MovieBird MB12 User manual

MB12 Verticrane Instruction
Manual
MovieBird International Sp. z o.o.
ul. Romualda Traugutta 5
45-667 Opole
Poland
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
e-mail: [email protected]
www.moviebird.com

MovieBird MB12 Verticrane Instruction Manual
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Technical Support:
Piotr Czernecki –[email protected] , Phone [phone]
Maciej Hełm – [email protected] , Phone [phone]

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Table of contents
Safety guidelines........................................................................................................................ 4
Safety precautions..................................................................................................................... 6
Crane balancing. ........................................................................................................................ 9
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION / CONTENTS........................................................................................ 12
SYSTEM ASSEMBLY.................................................................................................................. 17
Dolly assembly...................................................................................................................... 17
PanBearing installation/removal.......................................................................................... 18
Yoke installation. .................................................................................................................. 19
Arm installation. ................................................................................................................... 19
Levelling head and electronics installation. ......................................................................... 22
Enabling Verticrane function................................................................................................... 24
Crane maintenance.................................................................................................................. 32
Cables.................................................................................................................................... 32
Main drive belt...................................................................................................................... 33
Motor belt............................................................................................................................. 34
Guide rails............................................................................................................................. 35
Dolly mechanics....................................................................................................................... 36
Articulated arms. .................................................................................................................. 36
Side supports. ....................................................................................................................... 36
Steering handlebar. .............................................................................................................. 37
Steering lock. ........................................................................................................................ 37
Track wheels. ........................................................................................................................ 38
Column lifting. ...................................................................................................................... 39
Electronics................................................................................................................................ 40
Parts list and description. ..................................................................................................... 40
Connection and power up. ................................................................................................... 41
Levelling head manual.......................................................................................................... 43
Troubleshooting.................................................................................................................... 44

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Safety guidelines.
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
manufacturer’s technical specifications and limits must be adhered to at all times and in no
way exceeded.
2. The MovieBird Telescopic Crane may only be assembled, setup or operated by trained and
experienced operator.
3. The crane may not be assembled or operated under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any
other intoxicating substances.
4. The manufacturer accepts no liability for damages, injuries, or accidents occurring due to
negligence by the crane operator, misuse of the crane or disregarding the instruction manual.
5. The camera crane must be used on 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
pivot 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 under any tension 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 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.
12. No loose objects may be stored or placed in or on the crane.
13. Ensure the location where the crane is installed can support the double overall weight of
the crane, (including the counterweight) and operators.
14. Only original accessories manufactured by MovieBird Technologies may be used with the
crane.
15. Check that there are no objects placed on the side rails that can interfere with the moving
counterweight hanger.
16. The telescopic sections of the crane must not be touched during crane operation.

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17. MovieBird telescopic crane must not to be left unattended without first securing arm to
base with straps provided.
18. Care must be taken when lifting counterweights onto hanger.
19. All protective covers must be left in place on MovieBird during operation (unless removed
by MovieBird operator for adjustment only and then to be re-fitted before re-use of
MovieBird)
20. Electronic & mechanical "end stops" must be in full safe working order ( to be verified by
MovieBird Operator)
21. Pan and Tilt brake must be operated by MovieBird operator only.
22. Base must be maintained horizontally in a level position when in use.
23. All personnel in the vicinity of the MovieBird are to be made aware of its scope and speed
of movement.
24. To reduce the possibility of injuries, the crane must be operated by at least two persons.
25. It is forbidden to remove or add any weight to the crane without permission of the crane
operator. Any added/removed weight will cause unbalancing of the crane which may lead to
serious accident.
26. 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.
27. All of the service points, safety covers, adjustment screws –if not stated otherwise in this
manual –are to be handled only by certified MovieBird technician.
28. 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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Safety precautions.
Safety straps.
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.
The safety straps will keep the crane stable when retracted but they can’t ensure safety in
every situation. If the crane is unbalanced and fully extended it might tip over sp it is important
to balance the crane before telescoping out.
Counterweights.
The counterweights should always be secured by M16 bolts to prevent them from falling off.
During transport, all counterweights should be taken off the crane.

