Windsor building fire in Madrid:
On the night of February 12, 2005, a large fire devastated the Windsor building in Madrid, shocking residents. The fire started on the 21st floor and quickly spread through the metal facade.
Firefighters used around six million liters of water to control the fire that lasted 80 hours. After 18 years, the origin of the fire remains unsolved.
This is the state of ruin of the building after the fire.
Afterwards, the rubble had to be removed and the building “dismantled” piece by piece, starting from the top.
For this work it was decided to use a Liebherr 944 excavator together with the largest crane in Europe in 2005, which was custom-made in a very short time.
The excavator had to be controlled by radio control.
The Gruas Usabiaga company was in charge of the work and they commissioned Digital Micro Devices to provide the radio control system and to adapt the excavator.
Excavator adaptation
The excavator had to hang from the crane at a height of 115m, so it had to be lightened as much as possible. This was done at the Liebherr branch in Cheste (Valencia), since Digital Micro Devices is in Valencia, Spain.
We remove the tracks and all the parts not essential for the operation, even the operator’s chair.
We changed the manual controls for remote control hydraulic actuators of our own design and mechanized by Mr. Puche, to whom we are very grateful for his valuable collaboration.
In 2005 we still did not manufacture Radio control systems like the XLRS, although we already had various RF modules with our own technology for our products.
It was in 2007 when we started with the LRS systems that are currently the XLRS brand.
Remote control actuators.
Here we show some details of the remote control actuators.
We need about 50Kg/cm of force to move the hydraulic valves well.
Finishing the adaptation of the excavator.
The Radio Control system and hydraulic actuators were installed.
Step by step the excavator was taking shape.
In the tests, the operation was excellent, very good control and fine, Israel from Usabiaga cranes loved it, I think he didn’t expect it.
Once modified, lightened and tested, it was time to take it to Madrid.
Meanwhile, the people at Liebherr finished the monstrous crane from which the excavator would hang.
The monster
In 2005 it was the largest crane of this style in Europe.
The photos do not give an idea of how big and enormous it was, only when we were close, were we aware of the magnitude.
With another smaller crane, the operator was in a basket, controlling the excavator with the remote controller.
The excavator in Madrid
With the excavator already a few days in Madrid, it was fixed to a steel structure with beams to be able to lift it with the crane and we began to test it on the ground.
In the image we see a young Pepe Garcia in one of his first jobs at Digital Micro Devices, testing and driving the excavator.
This was DMD’s first industrial Radio Control work.
This is me, the one who writes this article, Jose Garcia 18 years ago.
The excavator operator adapted very quickly. In a couple of days he was already working at full speed.
The demolition work was a success and was completed on time.
I wanted to share this beautiful memory that is part of the history of Digital Micro Devices.
Thanks:
To my friend Puche who patiently machined and advised us on the mechanical design to make it a reality.
To Liebherr who proposed us for this job.
To Patxi Usabiaga, who seemed to me to be an excellent person and businessman, and in just one meal he closed an almost movie deal with Liebherr and Digital Micro Devices since it was a crazy job with a lot of pressure from the authorities, the mayor of Madrid. and with very little time for its execution.
To Israel from Gruas Usabiaga, the patience, good treatment and professionalism that he displayed at all times, especially when driving the excavator.
Resume
Despite all the pressures due to the short time available, it was an interesting and fun job.
The first industrial radio control system from Digital Micro Devices.
18 years have passed.
Whereas before radio systems had to safely reach hundreds of meters, now we can reach up to 250 km with XLRS radio control systems with only 1W of power.
We also manufacture GCS or Ground Control Station such as GCSD5 or dual GCSD4 with impressive design and features.
We now have analog video and Full HD video systems for ranges of 100 to 150 km.
And tracker antenna with SATPRO to achieve the maximum performance of the Data Link.
If you want to buy a professional, tested and safe radio control system, go here.
If you need more information about XLRS systems, click here..
Personalized solutions:
Are you looking for a personalized solution in remote control, radio control, base stations or antenna tracking systems? At DMD, we are ready to help you design and develop the system that perfectly fits your needs. Do not hesitate to contact us for more information or to request a quote through our email: sales@dmd.es.
We are here to assist you!
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