Panther Buddy Dolly User manual

I n s t r u c t i o n M a n u a l
Panther Buddy Dolly

Foreword
Congratulations to your decision of purchasing or renting your PANTHER Buddy
dolly. We are pleased that you made your decision in favor of a dolly, which
combines state-of-the-art technology and many years of experience in
manufacturing camera dollies.
Selected materials, know-how and a solid crab and steer system ensure that in
practice you have a wide variety of possibilities, which you will appreciate during
shooting.
Your PANTHER Buddy dolly is a high-quality tool giving the creative
cameraman the means for camera shots and drives, which could so far only be
realized with great efforts or not at all.
The PANTHER Buddy is a dolly developed by specialists for specialists in order to
meet the expectations of every cameraman or grip.
To ensure that you will love working with your PANTHER Buddy dolly and that all
requirements during shooting can be fulfilled considering utmost safety and
reliability, please carefully read this operation manual.
With our best wishes
Andy Fitz
Panther GmbH

Safety hints
1. Do not start operating the dolly until you have read and understood the
operating instruction. All safety hints, information on measures and weights,
as well as on maintenance intervals have to be observed.
2. The Panther Buddy dolly may only be operated by competent staff.
PANTHER regularly offers training seminars, in which participants receive a
certificate after successfully completing the training. For further information
and dates please contact us under [phone].
3. Lifting, swiveling and drive area of the dolly including accessories have to
be kept free in any case. Possible danger of bruises are marked by yellow
warning signs. The safety zone of ≥ 0,5 m must be kept free in all directions.
4. Please observe that there is a danger of tilting whenever you mount any
equipment on the Panther Buddy dolly. Please refer to the load chart.
In order to increase the stability, the wheel arms have to be
extended during operation.
5. Attention: do not use the dolly on inclined planes or in vehicles.
By means of wheel brakes the Panther Buddy dolly has to be secured
against unintended movements. The subsoil needs to be firm and unyielding.
A minimum payload of 2000 kg/m² is required of the subsoil.
6. Make sure that unauthorized personnel can not use the dolly if the dolly is out
of order. If needed take the right measures against a storm.

Steering rod
The steering rod steers and pushes the
Panther Buddy.
It should not be used as seat or standing
area. The ergonomic steering crown will
accept the handset control.
The Panther Buddy dolly has a ,,Crab’’ +
,,Steer’’ operation system.
This ,,Crab’’ (4-wheel) und ,,Steer’’ (2-
wheel) steering is made possible with quick
and unproblematic switching by hand.
The gauge-stable steering geometry of the Panther Buddy dolly was made possible
by a patented shiftbox. A steerage transmission rod or wheel locking bar is now
unnecessary.
Switching over from ,,Crab’’ to ,,Steer’’.
Switching over is possible when the
Kombi Wheels are in starting position
(see pic.), i. e. in direction of movement.
The switching operation should be
supported by lightly moving the steering
rod in a left/right direction.
„Crab“ can be effected from all four
wheel arms, whereas „Steer“ can only be
effected from the two wheel arms on the
side of blue swiching lever (operating
side).
Attention:
If the dolly has a heavy load and/or is equipped with air tires, two-wheel steering is
not to be recommended due to higher static friction, as very large steering forces are
necessary.
Note:
The dolly can be moved with one-wheel steering by taking off a Kombi-Wheel
(dovetail-connection). The blue switch must be set at „Steer“ and the one wheel
that is used to steer must be disengaged, as with driving on track (bolt on Kombi-
Wheel). Please note there is a higher risk of tilting due to the smaller basis (three
legs). Use the one-wheel-steering only in studios or at zero wind speed.
The most important points when operating Crab + Steer:
 Before switching over, the kombi wheels must be in the direction of
movement.
 While switching, the Shiftbox may be supported by lightly moving the
steering wheel in a left/right direction.
 ,,Steering“ (2 wheels) is only possible from two wheel arms (operating side).

