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Cool old elevator mechanicals


cstmg8

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I see this stuff all the time, and still think it's pretty cool, so I thought some of you might find it interesting.

This is an old Dover traction car. The relay and contactor setups are impressive, but the selector is really cool.

Basically picture the row of contacts that are moving up and down on the carriage as the elevator car, and the vertical rods as the hoistway. Each of those points on the verticals represents a floor, door zone, or slowdown. The carriage is driven by a cable attached to the car.

 

I can periodically post others if anyone's interested. 2f1ec6834c4a48e527f5ce5b8236b772.jpg

 

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Wait does this thing do any logic like an analog computer? If so that's fucking AWESOME.
Yeah, the old relay logic controllers used inputs from switches, buttons, etc.. to determine which combination of relay paths or "logic" it would take. So many moving parts for a simple action, but in many ways more dependable than the solid state controls on the new junk.

I'll see if I can dig up my pics of some of the big old Otis relay logic.

 

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It reminds me of a music box or a player piano.....wait is the elevator car "reading" (triggering?) things on the wall of the shaft as it descends? way cool.

 

When I lived in Boston I lived in an old building that had a manual lever operated art deco trellis style elevator. Because I was a teenager I figured slamming it full one way and then the other was a way to make it jump on the cable. I do miss some of those old details these days.

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Soooo, those pullies shittily bolted to a 2x are holding up an elevator car?

 

no the giant wheel perpendicular to the picture is what's holding up the car. I think the smaller wire is the signal wire to tell it where the elevator car is but I am not really sure how it works.

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God I hate troubleshooting old relay stuff. We have presses from the 70s that have been added to and “renovated” a couple times. The prints are nonexistent at this point. I would imagine elevators are better documented due to safety and accountability?
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God I hate troubleshooting old relay stuff. We have presses from the 70s that have been added to and “renovated” a couple times. The prints are nonexistent at this point. I would imagine elevators are better documented due to safety and accountability?
Ummm, yeah...... Sure they are.

 

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What kind of electricity do those run? 3-phase 480V?
Yes, it just depends on the elevator though. A lot of the older ones then had a DC generator attached to the machine, because we could control it a lot more smoothly than A/c motors.

Now they have drives that are much more sophisticated and control the current to the motor. We generally install Transformers and ckokes/filters in line before the elevator now.

 

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It reminds me of a music box or a player piano.....wait is the elevator car "reading" (triggering?) things on the wall of the shaft as it descends? way cool.

 

When I lived in Boston I lived in an old building that had a manual lever operated art deco trellis style elevator. Because I was a teenager I figured slamming it full one way and then the other was a way to make it jump on the cable. I do miss some of those old details these days.

A lot of the old timers called these music box selectors.

Yeah, even the new cars get magnetic switches and cams mounted up and down the hoistway. They tell the car when to slowdown, when it's in a door zone, where in the shaft it is, etc....

 

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Soooo, those pullies shittily bolted to a 2x are holding up an elevator car?
Lol. The sheave with 6 steel ropes over it is holding up the car and counterweight. The machine is Mounted on structural steel beams.

The small ones carry the cable for the selector. It runs from the car, up over those pulleys, then down to a gear reduction that drives the two chains you see on either side of the selector carriage. The whole setup is based on that gear ratio matching the scale of that selector vs the hoistway.

 

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Really cool!

 

Do you ever get rid of any of the stuff you find like this?

Yeah, I don't have quite as much access on maintenance as I did when I was modifying old cars, but I still see it. Lots of stainless doors like my other post. I saved this 40lb solid brass gear out of a 1950's Otis.10c13e6b1b0d4cee04c9d0d7c15b5477.jpg

 

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Unfortunately you just missed the test for the Columbus local. Cinci, Toledo, and Cleveland all have their own though. Ours will probably open again next summer. Basically you test/interview and it places you ones hiring list based on your score. You don't have to leave your current job until you get the call that you're picked up.

 

It is the dreaded union though!!! Lol. As I said in the other thread, I wasn't/am not the biggest union supporter, but for $100k+ and free benefits, watcha gonna do. I guess I can be bought.

I actually enjoy my job most of the time.

 

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I just got back from Dallas. 3 days of going up and down to the 68th floor conference room. It's times like that I try to forget whats going on with the machinery around me. :lol:

 

I would imagine elevators are better documented due to safety and accountability?

 

Ummm, yeah...... Sure they are.

 

LOL. Well played.

 

http://www.COLUMBUSELELATORRACING.com

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