High aerial of the Cancun hotel strip after dark, the Sky Wheel lit blue above the mall on the right, the black lagoon in the foreground and lit hotels running away to the sea

Sky wheel Cancun

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Illuminating the Sky Wheel with ENTTEC's pixel dots

ENTTEC provided a captivating LED lighting solution for the Sky Wheel in Cancun, Mexico. The project featured 3418 Pixel dots and 36 OCTOs. This dynamic lighting setup enhances the visual appeal of the Sky Wheel, making it a prominent nightime attraction.

Every project is different and requires a unique approach to finding the best LED lighting solution. With large projects, it is often best to find a way to break the installation down into more manageable sections, and one advantage of specifying lighting on an observation wheel is that each of those sections often repeats itself. 

Dusk aerial of the wheel picked out in yellow and green light, the lagoon and the lit hotel strip stretching away behind it

Solution

Controls

Powered by OCTOs

At the heart of an observation wheel lies the slip ring, serving as the power and data source. From here, spokes extend outward, providing a convenient starting point for illuminating the wheel. Some spokes feature cable-trays, evenly distributed around the wheel, facilitating power and data transmission to the rim and gondolas.

For example, on a 20-spoke wheel, several spokes might have cable trays, resulting in multiple entry points to the rim. Here, the strategic placement of the 36 ENTTEC OCTO controllers enables seamless data flow around the rim, following a uniform pitch, tailored to the customer specifications.

By carefully measuring each spoke and the distance between cable tray entry points (250mm pitch between each dot), we can determine the required number of LED dots. Considering maintenance factors, such as easy replacement, we optimize the number of dots to 5 per string, ensuring efficient operation.
This approach allows to control 50 PXL60 dots at 24V or 165 dots at 48V from a single power source, crucial for understanding how frequently a power injection is required along a spoke/part of the rim. ENTTEC’s comprehensive cabling solution ensures seamless integration of power injections to the Smart PXL dot system, while maintaining IP-rated systems. 

When it comes to attaching the LED dots to the wheel, we employ methods such as:
– mounting them directly to the chassis or
– affixing them to acrylic material for optimal lens placement.

In summary, our project team can tailor our LED lighting solutions to ensure efficient installation and effective illumination for any project such as the Sky Wheel Cancun.

Wiring diagram of one pixel dot run, front and rear strings fed from a DC supply with 3m maximum spans and a 24V power injection partway along

Result