Doughty Engineering Launches Modular Rigging System at LDI

	Doughty's modular rigging system's H Frame

Doughty Engineering will introduce its award winning Modular Rigging System in the US for the first time at LDI, November 21 - 23, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Offering faster rigging of stage sets, combined with improved safety, the range is already being hailed as a strong, safe alternative to home-made drop arms, which until now have been the only option for riggers.

The system uses tried and tested connectors to give a SWL of 220lb (100kg) and enables the safe and speedy rigging of luminaires from truss or fixed tube barrels. It also provides for a range of configurations to open up the possibility for innovative lighting design.

With this in mind, leading lighting company ETC was keen to put the range to good use when they designed their new trade show stand this year. Launched at PLASA London, the stand design is an "Upside Down World" theme, with a theatrical scene hanging inverted above the stand. This gives the impression to visitors on the floor of looking down on a stage from above. The scene is used to show off ETC's latest lighting fixtures and to continue the theme, the designers wanted to rig some fixtures on inverted booms, with fixtures overhung (upside down) on the boom arms.

Graham Parker, field service engineer for ETC said: "Under normal circumstances these booms would be scaff pipe and Doughty arms standing in Doughty Tank Traps on the floor with gravity on their side. While looking for a rated method of attachment to the truss for a traditional scaff pipe boom, we discovered the new products on offer from Doughty. The 220lb weight loading of a single top clamp was well within our requirements. The various different sized T-pieces and extensions allowed us to put the fixtures at just the height and spacing we wanted them."

Manufactured from high tensile aluminum, the Drop Arms come in lengths of 9.84" (250mm), 19.68" (500mm), 39.37" (1000mm), and 78.75" (2000mm) which can be connected using conical couplers to create larger drops of approximately 19.68' (6m). H-Frames are 16.3" (415mm) and 39.37" (1000mm) high with connectors available in 9.84"(250mm), 19.68" (500mm), 39.37" (1000mm), and 78.75" (2000mm). All have a safe working load of 220lb (100kg) and are available in powder coated silver or black finishes.

Graham added: "The system has provided us with a slick, clean solution which is important to the look for our trade show stand. The modular nature of the system also allows us to re-configure the booms for future shows as we show different products on them. Following the success at PLASA London, ETC will keep all the parts in Europe for our trade shows there and have purchased another set for our US trade shows, rather than our initial plan of fabricating our own solution. It's rare to find an ETC trade show stand that doesn't have at least one Doughty product fixing, holding, or supporting something these days."