LED Stage Light & Moving Head Cooling Fan
A modern LED fixture concentrates several hundred watts of heat into a space the size of a fist, then asks the fan to remove it without being heard from the front row. That combination — high heat density, a narrow duct path and an acoustic limit — is why stage lighting uses both axial fans and centrifugal blowers. We build 40–120 mm high-speed axial fans and 50–97 mm blowers for moving heads, wash and beam fixtures, follow spots and LED video panels.
Part of: cooling fan applications · also relevant to 3D printers.
What a fixture fan has to do
- Push air through a bent, narrow path. In a moving head the air enters at the base, passes the driver board, crosses the LED module and leaves through the arm. Every bend costs pressure, which is why a blower often beats a larger axial fan in the same space.
- Fit beside the light engine. Centrifugal blowers exhaust at 90° to the intake, so they can sit flat against the module and discharge into the arm instead of through it.
- Stay quiet at operating speed. Theatre and studio fixtures are judged on acoustic output. Smooth commutation, balanced impellers and a slow speed ramp matter more than the datasheet dB figure.
- Survive 60–80 °C internal air. The fan sits downstream of the heat source, so the air it moves is not the ambient the fixture is rated at. Bearings and lubricant have to be chosen for the internal temperature, not the room.
Fan types and sizes for stage lighting
| Type / frame | Typical position | Voltage | Models |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40–50 mm axial | compact par, driver board | 12 / 24 V DC | DC 4010, DC 5010 |
| 50–60 mm blower | moving head LED module | 12 / 24 V DC | Blower 5015, Blower 6015 |
| 75–97 mm blower | 300 W+ wash and beam fixtures | 24 V DC | Blower 7530, Blower 9733 |
| 120 mm axial | video panel, follow spot, ballast bay | 24 V DC | DC 12038 |
The three mistakes that cost a fixture its LED life
- An axial fan where a blower was needed. The axial fan cannot overcome the bend into the arm, airflow collapses to a fraction of the free-air figure and the LED junction temperature climbs until the fixture derates or the module discolours.
- Dust on the impeller. A blower is far more sensitive to imbalance than an axial fan. Without a filter or a removable intake grille, a touring fixture loses balance and starts to rumble within a season.
- A sleeve bearing in a 70 °C housing. It is the cheapest option and the quietest when new, which is exactly why it gets specified — and why fixtures come back at six months with a squeal.
How to specify a fixture fan
- Pressure drop across the whole path, including the arm, the fin stack and any mesh.
- Internal air temperature at the fan, measured after a 30-minute run at full output.
- Acoustic target at 1 m in the fixture’s quietest mode.
- Speed control: fixed, PWM from the driver, or temperature ramp.
- Frame size, thickness and mounting pattern that the optical bench allows.
Questions from lighting manufacturers
Blower or axial fan for a moving head?
If the air path turns more than about 90° or passes through a tight fin stack, a blower is usually the better fit because it develops higher pressure in the same footprint. If the path is straight and open, a larger axial fan at lower speed will be quieter for the same airflow.
What bearing do you recommend for a touring fixture?
Dual ball bearing for anything that travels or runs hot. It tolerate the internal temperature and does not develop the axial play that shows up as impeller rub after a few hundred hours.
Can you match an existing blower footprint?
Yes. Our standard blower frames run from 40 mm to 120 mm, and where the housing is fixed we can match the mounting pattern, the outlet orientation and the lead exit direction on a custom build.
Related: 3D printers · Medical devices · All DC blowers
Send the fixture drawing and the internal air temperature, and we will recommend an axial or blower solution with the pressure budget. Talk to our engineers.