How Igus Energy Chains are keeping the coasters rolling at Dreamworld

Manufacturing can be a rollercoaster ride at times - just for some businesses, that is a lot more literal. Dreamworld on the Gold Coast is one of Australia’s leading theme parks, with millions of visitors a year, drawn by state-of-the-art attractions such as the Sky Voyager flying theatre and the Steel Taipan launched coaster.

Naturally, the systems that operate both rides have to be ultra-reliable - first and foremost for safety, but also for profitability, as any downtime impacts customer satisfaction. Charles Castles, an Engineering Technical Specialist at Dreamworld, knows the attractions inside out - and explained why automation suppliers such as Treotham, Australian exclusive distributors of the Igus Energy Chain, are so vital to keeping the coasters rolling.

“I'm responsible for a lot of the control systems we operate in the park here that allow these rides to do what they do,” he told Industry Update. “We provide operator interface as well as all the safety interlocks and all the control elements. There’s lots of elements to making a ride go! “The Igus Energy Chain is about supporting cables on devices that move around. For example, our Sky Voyager ride is a dome screen where we extend a motion base into the domed area. “We extend up to six gondolas into this dome, and each gondola has a six axis motion base, so it's got this freedom to move in a confined space, to give the rider a sensation of flight. “The Energy Chain provides a support for the cables that run from the fixed element of the gondola to the moving element. It allows the cables to move around freely without them being damaged.“It’s extremely flexible and very quiet when it moves around. When you're in a theatre, you don't want to hear chains or things clanging and banging as it's moving.

The Igus equipment stands out for its reliability.“We use a vast array of equipment to do this sort of work,” explained Castles. “We wind up having to replace cables more regularly because they get damaged over time from the movement,  but the Igus Energy Chain improves reliability and reduces downtime. “It's very robust - Sky Voyager has been here since 2019 and I don't think we've had to touch the Energy Chain once, which means far less downtime and great reliability. It saves us money in the long run by not having to replace cables all the time.

“A ride like this is all about the sight and sound: we blow wind at them, we spritz water and all that. It's a full body sensory experience. “If it closes because we’ve got broken cables, it takes away from the experience and people get frustrated. No matter how small it is, it all impacts on the guest experience. “Everything is safety first, with a focus on reliability and the guest experience which is at the centre of what we do.” “We’ve never really touched that part of the attraction. There's plenty of other things that have broken in it, but definitely not the Energy Chain. “We use a different style of energy chain in our Steel Taipan ride. We do probably 150-200 launches a day of that ride, it’s four years old and again, we've got an energy chain that's moving back and forth but we don't ever need to touch the chain. It just works.” When something does arise, Treotham have the support network to assist immediately.

“They’re very easy to deal with,” said Castles. “They’ve got a pretty comprehensive product range and they’re very approachable. If we have any issues with any of the products that they support, we just give them a call and they're right onto it, helping us out. “When our ride manufacturer found a problem in the PLC program that was contributing to the ride failure, they got it rectified and they carry a range of spares for us, because they know that we need them. Treotham are very supportive across any product that they can help us with.“