Once again Ayrton is in the spotlight with a new product presented at Prolight+Sound 2014 and it’s already been a big hit.
The MagicBlade-R, a moving-head luminaire with seven LED emitters arranged in-line, may look familiar but it has little in common with its older brother, the RollaPix. This member of the RADICAL product line, has a single row of seven 67-mm diameter 4.5º collimator optics coupled with 15W RGBW Ostar Stage LEDs, famous for producing long-range tight beams.
In addition. based on the solid success of continuous pan-and-tilt rotation achieved with MagicPanel™602, Ayrton decided to add it to this unusual luminaire to enhance creative potential. Yvan Peard, Ayrton’s products designer explained that manufacturing it was more complicated than expected, because even though the tilt-axis did not require any physical modification, the pan rotation required removing the two attachment points on either side, thereby causing a cantilevered effect. This called for a redesign of the entire base of the fixture by building a chassis that was resistant to any torsion caused by the swinging motion of the head. The electronics were also entirely revised according to the latest developments.
What’s inside
MagicBlade-R is equipped with seven 15W RGBW LED emitters and like all products in the “R” line, it is recognisable by the distinctive 67mm diameter collimators that generate extremely tight beams.
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The unique aluminium heat sink system cools the head
The heat sink which takes up most of the back of the head, is made of thin aluminium plates. This cooling system on the moving part of the projector is especially effective, as we proved in our derating tests.
Painted black, it reflects no light and actually improves the aluminium’s thermal dissipation, since the paint also serves to protect the aluminium, which would otherwise tend to fade over time. The excellent thermal efficiency of the heat sink eliminates the need for forced ventilation in this part of the fixture.
67mm collimators positioned by the precision mounting bracket and the indexing pin visible at the top.
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On the opposite side are the LED emitters. For maximum optical efficiency and a uniform beam, the axis of each collimator must form a precise 90° angle to the support bracket for the LEDs. They all need to be strictly oriented in the same direction.
The seven lenses are then held in place at both ends: in the upper part by a precision-manufactured plate, and at the bottom by four pins that are positioned around the LEDs in corresponding slots on the circuit board.
The choice of the LEDs themselves is also particularly important not only for the colorimetric unity of the seven beams but also for grouping MagicBlade-R units in an array. To obtain this level of quality in their products, there is no choice but for Ayrton to specify the most accurate binning available from Osram. The result is perfection. When visiting the Ayrton booth at a trade show, you can clearly see the consistency of color unity between the “R” products.
Circuit board for the head with the seven 15W Osram Ostar Stage LEDs and the 28 high-quality drivers.
Démo Ayrton of MagicBlade-R. Conception Stéphane Migné, programmation Arnaud Pierrel
AYRTON – MagicBlade-R – Twenty Four Unit Demo from Ayrton on Vimeo.
The tilt drive, with two gears, is found on one side of the yoke, The small gear also acts as the encoder for indexing the head. It is mounted on directly to a three-phase hybrid stepper motor, known for its speed, high torque, smooth movement and precision. The other bigger gear, is attached to the head. Access holes are distributed over the surface of this gear to permit tools to pass through for service. The drive belt is tightened by a roller assembly.
The tilt drive on one side of the head
slip ring assembly that enables permanent rotation
The opposite side of the yoke enables continuous rotation on the pan axis. Here we find a highly reliable slip ring system, which enables the stator, the fixed part, to connect to the rotor, the part that turns. This 11 circuit assembly passes electric power and control data from the yoke into the LED head that rotates powerfully and continuously.
The base enclosure of the fixture must withstand substantial stress created by the movement of the elongated head. It required careful design to deal with potential leverage forces that might prevent the projector from functioning properly.
For easy accessibility, the 200W power supply is mounted on one side of the base enclosure, easily within a service technician’s reach.
On the other side is the pan axis motor. We found the same system as on the tilt with the small gear with the indexing system and, to permit the fixture to be suspended in any position, a very large and thick gear that drives the yoke.
Pan driven by the three-phase hybrid stepper motor, the encoder and the gear that drives the yoke
200W power supply easily accessible on the side of the base
To conclude the discussion on disassembly, two things attracted my attention. First of all, these are some of the highest quality plastic covers that I have ever reviewed. They are an example of fine workmanship, and the locking pins and thickness of the plastic ensure a seamless assembly.
The moulded plastic covers show fine workmanship
The second point worth mentioning is that I only needed two tools to take the fixture apart: an Allen wrench and a Phillips screwdriver. This is certainly a big plus for technicians who will maintain the unit.
The same can be said about all the types of screws of varying lengths. Though we completely disassembled the unit, we only came across three kinds of screws!
Once again, this is proof of the meticulous work by the Ayrton team at every stage in the design.
External view
While some manufacturers are cutting back drastically on connectors, Ayrton continues to provide its customers with all the options.
