It takes a lot of air to operate an accordion but Tony Decap of Decap Organs, Herentals, Belgium believes he has found the ideal solution for his automated instruments. For five generations the Decap family have been designing and building fair/street/dance band organs, but these days new customers demand new products. So Tony Decap, one of the current owners of the business, has been exploring new ideas. The end result of his endeavours and significant investment is the company’s automated accordion.
“What we need for these automated accordions is a constant and consistent supply of air at a fixed pressure delivered quietly”, says Tony. “Et voila! The Multi-Stage MS8 centrifugal blower range from Air Control Industries is exactly what we need. It is so right that it could have been made for us!
“In addition, the blower so compact it can be hidden in the base of the plinth upon which we mount the accordion.”
Special features of the MS8 blower range that make it ideal for this application are a virtual silent (noise levels below 65dB(A)) and maintenance-free operation. The blowers also have a series of dynamically balanced impellers directly driven by the motor through an extended shaft. Varying air flow performances can be offered by simply changing the number of impellers. It is also light weight thanks to its corrosion-free white polyester fan case.
As the human ear is very sensitive to irregularities in a musical performance, the precision of air delivery is essential for these new automated accordions. This is accomplished by use of a high-speed valve, which in turn is driven by a closed-loop-
PID system and signals from a PDA. The steady air-flow of the MS8 helps a lot in preventing the much feared feedback problems inherent in these closed-loop systems.
Launched in December, Decap has already sold 40 of these accordions, most to traditional theme bars around the world but some to private customers who install them in their sitting rooms.
The MS8 blower is a modular unit that can be supplied with up to 3 stages i.e. up to 3 impellers on a single shaft to boost pressure according to application requirements.