MovieBird 45 User manual

Romualda Traugutta 5, 45-667 Opole, Poland
Phone: [phone]
English and German only: [phone]
Web: moviebird.com. E-mail: [e-mail]
MovieBird 45
Instruction Manual
Technical Support:
Piotr Czernecki: [e-mail], Phone - [phone]
Maciej Hełm: [e-mail], Phone [phone]

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Table of Contents
Part 1. Safety Guideline/Points ......................................................................................................... 3
Safety Guideline .................................................................................................................... 3
Safety Points ......................................................................................................................... 5
Part 2. Crane Mechanics ................................................................................................................. 10
Part 3. Electronics/Troubleshooting ................................................................................................ 31

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1. Safety Guideline/Points
The manufacturer recomends the following safety procedures: in order to reduce the possibility
of an accident, every camera crane with arm range above 30 feet (9 meters) should be operated
by at least two trained technicians (grips).
In case of MovieBird cranes it concerns models: MB-30, MB-35, MB-45, MB-50XL, MB-52, MB-62.
Safety Guideline
1. The assembly instructions must be read and understood before setup or operation. The crane
may only be assembled in accordance with the manufacturer’s instruction manual. The manufac-
turer’s technical specications and limits must be adhered to at all times and in no way exceeded.
2. The MovieBird Telescopic Crane may only be setup or operated by trained and experienced per-
sonnel.
3. The crane may not be assembled or operated under the inuence of alcohol, drugs or any other
intoxicating substances.
4. The manufacturer accepts no liability for damages, injuries, or accidents occurring due to negli-
gence by the crane operator, misuse of the crane or disregarding the instruction manual.
5. The camera crane must be used on the even terrain.
6. Make sure there are no electronic cables and electronic appliances within the movement range
of the crane arm when it is left unattended in assembled state. If the pan and tilt remote head is
higher than the central pivot section the crane system should not be left unsupervised.
7. After setup of the crane the pan and tilt remote head should be positioned under the central piv-
ot section. If the pan and tilt remote head is higher than the central pivot section the crane system
should not be left unsupervised.
8. Make sure that there are no wires with electric power which has a higher voltage than the safety
level within the movement range of the whole crane system. The power supply cable should not
be pulled when swivelling the crane arm.
9. Avoid abruptly swivelling or stopping the crane as it may cause the crane to fall.
10. The crane must not be used in environments with wind speed faster than 5.5–7.9 m/s.
11. When the camera crane is used during wet weather the pan and tilt remote head, control box
and control bar must be protected against the rain as the control box is strictly prohibited from
making contact with water.

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12. When the crane is in operation no one must enter the enclosure of the crane arm. You must avoid
anyone standing directly under the crane.
13. No loose objects may be stored or placed in or on the crane.
14. Ensure the location where the crane is installed can support the double overall weight of the
crane, (including the counterweight) and operators.
15. When the control system is working the gear of the remote head is not allowed to be turned, if it
needs to be adjusted the power supply should be switched o before the adjustment is made.
16. In the interest of safety when operating the crane, abrupt or sudden movement of the crane
should be avoided.
17. Only original accessories manufactured by MovieBird Technologies may be used with the crane.
18. Check that there are no objects placed around or on the rail of the moving counterweight trolley.
19. The crane arm must not be extended without another person holding the enclosure of the crane
arm tightly.
20. The rst three sections (All moving sections) of the crane arm must not be held.

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Safety Points
1. MovieBird telescopic crane to be operated and assembled by a trained MovieBird Operator.
2. MovieBird telescopic crane not to be left unattended without rst securing arm to base with
straps provided.
3. MovieBird telescopic crane only to be lifted by its own lifting straps using handles provided on
cranes.
4. Care must be taken when lifting counterweights onto saddle.
5. All guards to be left in place on MovieBird during operation (unless removed by MovieBird oper-
ator for adjustment only and then to be re-tted before re-use of MovieBird)
6. Electronic & mechanical“stops”to be in full safe working order ( to be veried by MovieBird Oper-
ator)
7. Brake to be operated by MovieBird operator only.
8. Base must be maintained horizontally in a level position when in use.
9. All personnel in the vicinity of the MovieBird are to be made aware of its scope and speed of
movement.
10. It is forbidden to operate the crane without all of the safety covers installed.
11. To reduce the possibility of injuries, the crane must be operated by at least two persons.
12. It is forbidden to remove or add any weight to the crane without permission of the crane oper-
ator. Any added/removed weight will cause unbalancing of the crane which may lead to serious
accident.
13. Any time during operating of the crane, the crane operator must have at least one hand holding
the crane. Any hand-free movement of the crane arm is forbidden.
14. All of the service points, safety covers, adjustment screws – if not stated otherwise in this manual
– are to be handled only by certied MovieBird technician.
15. Any people in the vicinity of the crane must be informed about the intended movement of the
crane, it’s work characteristics and safety guidelines included in this manual.