Ayrton provides a very complete and flexible set of connections
For controlling the MagicBlade-R, on the rear of the base there are male and female XLR 5-pin connectors for the DMX512 and RDM options, along with two RJ45 EtherCON input/outputs for Art-Net. The luminaire is also equipped with a LumenRadio wireless CRMX RDM receiver.
Each fixture can act as a node by mixing different types of inputs and outputs. For instance, to use Art-Net on input, select the DMX universe that controls the luminaire and send it to the other luminaires patched into the same universe through the XLR 5-pin female. The DMX signal can also be received through the LumenRadio card and sent by the XLR connection.
Since the unit’s maximum power consumption is 200 Watts, it’s possible to power several luminaires on the a single circuit. Once again Ayrton has made life easier for technicians by adding a PowerCON TRUE1 mains connector and pass-through output connector.
The display and six touch screen buttons
On the other side of the base is the display and the six touch screen buttons for navigating in the control menus, which any Ayrton aficionado could almost use blindfolded. This is where you control the luminaire and select between one of three DMX modes that require from 18 to 44 channels.
The difference between the first two DMX modes is pretty minimal: 2 channels, with the simplest mode not supporting the Pan Fine and Tilt Fine settings. The last mode, which we used for our testing, allowed us to control the four colour parameters, RGBW, and the seven LEDS, independently.
We turned on the MagicBlade from the console to discover its functions. Since the luminaire does not have a lot of parameters to control, it’s easy to use. The unit is very quiet. A faint noise can be heard when you use the tilt parameter, but nothing annoying
We therefore started testing by measuring derating, first on a single LED and then on all the LEDs. In the first case, we observed a derating of less than 5%, which is more than satisfactory. With all the LEDs at full power, we measured a 17% drop in illuminance after their being on at full for 35 minutes.
This result is perfectly acceptable for a luminaire that does not have forced ventilation. What’s more you have to consider the context in which it will be used.
MagicBlade-R is an effects luminaire that is very unlikely to remain lit in full white or RGBW for a extended period of time. The results were therefore excellent.
Illuminance measurements proved to us that the tight collimators were not optically capable of achieving a perfect colour mix: We expected this but the result was still very satisfactory.
Photometric measurements
One RGBW source
The results were good. For a single lit source, we measured 1530 lux at the centre at 5 meters cold and a 334-lumen flux. The single beam was brighter than that of the RollaPix.
Seven RGBW sources
After turning on the seven LED sources, we obtained 7870 lux at the centre cold with a 2180-lumen flux.
The last test was of the dimmer curve, which was perfectly straight. Ayrton equips its LEDs with one of the best drivers on the market. Having gained years of experience on this subject, Ayrton really knows what it’s doing !
Beyond the figures
We found the projected beams of the RADICAL line to be very precise, with the both subtle and dynamic dimmer response. The light is powerful and the narrow beam angle gives it the ability to project a good distance. With good smoke effects and several fixtures in-line, your are able to obtain a nice light curtain effect. The 67mm optics really adds value to this effects luminaire, especially when using different colours in the seven LEDs or with a time delay in the colour transitions. This optical system allows you to shape the light, accenting and animating the effects.
Another magical aspect is the pan setting that expands the range of effects. It can completely change the geometry of a space, offering the advantage of diversifying scenes at the same show or using entirely different effects at other shows. You can even use a single LED to focus on a specific part of the stage or on a musician. Single LED use is also interesting for masking the beam line and using another light source.
But what makes this luminaire—and the rest of the RADICAL line—unique is the continuous rotation on both axes, especially since you can hang it in any it position. This makes it possible to create a new range of simple or combined movements or program effects quickly, which would take time if this function were not present.
The “ Chase Patterns” parameter also allows you to save time with 15 pre-programmed colour chases whose speed and the transition can be controlled through two adjacent channels.
A wide gamut of colours can be applied separately on each of the seven LEDs.
In conclusion
The MagicBlade-R is already a success, as witnessed by the number of orders Ayrton has taken: Dushow & MPM in France, LightDesign in Hungary, Upstaging and VER in the USA, FourLeaf in Japan, Sincopa in Israel.
Admittedly, the French manufacturer has quality on his side. The workmanship of everything designed and manufactured in-house is excellent, and the engineering department has selected only the best outsourced products, such as the LEDs, collimators, drivers or DMX HF board.
MagicBlade-R is a perfect product that should thrill many an LD. In fact, it is already being used on stages around the world— by Wiz Khalifa’s and Hushser, for instance.
Ayrton has amazed us with yet another luminaire and the company is far from running out of ideas. We can expect to find more of them at Prolight+Sound with some new surprises….
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Chamsys presents their latest lighting console, the MQ80, an evolution of the MQ60 that allows the user to work more comfortably and with a more powerful processor that can control 24 DMX universes.
4 physical DMX outputs
