Freight Elevators Rise To The Occasion
Given its distinct purpose, freight elevators are typically larger and can carry more weight than a passenger elevator. A freight elevator is often custom designed for shopping centers, warehouses or other large-scale facilities which may require its services, harbors, etc.
The designs are based on various specifications, which are determined by the end users' needs, which may include the following:
- dimensions
- the amount of weight to be carried
- the manner in which the goods will be loaded and unloaded
- whether off and on loading is by hand, car or industrial truck.
Industry standards for freight elevators include the following:
A heavy-duty freight elevator can hold a truck and can handle as much as 100,000 pounds (45, 359 kilograms), using a dual rope system for support.
Freight elevators often has a manual door, and sometimes multiple doors, to load from the front and rear or sides. The inside may be unfinished, so that it can take a beating from goods being pushed in and out daily.
As with passenger elevators, freight lifts can be hydraulic or traction. Traction elevators use steel ropes pulled along a deeply grooved pulley. Hydraulic elevators use a piston to push the elevator up from below.
Both types require counter-weighting, which is typically accomplished by the placement of another elevator car on the other end of the ropes. Hydraulic lifts are cheaper, but often slower and cannot be built as high as traction elevators. Hydraulics can also leak oil into the earth, raising concerns for environmentalists.
The smaller freight elevators are often called dumbwaiters. They are typically used in two-story buildings to move household goods such as laundry or dishes up and down. Older versions of these were operated by tugging and pulling on a rope, whereas manufacturers of modern dumbwaiters ensure a small electric motor is included inside.
Simply put the way of the future, though nestled deep within the ancient, recent or present past, reflects the signs of the times, and as long as man will be producing and manufacturing goods which need transportation, so will the need for innovation in transportation and movement of these goods be not only beneficial, but frankly, unstoppable.
