Germany
In thepast, operating thebellowsof a churchorgan required
considerablemusclepower. Today, this task canbeperformed
usingmodernautomation technology. An Italianorgan from the
mid-18th centuryhasbeenfittedwithanextremelyquiet semi-
automaticbellows lift system.
Whenorganbuilder JörgBentewasawarded the contract for an
organ restorationproject, he foundhimself facedwith the chal-
lengeof replacing theorganpumperwithanautomaticbellows
lift system. The taskwas todevelopasolution that coulddeliver
averyquiet, steadyair flow. Another requirementwas that the
organ’soriginal historical functionhad tobe retainedand that
noPLCsor other control elementsapart from thepower switch
couldbeused.
Working in close cooperationwith Festo, itwasdecided touse
motors from theEMMS-AS-70seriesaswell as controllers from
theCMMPseries.Highlysophisticatedwiringandparameterisa-
tionof thecontrolleralloweddetailedoptimisationof thesystem.
Thesoundof silence
Historical organ fullyautomated
This resulted in completelysilent operation,whichmeant that
themusicianswouldnot bedisturbedwitheven thesoftest of
sounds. The Festosolutionallowsadynamic shift between
pauseswith lowair consumptionand full operationwithhighair
consumption. The required air pressureof 4.5mbar should re-
main constant so that oneof the twobellows canholdenough
air in reserveat all times.
The fully restored instrument from1752withautomatedbellows
lift systemhasbeen inuseat theCollegeof CatholicChurch
Music&Musical Education inRegensburgsince theendof July
2014. It hasbeenusedextensively in lessons to faithfully repro-
duce Italianmusic from the18th century.
Motors from theEMMS-AS-70series
(see imageabove)
aswell as controllers from theCMMPseries (below) ensure
anextremelyquiet air supply.
1.2015
trends inautomation
Synergies/Festoworldwide
40
–
41
