How to make a Digital Water Curtain

When we believed that almost everything had been said and done in water use as a decorative element, emerged a new expression of this concept; someone came up with a water "printer". Somebody thought to combine water and gravity to create amazing effects, letters, logos, graphics, etc. Basically, what we call "digital water curtain" is that. A spray ring of a certain length, in which series of water outlets, which through almost instant response solenoids, are drawing with water all those characters that are programmed in a software that manages the opening and closing of the valves. Simple, isn't it?

As I said before, from my point of view is simple. I will explain the components included in a facility of this type so that we all agree on the simplicity of the installation.Read More

INSTALLATION COMPONENTS OF A Digital Water Curtain

Let us detail each of the components:

• SUPPORT GANTRY.

  The purpose of this element is lifting to a certain height the water distribution modules, alma mater of this product. In this scheme we represent all the elements it contains, which are:
  • Two lifting towers fitted with a winch for, once that is all properly installed, lift the entire assembly to the desired height. We do not recommend more than 4 m in height as the water acceleration caused by gravity, makes the characters go distorting as they fall.
  • A modular TRUSS who is supported by lifting towers, is able to holding-up the water distributors.
  All these items can be removed if the water distribution modules are supported by an existing roof. With this option a great cheapening of the final installation is achieved.

• TANK and SUBMERSIBLE PUMP.

  The stainless steel tank contains the pump capable of carrying the required flow to the water distribution modules with enough pressure for proper functioning. Within limits, the higher the pressure in the outlet nozzle, the higher the definition of the letters drawn. To facilitate this, the electrical panel is equipped with a frequency converter that controls the pump. Through this, the flow rate is easily adjusted, and therefore the pressure that must arrive at the collector, so that the characters that are displayed are well defined.

  The tank can be completely replaced by a civil engineering basin, which also cheapens the final installation. Regarding the pump, we specifically recommend using the one defined by the manufacturer for being a key element in the proper functioning of the entire facility. Also the pump is housed within a pre-filter (stainless steel perforated sheet and 90/110 microns sieve) ensuring that the valves will not get dirty and will open and close well.

• HYDRAULIC CONDUITS.

  They are the pipes necessary to connect the pump and water distribution modules. There is a supply and a return conduit, avoiding excessive pressure in the manifold when all the valves are closed.

• WATER DISTRIBUTION MODULES.

  This is the main part of this product. It is a stainless steel manifold with a square section in which 32 orifices have been drilled per linear meter. In each orifice a solenoid is placed with its corresponding nozzle. These valves have an extremely low response time to interpret hydraulically the corresponding electrical signal.

  This collector is also the physical support for linear lights consisting on RGB LED's. These lights are DMX, so that modules can be joined seamlessly. This type of installation can be made by attaching modules to achieve the desired length. As a standard they are 2 and 3 meters length for achieving any proportional measure. Therefore a digital curtain of 7 m will be formed by 2 modules of 2m and 1 module of 3m. The modules are equipped with different electrical connectors for each signal, so there is no risk of being wrong in your wiring.

• PROTECTION AND CONTROL ELECTRIC PANELS

  The digital water curtain is provided, like any electrical installation, with a main protection and control panel. In this, all elements of thermomagnetic cut and differentials to ensure a safety installation are included. This panel includes the pump frequency converter. Additionally all installation brings another panel that is containing the computer, an "all in one" panel type in which the control software runs. It is a very intuitive software.

  As shown in the image, the main screen is divided into the four major parts of the control:

  • Programs List. With the same hydraulic installation, we can have as many different operating sequences (programs) as we want.
  • A time planning that allows the automatic connection and disconnection of the system.
  • Water programming. Simply insert all text, graphics and audio that you want.
  • Color programming. As shown a color palette is included for defining RGB LED light color. Timeline of each color is defined as well as the color transitions, if you want to make slight changes.
  And that's all. Our digital water curtain is a highly innovative product that combines cutting edge technologies such as DMX with traditional hydraulics, and thanks to the modularity of its design, it´s very easy to install.