The elevator—city living would be nearly impossible without it. We take elevators for granted as a modern convenience, but an elevator failure can be downright paralytic to a midrise or highrise building where not everyone can rely on using long flights of stairs. If you’re managing a property with elevators, you likely have a keen interest in making sure your elevators remain fully operational at all times. If an elevator should go out of service, one of these common causes of elevator breakdowns is likely the reason why.

Worn Sheaves

Though elevators are complicated machinery, they have simple mechanisms at their core, namely the pulley or sheave. After years of assisting in heavy lifting within an elevator, sheaves wear down, which can make for a tumultuous ride along more than one axis. Not only may the elevator travel up the shaft in fits and starts, but it could be a little bumpy from side to side, too. Worn-out sheaves need to be regrooved or replaced altogether.

Motor Failure

While buildings are wired for alternating current, some elevator motors still use direct current to power their elevators. This calls for motor-generator sets to convert AC to DC before the elevator gets to work. With more moving parts involved, particularly the wear-prone carbon brushes, a failure of the elevator’s motor is a leading cause of breakdowns. Elevator motor failure can be devastating to your building, but if you have to hang an “Out of Order” sign, Moley Magnetics has you covered. We excel in electric motor repair of all kinds, from the stepper motors and servomotors in CNC machines to the heavy-duty AC and DC motors that power today’s elevator cars.

Damaged Consoles

One of the most common causes of elevator breakdowns is damage to the console—the array of buttons that tell the elevator where to go. Small children and frustrated passengers alike can damage the console by pushing buttons too hard, pushing too many buttons at the same time, or otherwise treating the console more roughly than it can handle. This can be an expensive repair and an unpleasant breakdown event for people caught in the car.