Smooth-running energy chains for camera robots in the Tagesschau news studio

• What was needed: energy chain type E6, chainflex® control cable, guide trough
• Requirements: Smooth running, maintenance-free, long service life, fluid and backlash-free movements
• Industry: Film and camera technology
• Success for the customer: The e-chain® type E6 achieves a long running performance that can be calculated in advance. abrasion-resistant connecting elements and a small pitch ensure extremely quiet and low vibration running. For the longest travel, a special solution was developed with a customised moving end, special support rollers, rubber-coated plastic rollers or special suspensions for the guide trough.

The Tagesschau news studio is staffed almost around the clock. The ARD flagship is not only used for 20 daily news programmes, the Tagesthemen and the Nachtmagazin, but also for the Tagesschau news every quarter of an hour on the tagesschau24 digital channel. The presentation of the day's current events takes centre stage, and the technology has to work at all times.
So when the Tagesschau studio was to be completely overhauled and modernised, the technical equipment also had to be reconsidered. The centrepiece is an 18-metre-wide, semi-circular media wall behind the presenters' seats. It can be used to display panoramic images, photos, videos and text overlays. Seven beamers project the changing background images onto the media wall in rear projection. The question was how this stage set could best be staged for the audience.
In order to reliably capture the movement paths and fade-ins, a conscious decision was made not to use camera cranes, but rather modern robotic cameras that move on linear rails under the ceiling. The full-service provider XXX for turnkey robot solutions made no compromises when designing the system. As all systems had to run absolutely fault-free from the very first minute of transmission, only components that guarantee a long service life and are maintenance-free could be used. This also applies to the cable routing to the travelling camera robots. The six-axis industrial robots weigh around 300 kilograms. With all the necessary equipment, they each move a mass of around 500 kilograms. From the teleprompter, all the necessary cables and hoses through to the safety technology: a filling weight of at least 30 kilograms per metre rests on the cable routing. Accordingly, there was a great need for dialogue when selecting the right energy supply system.

For the trade show project, it was clear early on that our plastic energy supply systems would be used in the robot system. The long running performance, which can be calculated in advance, as well as the wide range of variants of the energy chain were at the forefront of the considerations.
Specifically, open energy supply systems from the E6 series with an inner height of 80 millimetres and a bend radius of 150 millimetres have proven themselves in all three camera robots used. The travel distances are 12 metres, 8 metres and 6.50 metres. The series has a modular design, which means that the chain can be shortened or extended at any point. Even more important, however, is the special design of the chain links: abrasion-resistant connecting elements and the small pitch enable extremely quiet and low vibration operation in the newsroom. The dreaded polygon effect during unrolling does not occur at any time.
While the two cameras on the shorter travel distances were solved with self-supporting energy chains (upper run and lower run do not touch), a special solution is used on the 12 m travel distance. Here, due to the length of the chain, the upper run would rest on the lower run when travelling. A customised moving end with special support rollers was chosen to prevent grinding noises and wear of the material during the process. Three rubber-coated plastic rollers catch the upper run. In addition, there are special suspensions for the guide trough, which hold the chain fed into the centre. The channel system is also lined with insulating mats.
To guarantee long-term functional reliability, shielded control cables from the chainflex® programme suitable for energy chains are also used in the camera robots. This is because it is particularly important to avoid shield wire breaks, which can lead to short circuits or reduced shielding effectiveness. This is prevented, among other things, by the tight overall braided shield of the chainflex® cable, which has been specially developed for use in energy chains. The shield also protects the stranded bundle against torsion.