Quote:
Originally Posted by 1overcosc
I've been wondering for a while now if some bright entrepreneur is going to launch a startup that 3D-prints new replacement parts for older elevators to keep them in good condition without requiring reconstruction.
If anyone figures that out, it's probably a billion dollar company right there.
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I was talking to a customer at work the other day who works for an elevator company, that said this is one of the biggest problems he has in servicing elevators in our city. (The average age of elevators in Thunder Bay, considering the building boom we had in the 1970s followed by stagnation, is now over 40 years old).
We used a 103 year old warehouse to store our products, and the elevator in there (which was replaced in the 1940s) rarely has issues, but when it does, the elevator contractors are afraid of it. There is one office building in the north end, 104 years old, it still has all of its original elevator equipment. The operating of the freight elevator is so difficult that they hire someone part-time to run it correctly, meaning all deliveries and renovations in the building have to follow his work schedule.
But if you guys think regular elevators are sketchy, check this out:
The cage running up the centre is the elevator shaft, erected in 1913. Many elevator maintenance companies only have a few employees willing to work on the passenger elevators in grain elevators. This one has a 600 pound capacity and moves at around 0.5m/second.