Arduino Elevator Model with Floor Display and Up Down Control

A lift is one of the most familiar machines in daily life, yet its control logic is rarely seen: a button is pressed, a motor runs, a car stops level at a floor, and a display keeps track of where the car is. This project makes that logic visible at tabletop scale. A small car hangs from a cable inside a simple shaft frame, a motor at the top winds the cable, and an Arduino reads two push buttons, drives the motor in the right direction, and updates a seven-segment display with the current floor. The demonstration is easy to challenge in the room: press up and watch the car climb while the number rises, press down and watch it come back while the number falls, and check that the car stops level at its floor.

The end-to-end mechanism runs from a button press to a level stop. The Arduino reads the up and down push buttons and, on a press, drives the motor in the matching direction. The motor turns a pulley that winds or unwinds the cable, and the cable lifts or lowers the car inside the shaft frame. As the car travels, the firmware updates the seven-segment display, counting up while the car climbs and back down while it descends. When the car reaches its floor, the motor stops and the car rests level, with the display showing that floor.

1. The builder assembles the model: the shaft frame, car, motor, pulley, and cable are mounted, and the Arduino, push buttons, and seven-segment display are wired on a prototyping board.
2. The builder checks the motor alone: the cable winds and unwinds in both directions, so a wiring or direction error is caught before the display is trusted.
3. The builder checks the display alone: the floor number and its counting direction are confirmed, so the display is never confused with another quantity.
4. For the upward demonstration, the builder presses up and shows the car climbing while the display counts up, stopping level at the upper floor.
5. For the downward demonstration, the builder presses down and shows the car descending while the display counts back down, stopping level at the lower floor.
6. For the repeat demonstration, the builder runs the journey again and shows the same stops and display values, proving the behaviour is repeatable rather than a one-off.
7. The builder writes up the results honestly, including the model's scale limits, the load it can carry, and every condition under which the car should not be trusted to stop level.

Tech stack:

• Arduino Uno · ATmega328P controller board
• DC motor with pulley and cable · car lift mechanism
• Seven-segment display · current floor display
• Push buttons · up and down direction control
• Shaft frame and car platform · tabletop lift structure
• Prototyping board and jumper wires · control wiring

This model combines a small set of parts into a complete working lift rather than a motor that simply spins. First, the car travels in both directions, so up and down are both demonstrated, not just one. Second, the floor display tracks the car, so the number on the display and the car's position can be checked against each other at any moment. Third, the car stops level at a floor, so the demonstration has a clear pass condition an examiner can judge. Fourth, the whole model runs from a bench supply on an open frame, so the motor, cable, and control board are all visible while it works.

• [Up and down travel] The motor drives the car in both directions on its cable, so the model demonstrates a full lift journey, up and then back down, rather than a single movement — implemented in the base build.
• [Floor display that follows the car] A seven-segment display shows the current floor and counts up as the car climbs and back down as it descends, so the display and the car's position can be checked against each other — implemented in the base build.
• [Push-button control] Two push buttons select the direction of travel, so the demonstration is driven by a deliberate command, not by a fixed loop — implemented in the base build.
• [Level stop at a floor] The car stops at its floor rather than drifting past it, giving the demonstration a clear, checkable result — implemented in the base build.
• [Visible mechanism] The motor, pulley, cable, shaft frame, and control board are all open to view, so the mechanism can be explained while it runs — implemented in the base build.
• [Automatic floor-call queuing and door operation] Future scope only, not implemented: call buttons on each floor, a queue of requested floors, and automatic doors, listed as extensions rather than claimed features, since the base build is a single-car model with up and down buttons only.

• Complete fabricated tabletop elevator model (shaft frame, car platform, DC motor, pulley, cable, Arduino Uno, push buttons, seven-segment display, prototyping board, jumper wires, bench power lead)
• Control firmware (button reading, motor direction control, floor counting, seven-segment display update, level stop)
• Setup and testing guide (motor-direction check procedure, display check procedure, up-journey demonstration, down-journey demonstration, repeatability worksheet)
• Project report PDF (lift control background, motor and cable design, floor-display logic, demonstration results, honest scale observations)
• PPT presentation for final review
• Viva Q&A preparation document (motor direction control, floor counting, seven-segment driving, level-stop logic, tabletop model versus real lift safety systems)