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Levelling jacks.
MB12 dolly has 6 sets of levelling jacks –one on each corner and additional two on the
extendable side supports. When stationary, use the levelling jacks to keep the base from
moving. Always set the base levelled (horizontal) before using the arm.
Section lock.
During transport the sections might extract themselves and cause damage to the crane or
nearby objects, therefore they need to be secured by attaching the locking bar to the first and
last section:

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Protective covers.
It is forbidden to operate a crane without the protective covers being fitted. The protective
covers should only be removed for servicing and cleaning the rails or tightening cables and
must always be screwed back on afterwards. Operating the crane without side covers may
result in serious hand injury. Electronic control box must be always switched off before
removing the covers.

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Crane balancing.
Telescopic camera cranes need proper balancing for safe operation, quite different than
balancing a fixed length camera crane. Due to the small size and weight of the MB12 crane it
is mandatory to have the crane perfectly balanced every time the electric control unit is on.
Failure to do so might cause motor overheating and crane damage.
To balance the crane:
-Put both safety straps on the arm and level the dolly using levelling jacks.
-Install the levelling head, remote head with camera and all accessories and cables.
Install the control unit and plug all the cables in.
-Remove the section lock and extract the sections manually until the counterweight
hanger is right on top of the yoke/column. Release both pan and tilt brakes.
-Now, with one person holding the arm by the side rails, the other person carefully
loosens one safety strap, preferably the one with more tension on it. Check for balance
and add static balance on the arm (side rail weights or counterweights at the back of
the arm).
When You feel the arm is more or less in balance, remove both safety straps from the
arm and check again, add/remove weights if needed.
-At this point You can power the electronics on and wait for the levelling head to
calibrate (wait for the LED to stop flashing). Now retract the crane until the near limit
switch is engaged and after that slowly extract the sections (speed setting 1) and check
for balance. When You feel the arm tilts forward by itself, stop and add counterweights
on the weight hanger equally on both sides, do not touch the static weights added
earlier.
The MB12 counterweights have multiple slots that allow You to move their position up
and down on the hanger. This will come with experience of the operator but in most
situations You will use the bottom slot (top setting) when underslung and the top slot
(bottom setting) when overslung. Moving the counterweights on the hanger helps with
tilt balance which will be explained further in the manual.

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-Check for balance all the way until the arm is fully extended, remember to put the
securing bolts on the weight hanger while checking. At this point You might have to
adjust the static balance a bit by moving the weights on the side rails. Now the crane
should be balanced at every length.
Tilt balance:
After balancing the crane in horizontal position it is important to balance the center of gravity
(COG) relative to the tilt rotational axis. Due to the small size and weight of the MB12 and
multiple load variants (underslung, overslung, matrix) the COG can move up or down relative
to the tilt axis. When in use, the levelling head also shifts the COG of the camera package and
that affects the crane balance as well. To account for all that you can adjust the balance on
the Yoke and/or move the counterweights up or down on the hanger using their multiple slots
to find the correct setting.
To check for tilt balance:
-verify that the arm is perfectly balanced in horizontal position
-tilt the arm approx. 30 degrees upwards and release grip. If the arm increases the tilt
angle by itself it means it’s top heavy. If the arm tilts back towards horizontal position
it means it’s bottom heavy.
There are two ways of adjusting the position of COG. The first is the aforementioned moving
of the counterweights on the hanger using their multiple slots. If the crane is top heavy You
need to move some (or all) of the counterweights down one or two slots on the hanger. If the
crane is bottom heavy You need to move the counterweights higher on the hanger.
The other way of adjustment is by moving the arm on the yoke by turning the central screw:

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To adjust the screw:
-Put the arm in horizontal position
-Loosen the locking nuts on both sides of the yoke:
-Turn the central adjusting screw to lift or lower the arm. Lift the arm if it’s bottom
heavy, lower the arm when top heavy. Check for balance. Once set, tighten both
locking nuts.

