Blinder Wall

This fixture was designed for use in club or event spaces as a warm light source that can serve as both a subtle complement to the rest of the production and the main centerpiece at full output. It consists of twenty-five, individually controlled, dimmable lamps mounted in a 1.5m by 1.5m grid and raised another meter off of the floor on supports.

The support structure is designed from standard 2020 extruded aluminum, making it very easy to build and teardown the structure. The dimensions and lamp quantity can be customized or extended to fit any space. The mount for each lamp was CNC’d out of plywood, but the simple 3D model also supports 3D printing and most other type of additive or subtractive manufacturing.

The lamps consist of a 2200K, 40W incandescent bulb inside of a 22cm diameter, round, metal shade to amplify and direct the lighting effect. The bulbs support a very smooth dimming curve while retaining the nice afterglow effects of tungsten-filament bulbs.

The lamps are controlled through a set of DMX-controlled, 6-channel, AC mains dimmer PCBs. These dimmers are in turn controlled through a single, 5-channel DMX interface presented by a Mini DMX Patcher PCB. More information on the DMX channel grouping can be found on the linked page.

Because there are only twenty-five 40W bulbs, the overall maximum power draw fits comfortably within the limit of a standard single European outlet breaker. There is no electrical noise from the switching dimmers coupled to the AC mains power that could affect nearby audio equipment.

Below are further videos of the piece in use.