An example of 'out-of-sight' engineering at its best

摘要

Wimbledon's staff closed the Centre Court's new retractable roof for the first time in competition on Monday, June 29 2009 after light rain stopped play during the second set of a match on Centre Court. The new feature, which received a great deal of publicity during this year's tournament, is an excellent example of precision positioning control using electric motors and actuators to move structures weighing a combined 1,100 tonnes.rnThe Wimbledon retractable roof consists of two sections (on the southern and northern sides of the Centre Court), which together support 5,200m~2 of translucent, waterproof fabric when deployed. The 1,100 tonne structure, comprising ten trusses, each weighing 110 tonnes, is guided along two sets of parallel rails over a span of 77m with a tolerance of 2 to 3mm - all in less than ten minutes. The retracting mechanism is operated and controlled by a system of servomotors and electric actuators designed and supplied by Moog Industrial Group's Tewkesbury plant, with special locking actuators designed and supplied by Fraserburgh based Power Jacks.