Last December, shortly before the New Year, a real ice rink was first arranged at the gym of Mail.Ru Group . Employees strongly supported this venture, the skating rink was very popular. Therefore, we decided to build it again this year, but this time decided to improve it somewhat.

So, let’s recall the manufacturing technology of the ice rink in the room itself. The floor is covered with thermal insulation sheets of extruded polystyrene foam with a thickness of 5 cm. They are necessary to prevent heat transfer between the cooling elements and the ceiling. In other words, in order not to waste the floor. 3 mm thick PVC waterproofing is laid on top, and a small side is made around the perimeter. Thus, a huge capacity is obtained. Then along one side a pipeline is laid with numerous fittings, to which long flexible strips (ice mats) are connected, consisting of several plastic tubes whose length is equal to the length of the roller. They are stacked close to each other to completely cover the roller from edge to edge. This whole pipe system is combined into a single closed line,

Further, the entire field of the ice rink (13 x 25 m) is filled with a small layer of water, which is frozen by the refrigerant circulating through the tubes. And so layer by layer is frozen enough thickness of ice so that the skaters do not accidentally damage the tubes. A thin layer of warm water is poured last. It fills the previous layer, and due to this, the ice surface of the ice rink is self-leveling, all large irregularities disappear. Further, the ice is cleaned with scrapers so that its surface becomes even smoother.

To make the ice clean and transparent, you need to use clean water. Ideally, drinking. But this, as you know, is too expensive, so the tap is usually used. Of course, the skates gradually damage the surface of the ice, it begins to become covered with bumps and icy dust. Therefore, every three hours the ice rink closes for hourly maintenance, during which the ice is cleaned and smoothed.

The capacity of the refrigeration unit during ice freezing is 100 kW. And when the ice has frozen, 60 kW are enough to maintain it. The total mass of ice on our ice rink is about 18 tons. Usually the total thickness of the ice reaches 7-8 cm. But this time we had to make it thicker (10 cm). Why? About it below.

And in the forehead the ice the star burns

So, how is this rink different from last year? This time we decided to add beauty and dynamics to the ice platform, and we did it with the help of 7560 controlled LED modules. Each of them is equipped with three color LEDs - red, green and blue (RGB). An array of these modules covers most of the ice rink area. All modules are combined into a single system connected to a computer. At the same time, in contrast to the usual LED strip, each module can be controlled separately: not only light one or another LED, but also adjust the brightness of the glow in a wide range. The modules comply with the IP68 protection standard, they are not afraid of dust or water. They can even be mounted in fountains and pools. The total power of the LEDs in each module is 0.75 watts.



In fact, a gigantic display with a resolution of 120 x 63 "pixels" is hidden under the ice surface, on which rather complex and bright images can be displayed. The system software allows you to broadcast statics, video, animation and HTML 5. If desired, you can display at least a desktop image. And all this under the feet of the skiers! Of course, the resolution is small, and it makes no sense to broadcast the movie on the icy “display”. But if you run, say, “Minions”, then the images on the screen can be easily distinguished.



An array of LED modules is controlled using one master controller and two slave controllers. In this case, devices under the brand name Easy Player are used. The total number of controllers is determined by their performance, that is, how many modules each of them can control. Broadcast materials can be recorded directly to the controller, or transferred from a computer by connecting various videos.

This year we shot a video about mounting the rink. After all, you can read descriptions as much as you like, but it is always better to see how the process looks:



You can enjoy our skating rink with shining ice from January 2 to 7, from 10 to 21. This year we opened the skating rink for everyone! To visit the rink you need to register . We are waiting for you.