Motion control IC elevates stage automation for Creative Conners

Modern theater and concert events rely on motion control to make scenery and LED walls glide and transform — and let performers fly above stages in a precise choreography.

One company that designs and manufactures motion systems that make complex stage animations safe and visually compelling is Creative Conners. The company provides modular machinery, standardized control hardware, and intuitive software that can be combined and configured by amateur and professional production teams of all types for touring shows and permanent installations.

A vertically integrated approach allows Creative Conners to serve an unusually broad customer base. The same underlying technology used in demanding productions like Cirque du Soleil and Dave Matthews Band is also rented to schools staging productions of Les Misérables.

Regional theaters represent the company’s largest market, a segment that historically lacked access to sophisticated automation tools. A philosophy based on making stage automation more approachable has heavily influenced Creative Conners’ decision to rethink its motion control platform and turn to Performance Motion Devices (PMD) for help.

At the heart of most Creative Conners systems is a standardized control box known as the Stagehand. While the machinery might be custom, the Stagehand controller remains largely the same across applications. The Stagehand interfaces with variable-frequency drives (VFDs), encoders, and safety systems while serving as the execution layer for cues created in Creative Conners’ Spike Mark software. Those cues define where elements move, how fast they travel, how long they wait, and how they coordinate with other stage actions. Once triggered, those commands are executed locally by the controller.

Because the Stagehand sits at the intersection of hardware, software, and user interaction, the choice of motion controller IC is critical. For years, Creative Conners relied on legacy motion control chips from Texas Instruments. But over time those devices began to limit what the company could deliver. Among other things, the old ICs didn’t allow independent control of acceleration and deceleration profiles.

“On the old IC, we were locked to symmetric accel/decel. Whatever you loaded for the acceleration you had to use for decelerate,” said Creative Conners senior controls engineer Christian Basse.

That constraint clashed directly with the visual and safety requirements of stage motion. “We want to hurry up, get onto stage, get moving … but then we want a nice, smooth, deliberate-looking stop,” added Basse.

Even more limiting, acceleration parameters could not be changed on the fly, which was especially problematic for performer flying effects where motion characteristics change dynamically throughout a cue.

Availability also became an issue. The older motion controller was both aging and increasingly difficult to source only exacerbated by pandemic supply-chain disruptions. Creative Conners needed a reliably procured solution that fit its modular design.

After evaluating several options, the team selected PMD’s Magellan MC58113 motion control IC for a new version of their Stagehand control PCB. Paired with a microprocessor and a local HMI display, this board now serves as the Stagehand controller core.

The single biggest improvement with the MC58113 was support for asymmetric acceleration and deceleration. Plus, the MC58113 supports use of absolute encoders.

“If it’s going to move without the machine and the controls being powered, you’re not going to lose the position,” said Basse. This is critical in rescue scenarios, where a performer may need to be manually lowered using mechanical brakes while the controller is powered off. When power is restored, the system still knows exactly where it is.

While not required in every application, absolute encoders are essential for permanently installed infrastructure hoists and for the most demanding, high-end customers pushing the limits of stage automation.

Another benefit: The ability to generate a ±10-V speed signal using an external DAC. This is necessary for hydraulic valves that interpret negative voltage as reverse motion and positive voltage as forward motion. “When we moved to a newer TI controller, we lost that bidirectional signal. Moving to the PMD controller gave us the ability to throw in an external DAC and do a bidirectional signal again,” explained Basse. Restoring this capability ensured the company would not have to turn away certain specialized applications.

The MC58113 also offers built-in tracing and monitoring tools so Creative Conners engineers can visualize motion behavior over time to diagnose issues and fine-tune performance. The controller’s highly tunable position filters also help the system stay precisely on target. “We really care about the quality of motion … not just that it looks nice but that it’s where it’s supposed to be when it’s supposed to be,” said Basse. In tightly choreographed productions, positional accuracy is just as important as smoothness.

One benefit Creative Conners didn’t anticipate was PMD’s C-Motion C/C++ software library. Instead of writing low-level serial communication code and message-packing routines from scratch, the team could rely on PMD’s command-driven API. Sending a command is just a call to a C-Motion function. “That saved so much time and has been invaluable to us,” said Basse. This accelerated firmware development and let Creative Conners’ small engineering team focus on higher-level functionality and user experience rather than reinventing motion control plumbing.

At one point, Creative Conners needed more encoder resolution than that supported by standard implementation. PMD worked directly with the team to deliver a firmware update that met their needs in about a week.

Now, Creative Conners is exploring PMD’s multi-axis motion controllers for more tightly coordinated motion as well as integrated servo solutions such as PMD’s ION/CME N-Series intelligent drives. One N-Series option in particular, with 1000-W power output, has captured the team’s interest. An integrated, higher-power solution would enable a new generation of smart machines with drive electronics mounted directly on the machines themselves. This could significantly reduce size and weight while increasing lifting capacity and speed.

Performance Motion Devices | pmdcorp.com