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Part 1
Safety Information
Safety Straps / how to transport
When not in use, or during transport, the crane should always be secured
by two safety straps –one at the front and one at the back. On the dolly, fasten
the safety straps with snap hooks at the eyebolts. On the crane, pull the straps
through the holes provided. This prevents the straps from slipping off under
strain or becoming detached unintentionally. Also one safety strap need to
hold the last section to prevent it from jumping while being transported.
During transport, the sections need to be secured by attaching the
blockade to the first and last section, exactly how it’s shown at the picture
below.

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Also both breaks (pan and tilt) need to be released.

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Securing the counterweights
The counterweights should always be secured by M16 bolts to prevent
them from failing off.
Cleaning, Maintenance, Service
The crane should never be cleaned when the electronic is switched on
to avoid lethal injuries! Rails and steel wheels should be cleaned from dirty
grease as often as possible to maintain best performance of the arm.
The cables should be always checked if they’re tightened up properly
before working with the arm. If the cables are loosened there is a risk that one
of them will fall down of the drum which can cause heavy damage to the arm
and is also very dangerous for the people nearby.

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Also it’s highly recommended to check:
-If the counterweight belt is tightened up properly and if not, to do so;
-If the chain from chain drive is tightened up properly and if not, to do so;
-If the side belt is tightened up properly and if not, to do so;
Information about above steps are described deeper in this instruction.
Protective Covers
There is always a danger of someone gripping the crane beam and having
their hands cut off by the moving sections. It is therefore forbidden to work
with a crane without the protective covers being fitted. The protective covers
should only be removed for servicing and cleaning the rails and steel wheels,
and must always be screwed back on afterwards. Also the electronics must be
always switched off before removing the covers.

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Part 2
Crane Mechanics
How to Balance The Crane
This step guide is showing an example of how to balance the crane.
1. Put 25 counterweights on each side of the crane (50 total).
2. Remove section blockade and release all the breaks (pan/tilt).
Part 2
Crane Mechanics

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3.
Extract the arm a little manually so the platform will go off from the front
end stop.
4. Turn on electronics (box, leveling head).
5. Intract the arm. This is the 1st position to balance the crane.
6. Loosen up the rear strap. 2nd person should be securing the crane. If that
person is able to hold the crane then remove both straps.

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7.
Check which side of the crane is heavier. If it’s the front then move the
counterweight platform to the rear side until we get the balance (similarly
if the rear side is heavier) using the screw shown at the picture below
(you need to loosen up 2 screws before adjusting the platform).

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8.
If the crane is still unbalanced after step 7, then we use the donuts to
balance it.
9. When we got the balance on the 1st position –extract the arm until the
counterweight platform reach the rear end stop (it should be on learning
mode so it will move slowly –that’s what we want). On its way if one of
the sides will be too heavy to hold then remove or add the
counterweights depending on which side is heavier. When the arm will be
extracted to the end then it’s the 2nd position to balance the crane.
10. If the front overweights –add the counterweights until balance is
obtained. If the rear is heavier –remove the counterweights until balance
is obtained.

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note: we use all kinds of counterweights if it’s necessary to add small
values.
We need to remember that M16 bolts that secure the counterweights
also counts in the balance process.
11. After we got the balance when the arm is extracted –intract to the 1st
position to see if the balance isn’t lost (it shouldn’t if you followed this
step guide).
12. Crane is ready to work.

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Dolly
D.1. Dolly is permanently equipped with leveling jacks. We do
recommend to use all of them while operating the crane for best stability and
to maintain perfect level in both axes.
D.2. Track wheels are also permanently equipped into the dolly (picture
above).
D.3. Crane base is equipped with pneumatic wheels. Optionally we do
provide hard studio wheels also.
D.4. On the dolly there’s a steering supported by 2 drawbacks
connected to each other for best maneuvering of the crane. Optionally it’s
possible to block one of the drawback and separate it from the other one by
dismounting the connecting strip under the dolly.

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Column
C.1. The column is mounted onto the dolly by using four M16 screws.

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C.2. Also it’s crucial to be sure that square receiver on the bottom of the
column is properly engaged with the square shaft socket on the dolly.

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C.3. There are four screws that needs to be released before extending
telescopic column and also horizontal break must be locked.
After those steps the inner column can be raised or lowered with a
24mm ratchet or by using the drill. The column can be extended by 45cm until
visible marking appear.

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Yoke
On the yoke there is located a power management to which you connect
power supply cable. All the electronics are connected directly to the yoke (box
and leveling head AC). There is voltage current displayed on the yoke. Also an
emergency stop button that cuts off all the power instantly is located on the
side of the yoke.

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Arm
IMPORTANT: Electronics MUST be switched off before working inside of the
arm. Also it is forbidden to move the sections during adjustment of crane
mechanics. MovieBird does not take any responsibility if someone is
maintaining the crane and don’t abide above rules.
A.1. How to adjust green sliding wheels.
After some time of crane usage there is possibility that the sliding green
wheels - on which sections are moving during first few meters –needs to be
tuned.