ETC is raising the curtain on a new stage in rigging — presenting smarter digital controls, an ingeniously compact hoist design, breakthrough component engineering, better hardware, easy and affordable installation, and safety innovations.
Contact an ETC dealer to find out more.
Smart engineering. Housing the innovatively compact Progressive Sloped Drum, the Prodigy Powerhead developed by ETC is 1/3 the length and 1/2 the weight of other-brand hoist systems — making it easier to ship, handle, lift and install. The Powerhead fits on a single standard pallet. Up to 30 units can ship in a standard 40’ trailer, where competitors’ hoists would require multiple trucks. And because it is elegantly designed and compact, the Powerhead is easily mounted to a single beam.
Inside the Powerhead is a core breakthrough of the ETC Rigging™ system – the ingenious Progressive Sloped Drum. By winding lift lines in alternating layers, the drum design dramatically reduces the space otherwise needed for a motorized winch. Other hoist systems require long and bulky drums–with winches as long as cars. The reduced size of the drum also means a far more streamlined Powerhead housing – for the most compact and manageable rigging system on the market.
Designed with safety foremost in mind, each Prodigy hoist comes with two brakes as standard — one mechanical, one electrical — for failure-proof redundant braking. ETC’s exclusive Prodigy mechanical Load Brake operates whether electrical power is available or not. Fundamental for safety and fail-safe backup, this innovative mechanical Load Brake is always engaged when stopped.
ETC hoists can be mounted in places where rigging could never have been used before. ETC’s innovative Compression Tube technology absorbs and disperses lateral stress on buildings. No additional lateral stress means no additional bracing to prevent beam rotation. And heavier beams to resist twisting are no longer needed. Lightweight bar-joist trusses that can support the lifted load are a sufficient structure for this system. Buildings such as school gyms, churches, and historic theaters that would have been too costly to renovate with traditional theatrical rigging can now accommodate complete rigging systems.
Revolutionary cable management. No more ceiling-hogging machinery. No more tangled excess cables or fragile folding systems. The ETC Rigging Cable Management System saves valuable ceiling space by retracting neatly and compactly — in only 30 inches of height. And that retracted height can be maintained even with up to 48 dimmed circuits and Ethernet or DMX control wiring provided to the raceway. Also saving time and money, the Cable Management System ships as a complete unit with cable terminations already wired by the factory. This rethinking of cable management allows ETC hoists to tuck into very shallow plenums, making them ideal for front-of-house applications, school theaters, and existing structures where there is minimal ceiling height to spare over the stage.
The RACA (Right Angle Cable Adjuster) is another exclusive ETC Rigging device that trims the cable to the desired height, allowing up to six inches of adjustment and saving 17 precious inches of extra height over old-fashioned turnbuckles. Saving time as well, the RACA takes just a few seconds to adjust with a power drill as against more labor-intensive manual rotation of the turnbuckle.
ETC Rigging was designed from the outset with easier installation in mind, saving on time and money. The Powerhead is engineered to be as compact as possible so that it is easier to lift and handle. Unique mounting brackets allow the Compression Tube backbone of the system to be snapped into matching beam clamps. No other rigging system installs so efficiently, because much of the work is done by the factory for you. Loft blocks are pre-strung and easily slid out into position. Cable lines, which are pre-wound on reels, can be simply lowered into position for attachment to the batten. The Cable Management System comes pre-assembled and terminated.
And ETC ensures that only factory-certified technicians install your system — ‘raising the bar’ on your productions.
ETC is known for its pioneering and award-winning innovation in entertainment-technology control systems. ETC Rigging continues that record by offering five versions of its QuickTouch control to accommodate the number of hoists in your system. Each QuickTouch station features an Emergency Stop button and has an easy-to-read LCD screen with plain-English messaging showing information like hoist number, load, position, and status. Simple wiring topology requires no auxiliary contactor cabinets – just one control cable connects hoists and control stations.
