” says Water Sculptures’ creative director Alasdair Elliot.
High head, high volume pumps are required to deliver the desired effect. ITT Lowara multi-stage impeller borehole pumps have been selected for the job, delivering 6,000 litres of water around the stage in less than two minutes.
“The ABB drives are perfect for the job. We have worked with ABB drives before and we know we get good quality and backup from ABB,” says Elliot.
“Variable speed drives were necessary on this occasion to achieve the wide speed range we required. The drives also make it very easy to adjust the water feature according to what the choreographer wants,” adds Water Sculptures technician Phil Milston.
“In addition, you get the benefit of ramping, which takes much of the shock out of the system at start-up, improving the long-term reliability of the pumps.”