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SYSTEM DESCRIPTION / CONTENTS.
Depending on the options You’ve selected on ordering, the MB12 Verticrane System will come
with the following main parts:
MovieBird MB12 Arm.
The MB12 arm will come with its own dedicated levelling head, a set of counterweights and
an Electronic Control Box with a separate Power Supply Unit:

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The power supply unit is necessary if using mains power (230/120V). You can also run the
system with 48V battery pack, in that case plug the power cable straight into the electronic
control unit.

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The MB12 can be ordered with one of the following Yokes, both dedicated for different jobs:
Verticrane Yoke.
The Verticrane Yoke is a folding Yoke that
allows the MB12 arm to enter the
Verticrane position. In the Verticrane
position the arm can operate with a tilt
angle from -25 degrees downward up to
full vertical position (90 deg). When folded
back to standard position the arm has a
symmetrical tilt angle of +-57 deg. The
Verticrane Yoke can only be used on a
dedicated MB12 dolly and column
positioned stationary on level ground.
Fixed Yoke.
Fixed MB12 Yoke is a standard Yoke for the
MB12 that can be used on a moving
platform (dolly, car, EV cart). It mounts on
any Mitchell-type pan bearing ( like the
MB12 PanBearing) and is equipped with a
Tilt brake. It’s more rigid than the
Verticrane Yoke and is necessary if the
MB12 should be used on any platform in
motion.

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MB12 PanBearing.
MB12 PanBearing is a universal double-Mitchell pan bearing with integrated pan brake. By
default it’s mounted on the top of the MB12 column but can be easily removed and mounted
on a car/dolly or any other platform that can accept Mitchell or Moe mounts.
MB12 Matrix Mount.
The MB12 Matrix Mount can be installed in place of the levelling head, it has 2 Mitchell
mounting sockets (front and top/bottom) and can be used with various remote heads.

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MB12 Dolly with column.
An articulated dolly dedicated for the MB12. It has extendable supports for more stability and
is the only dolly suitable for the Verticrane function. The column can extend by 0.41m (1,35
ft) and can accept the MB12 PanBearing. It has removable side boxes that can hold extra
equipment, counterweights or the Power Supply Unit. Its articulated arms enable it to go
through tight passages or ride on tracks of different spacing.
MB12 Case Set.
MovieBird MB12 can be ordered with a dedicated case set that consists of an MB12 arm case
and a MB12 dolly and column case. The MB12 arm case holds the MB12 arm and one of the
Yokes, as well as the counterweight hanger and side rails. The arm rests on a specially designed
cradle that can be removed from the case and used as a servicing stand. The MB12 dolly and
column case has an integrated ramp that helps in loading and unloading the dolly from the
case.

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SYSTEM ASSEMBLY.
Dolly assembly.
The MB12 dolly comes mostly assembled, the only thing to do on arrival is installation of the
column. The dolly can be ordered with its own dedicated case:
To install the column, unstrap it from its cradle and position it on the base with the drive nut
located on the opposite side than the steering lock. Secure the column using four M16 bolts:

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With column fixed to the dolly, install 4 side braces connecting dolly with the column. Side
braces have adjustable length, You might need to adjust it to ease the installation process. The
braces are mounted to the base by 4 M10 bolts and fixed to the column by special sliding pins.
After installing the braces to their mounting points on the base and column, tension them
equally by adjusting their length.
PanBearing installation/removal.
On arrival, the PanBearing should be already installed on the top of the column. To remove it:
unlock the locking screw on the side of column top collar and unscrew the PanBearing from
the column by turning the top 19mm hex counter-clockwise:
Installation is the reverse of removal.

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Yoke installation.
Both types of MB12 yokes are installed the same way: position the Yoke base on top of the
PanBearing, pay attention that the key goes inside the slot in the base. Secure the Yoke with
a Mitchell nut screwed in from the top.
Arm installation.
Before installation, remove (if not already removed) the two locking bolts from the Yoke:
If using the Verticrane Yoke make sure it’s in the standard (non-tilted) position and the side
locking screws are tight on both sides: