What is Elevator / Lift?

An elevator can be defined as an electric lift which is used as vertical

transportation of people and/or equipment to certain landing levels/floors in
buildings using bins otherwise silos.
These are activated with the electrical motors that also to drive
counterweight system cables for drive transaction such as a hoist, otherwise,
pump hydraulic fluid for raising a cylindrical piston such as a jack.
These are used in many areas like agriculture, manufacturing, etc.

How Does a Lift work?

The working principle of an elevator or lift is similar to the pulley system.
A pulley system is used to draw the water from the well. the main difference
between these two are; pulley systems are operated manually whereas an
elevator uses sophisticated mechanisms for handling the elevator’s load.
Basically, an elevator is a metal box in different shapes which is connected
to a very tough metal rope. The tough metal rope passes through a sheave
on the elevator in the engine room. Here a sheave is like a wheel in pulley
system for clutching the metal rope strongly. This system can be operated
by a motor. When the switch is turned ON, the motor can be activated when
the elevator goes up and down or stops.

Components of an elevator

The elevator can be constructed with various elevator

Components or elevator parts that mainly include speed controlling system,
electric motor, rails, cabin, shaft, doors (manual and automatic), drive unit,
buffers, and safety device.
• Lift car: A part of the lift which carries the passengers and/or other
loads.

• Lift machine: The unit including the motor which drives and stops the
lift.
• Machine room: A room in which machine or machines and/or the
associated equipment are placed.

• Buffer: A resilient stop at the end of travel and comprising a means of

braking using fluids or springs (or other similar means).

• Guides: The components which provide guiding for the car sling or the
counterweight, if there is one.

• Pulley room: A room not containing the machine, and in which pulleys
are located and in

• Safety gear: A mechanical drive for stopping, and maintaining

stationary on the guides, the lift car or counterweight in case of over
speeding in the downward direction or breaking of the suspension.
Safety rope: An auxiliary rope attached to the car and the
counterweight for the purpose of tripping a safety gear in case of
suspension failure.

• Well: The space in which the car and the counterweight, if there is one,
travels. This space is bounded by the bottom of the pit, the walls and
the roof of the well.
Different Types of Elevator
Lifts can be classified on the basis of the area of use or the purpose of use
as follows:
• building lift
• passenger lift
• freight elevator
• residential elevators
• capsule lift etc.
They are also classified on the basis of driving methods, thereby, using
different design principles and different methods of construction of
components. The following are the three major classifications, generally,
recognized by the designers and manufacturers:
(a) Electric lifts
(b) Hydraulic lifts
(c) Pneumatic lifts.

Building Lift
A building lift is a vertical transportation among the floors of the building.
These are frequently used in public buildings, complexes, offices, and
multistorey building. These lifts are important in providing vertical movement,
mostly in high buildings, for a wheelchair as well as other non-ambulant
building customers. Some type of lifts also is applicable for emigration &
firefighting purposes.

Passenger Lift
This type of lift has entirely included a lift car that moves vertically in a
specially equipped lift shaft. Passengers are traveled between the floors in
the building at quick speed. The control systems in the lift frequently
designed to offer the most economical sharing of passengers all over the
building. These lifts are very space efficient which are used in existing
buildings where space is at a best.
The main advantages of using passenger lift give a very comfort traveling
among different floors, particularly space efficient, fully fixed shaft, small
construction works, and no level loadings on the building.

Freight Elevator
In the world of elevators, these lifts are workhorses. These are very useful
for transporting materials, goods in warehouses, manufacturing industries,
shopping malls, seaports, etc. This type of elevator is separated into classes,
to describe their load capacity as well as application. These lifts are strong
in nature, and they are specially manufactured by engineers.

The features of this elevator include: the range of loading capacity is from
2500 lbs to 10000 lbs, height of the travel up to 50fts. The benefits of these
elevators include; these elevators are designed for commercial as well
as industrial applications. The flexible design to hold the application, door
designs can be changed, eco-friendly, etc.

Residential Elevators
Residential elevators provide stylish options to the platform as well as stair
lifts. These lifts can be effortlessly incorporated in any available home,
otherwise incorporated in edifice plans for latest homes. These types of
elevators are available in different styles, and these can be installed in your
home walls, otherwise included effortlessly to improve your home’s
decoration. The main benefits of residential elevators are; they can move
you securely among floors even during a power failure. Quick installation and
offers you an effortless life.

Capsule Lift
Capsule lift or Elevators are used in prestigious buildings, which can be
called as decoration of a building because they improve the building’s beauty
as well as carries life into it.
The main features of this elevators mainly include design, and travel comfort
is best. The interior design of these lifts is attractive with a large glass panel
for viewing. The ultramodern design of these lifts offers a cosmic zone travel
experience for the passengers. These lifts are consistent and inexpensive
with the least maintenance.

Hydraulic Elevator
A hydraulic elevator is power-driven by a piston that moves within a cylinder.
The piston movement can be done by pumping hydraulic oil to the cylinder.
The piston lifts the lift cab easily, and the oil can be controlled by an electrical
valve.
Mechanical equipment - Guide Rails, Guide-Rail Supports, and Fastenings
The applications of hydraulic elevators involve in five to six-floor buildings.
The operating of these elevators can be done at speeds up to 200 ft or 61
meters for each minute. The maximum travel distance for this type of
elevators is around 18m.
Since they typically do not have a counterweight, the entire potential energy
is wasted as heat, making hydraulic elevators less efficient solutions. The
most recent hydraulic systems have now incorporated variable voltage
variable frequency drives and an accumulator that acts as a hydraulic
counterweight. The motor can be activated by using two contractors on a
decreased speed, after that continues with full speed. Older hydraulic
elevators started up suddenly, transmitting mains power at full-blast right into
the electric motor. The energy performance has dramatically been improved
with these new development. The hydraulic elevators are classified into four
types such as holed, hole less & roped elevators
2) Pneumatic Elevator
The pneumatic elevator can be designed with an external cylinder, and the
cylinder is a crystal-clear self-supporting cylinder. This cylinder includes
modular sections to fit effortlessly into one by one. The top of this tube is
designed with steel material that ensures tight air shutting by suction valves
as well as inlets. A lift car runs within the cylinder, & the head unit on the top
cylinder surface consists of valves, controllers, and turbines for controlling
the elevator movements.

Pneumatic elevators are very easy to fit, operate as well as maintain when
compared with the traditional elevators. These are used in existing homes
because of their solid design. The main benefits of using these elevators
include solid design & smooth, speed and flexibility, energy efficient and very
safe.
3) Cable Driven or Traction Elevator
While hydraulic systems rely on pushing the elevator car up or down, roped
elevators pull the elevator cab using ropes or cables. The traction elevator or
cable driven elevators are the most popular elevators. It consists of steel
cables as well as hoisting ropes that run above a pulley or sheave which is
connected to the motor that drives the lift. In this kind of elevator, several
wire and hoisting cables are connected to the surface of an elevator car with
covering around it on sheaves at one end & the other side is connected to a
counterweight that travels up & down on its guide rails. The counterweight is
equivalent to the car’s weight and half of the weight of the passenger in the
car. This means, throughout the lifting process it needs extra power for the
additional passengers in the car; the rest of the load is managed with the
weight of the counter.
When the control system is connected to the lift, then it drives the motors in
a frontward way, and sheave turns around to move the car lift upwards and
stops in the preferred floor where the car is controlled by the weight of the
counter.

For the car downstairs movement, overturn occurs during a rotating motor
through a control method. For conserving the energy, some types of lift use
electric motors with four quadrant operation in the regenerative method.