Elevators are used in every aspect of life, and they play an important role in easing our lives. These vehicles, which carry people and different kinds of stuff vertically to different floors, make life significantly easier. According to their intended use, there are many types of elevators. Among these types, passenger, service, view, glass, or car elevators can be given as examples. It is also important for everyone in an elevator that is used so frequently in daily life to be safe, and the condition for this is that all the parts that make the elevator an elevator are fully functioning. Although all these parts perform different functions separately, when they come together, they are the factors that make the elevator work and ensure safe travel. Among the elevator components, the elevator counterweight becomes prominent with its functioning. All the elevator components performing their functions also make not only daily life but also work life significantly easier.
Key Elevator Components
Before setting up the elevator, it must be fully designed. Every part of the elevator is very important at this stage because elevators can be very dangerous for transportation. It is essential to have a complete setup to prevent possible accidents and to learn every part that makes the elevator an elevator. The most basic parts of the elevator include a cabin, ropes, traction machine, drive unit, counterweight, hoistway, guide rails, cabin buffer, speed governor, safety systems, and many more. All elevator components are important for the elevator in different aspects, so it should be well known that they create safe travel.
1. Cabin
Among elevator components, this elevator component is also called the main part of the elevator. The elevator serves the purpose for which it was designed. For example, a passenger elevator carries the main thing it needs to carry in the cabin, namely the passengers. For safer and more complete travel, the inside of the cabin must also be designed properly. It should contain many details, such as emergency buttons, floor maps, sensors, and handrails.
2. Ropes
The ropes are one of the most important elevator components because they are used to support the cabin. Basically, ropes have duties such as carrying, supporting, and pulling the cabin. The ropes that are used in the elevator determine many things, like capacity or speed.
3. Traction Machine
In an elevator system with ropes, a traction machine is needed to pull the cabin up and down. With the power of the contention machine, the elevator can somehow work. The working principle of the traction machine is also quite simple. The motor of the traction machine moves the pulley shaft so that the cabin moves in the desired direction along the hoistway. In order to prevent possible accidents, it is recommended that this elevator component be regularly maintained and checked.
4. Drive Unit
The drive unit is also known as the control system of the elevator. It is a system that controls up and down movement. It is usually located in the elevator machine room. It incorporates the motor, drive system, and control system, thus allowing the elevator to move safely.
5. Counterweight
Although elevators and simple cranes look similar, their working structures are somewhat different. Elevators move up and down by balancing on a certain weight. This balancing occurs when approximately 50% of the total weight that the elevator can carry in addition to its own weight is loaded. A weight with roughly the same ratio goes down as the elevator goes up, and the weights are balanced in this way. This part is one of the most important elevator components because of its benefits. For example, cabins carry a lot of weight, and this process becomes very easy by using this balancing system. In this way, the motor works much more effectively with less power. In addition, it uses less force to lift heavier weights, creating less stress on the ropes. As the tension on the ropes is reduced, it provides safer and longer use. The motor consumes much less energy during all these actions. The reason for this is that the weight created to balance and the total weight in the elevator equalize each other, and the motor only uses energy to remove the weight difference. This energy is much less than normally required. Also, a certain amount of braking is required for elevators to stop at the correct floor during movements. With the help of this elevator component, the amount of braking is also noticeably reduced. In such a case, if there were no weights to counterbalance, the elevator would tend to go down rapidly.
6. Hoistway
The hoistway is used for the up-and-down movement of the elevator. This elevator component is important because it has gaps between the walls and floors, and the elevator can move safely in this way.
7. Guide Rails
Guide rails are T-shaped elevator components positioned throughout the elevator shaft. This section is basically used to manage the movement routes of both the elevator cabin and the elevator counterweight. Guide rails direct the cabin and counterweight to the right place. This section is not only for guiding but also for stopping the elevator at the required floor.
8. Cabin Buffer
Buffers are an apparatus designed to protect the people inside the elevator from a possible accident and are located at the bottom of the elevator. As its name, it is acting as a buffer and prevents possible accidents and injuries. The working principle of this elevator component is quite simple. It is based on stopping a rapidly sinking cabin by storing or dissipating the kinetic energy already there.
9. Speed Governor
It is one of the elevator components used for security. It is used to control the speed of the elevator in its downward and upward movements and to prevent excessive acceleration. It is located in the upper part of the cabin or in the machine part. If the speed of the elevator gets out of control, the brake system is activated by the speed governor and stops the elevator without causing a major accident. In this respect, it is quite essential for safer travel.
10. Safety Systems
Actually, elevators are very safe vehicles, especially for passengers, because they are designed with a number of safety systems. These systems, which are activated in extraordinary situations, generally have an accident-preventing role. For example, If the cabin has received a load greater than its capacity, the overload protection is activated. This protection system automatically detects that the elevator is overloaded and stops working. Also, there is an emergency communication system inside the elevator, and this system is used for any breakdown. This system is preferred to reach the authorized person when the elevator stops between floors and does not work. This and other elevator components are the parts that make the elevator safer.