Track operation
Thanks to the newly developed Kombi Wheels the Buddy dolly can be changed over
from studio floor to track. The Kombi Wheels must be disengaged at the wheel bolt
(underneath the wheel arm, track symbol) in order to stop derailing.
If required, 2 additional wheel arms can be disengaged (blue bolt at wheel arm
console) by pulling the bolt upwards and turning it by 90°. Thus also the wheel arms
can be adjusted to track radius.
Attention:
The tracks underneath the dolly must always be laid out horizontally. Tracks
and wedges must be secured against slipping.
A stable underground and underlay must be ensured. It must be able to carry
at least the weight of the complete dolly with accessories and persons
(especially with Super Jib operation).
Ultimate load of underground and underlay material: min. 2000 kg/m²
Good underground: Bad underground:
All hard surfaces All soft surfaces
e.g. asphalt (road) e.g. forest floor, sand
Note:
If the dolly is not moved on the track, all four Kombi Wheels should be locked by
arresting the kombi-brakes, for safety reasons (especially when mounting or
unmounting accessories).
Major points when using track:
•There must be enough and stable underground and underlay material.
•Adjust wheel arms to wished track gauge.
•Disengage Kombi Wheels (esp. on curved tracks).
•Lock the wheels when the dolly is not moving

Wheel arm
The wheel arms may be set to wide gauge (62 cm) and narrow gauge (36 cm). Pull
the blue bolts on the wheel consoles upwards to choose the required gauge. Set the
wheel arms to the desired gauge and then let the bolt catch in one of the designated
arresting sleeves.
Below are the major wheel configurations:
Always use wide gauge in connection with jib arms or outriggers. The loading
diagram must at all times be observed.
Use the one-wheel-steering and narrow gauge only in studios or at zero wind speed.
Wide gauge narrow gauge

Combi Wheel
The newly designed Panther Kombi Wheels play a decisive part in improving the
dolly’s running smoothness both in studios and on track. There are different choices
of tyres. The quick-change air tyres are especially suited to operate the dolly on
uneven ground (streets etc.). There are two options available for studio wheels (see
tyre chart), depending on the resp. loading.
Exchanging studio wheels with air tyres:
Lift the Dolly at the wheel arm where you want to change the wheels. By loosening
the wheel locking screw both studio wheels and air tyres can be exchanged. After the
wheel locking screw have been tightened again, put the dolly down and proceed in
the same way with the remaining 3 kombi wheels.
Tyre Chart
Studio Wheels
Studio wheel, hard (black), recommended for loads up to 600 kg (1300 lbs) total.
Studio wheel, soft (white), recommended for loads up to 350 kg (770 lbs) total.
Track wheels
Track wheel, VK92, recommended for loads up to 600 kg (1300 lbs) total.
Note:
The dolly’s unladen weight of approx. 50 kg (110 lbs) (depending on accessories) is
included in the above figures.

Load chart
Following loading chart may not be exceeded.
The listed values relate to the tilting moment of the dolly in wide gauge without
counterweights.
Dynamic forces (accelerating/braking the dolly) were not considered.
When using the Dolly with jibs (e.g. U-Bangi II), wide gauge must be used due to
stability reasons. The loading chart must be adhered to in all circumstances.
Maximal centric load on Dolly: 250 kg (550 lbs)
In order to increase stability, the counterbalance rod (No. 100503) may be mounted
on the opposite side to the column load, together with the appropriate number of
counterweights. In this case, the outrigger may not be turned.

Accessories
Various accessories from Panther accessory range like Vario Jib, platforms, etc. can
be mounted on the Buddy dolly. Please refer to its corresponding operational
manuals.
Maintenance
In order to reach a high life expectancy and constant quality, the instructed
service intervals must be observed. Warranty claims will only be accepted if the
servicing intervals have been observed.
Servicing may only be effected by trained personnel that knows the Buddy Dolly’s
mechanics. The Dolly is mostly service-free and works reliably.
The components relevant to safety and functioning should be checked every 4years
by a well informed person and at least once a year by a responsible person
according to ZH 1/222 3.2 or UVV VBG 70 § 34.
If necessary, components must be changed.
Technical Data
Measurements:
Length: 84 cm (33´´)
Width: min. 53.5 cm (21´´)/max. 82.5 cm (32.5´´)
narrow gauge/wide gauge
Track gauge: 36 cm (14´´) / 62 cm (24.5´´)
Wheel base: 75 cm (29.5´´)/62 cm (24.5´´)
Floor distance: 5,5 cm (2´´)
Payload capacity: 250 kg (550 lbs)