Doughty Engineering introduced two new prototype products at PLASA this year.
A new Zenith stand has joined the company’s range of winch stands. Mark Chorley, design engineer at Doughty said: “The Doughty Zenith MKIII winch stands have been in regular service all over the world for more than 15 years, including use in some of the harshest conditions on earth. The Zenith MKIV builds upon these years of experience, evolving the design further.”
Boasting new, ergonomically designed locking knobs, stronger lockings springs for more positive action and a redesigned stand base to prevent tangling when stowing, the improvements have been designed to aid functionality, and longevity, while ensuring it maintains its position as the premier winch stand on the market. With adjustable wear pads to maintain long term, smooth operation, colour coded user interfaces for more intuitive operation and simplified construction for easier servicing, Doughty has pulled out all the stops to build upon a product with an already enviable reputation in the field.
Doughty has also designed a new Projector Mount for use with its Modular Rigging System. The aluminium mount is designed to work with any projector and simply clicks into the barrel of the drop arm but could also have a clamp fitted if required. It offers adjustment in all three planes and fits most domestic size modern projectors. Mark explained: “This is the first in a number of useful add-ons we will be producing for the Modular Rigging Range. While we brought it to PLASA in its prototype format, we would expect to have this ready for our customers to purchase in early 2016.”
The Modular Rigging System continues to holds its title of star attraction, once again garnering lots of attention at the show. In the year since its PLASA debut, the system has gone on to make appearances across a range of disciplines – from international music tours to popular television programmes and much of the attraction lies in the endless possibilities for new additions to the range.
Mark said: “As we always promised when we first introduced the Modular Rigging Range a year ago, the aim is to ensure it expands and evolves. Since we debuted the Drop Arms and H Frames at PLASA 2014, we’ve gone on to produce several new items, allowing lighting designers to get even more creative.”
These items – the half connector with eye and half connector with cable holder allow for the H-Frames to be flown at different heights. Mark added: “We really do love to hear how our customers can see the range developing. So many of our items begin life as one-offs in response to specific requests, that it’s becoming a bit of a habit now. The beauty of the Modular Rigging range is it knows no bounds. If a customer can come up with a new way they’d like to use the system, we will look at how we can help make that a reality.”
Doughty’s new Six Track Drive also made its PLASA debut. Lighter and quieter than its older brother, the new drive is a plug and play device, boasting variable speeds and seamless operation at no additional cost. Mark continued: “This new, improved drive is suitable for use by both the professional and amateur market and can be used in venues ranging from theatres to schools.”
The Doughty team were kept busy for the duration of the show. Julian Chiverton, sales director said: “For us PLASA is as much about the tradition of meeting new customers as it is about showing off our products to the rest of the industry. We invest a lot of time into research and development of each and every one of our products and PLASA gives us the chance to meet with the people who will use our products – from professionals to students, to learn from them and use their ideas and suggestions to develop our products even further.”
