Geared Traction Elevators

These elevators typically operate at speeds greater than 2.5 meters per second. In gearless traction machine, woven steel cable hoisting ropes are attached to the top of the elevator car and wrapped around the drive sheave in special grooves. The other ends of the cable are attached to the counterweight that moves up and down in the hoist way on its guiderails. The combined weight of the elevator car and the counterweight presses the cables into the grooves providing the necessary traction as the sheave rotates.