Control Engineering

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April 13, 2007

In the February issue of Control Engineering, there's an article I wrote for our Inside Machines section (which is usually Charlie Masi's area) about machinery and motion control at the Cirque du Soleil show KA in Las Vegas. (You can still read the story online.) It was also republished by one of our RBI sister publications, Design News.  After that second release, I received an interesting e-mail with some additional comments:

"Peter,

I just read your article about the new Cirque du Soleil show, KA, now playing at the MGM Grand.

It is quite an impressive show--I know, because I've seen it--and you present it well.  But you forgot to mention something.  That is: who designed it?

Both the Tatami deck and the Sand Cliff Deck were designed and engineered by the company I work for: McLaren Engineering Group.  I was the lead mechanical engineer on the project, and my supervisor, Bill Gorlin, was the lead structural engineer.  A number of other mechanical and structural engineers at McLaren were also involved in the effort.  Many other firms were involved, of course, in the design and engineering of the other elements, the "pop-up arrows" (by Cirque), the huge hydraulic cylinders (designed by Parker Hydraulics to our unique specifications), the hydraulic power units (also Parker units), with the overall hydraulic system designed by Atlantic Industrial Technologies, specialty hydraulic servo systems by RG Group and Tisfoon, etc., etc.

The show's original scenic design was by Mark Fisher, who has designed numerous rock and roll shows, such as the Rolling Stones; as well as many of the Superbowl half-time shows (though he is not responsible for any of the costumes--or their malfunctions).

You are correct, though, regarding the design and engineering of many of the other effects by Stage Technologies (as well as the overall control system), but there are other design and engineering firms involved, as well.

Stephen A. Sywak, PE
Senior Mechanical Engineer, Entertainment Division, McLaren Engineering Group"

Whenever we try to include everybody who participates on a project, there is always a possibility that we'll leave somebody out. These omissions are rarely deliberate, and in this case I simply was unaware of McLaren's participation. Sywak is also concerned that he may have overlooked someone in his citations.

His note has opened up a new discussion area which will likely appear in subsequent issues, that is, how do we integrate the control issues of mechanical design with the mechanical issues of control design? The two do have to operate hand in hand, and it's something we tend to be aware of intuitively, but the idea deserves more discussion. Stay tuned.

Posted by Peter Welander on April 13, 2007 | Comments (0)