This project will walk you through making an elevator using circuits. I have two buttons, one to make the elevator go up, and one to make it go down. This will be done with two different batteries and two different circuits. The elevator will go up and down with the motor on top of the building. When it is going down, the motor will be rotating clockwise, and when it is going up, the motor will be rotating counterclockwise.

Step 1: Gather Materials

This project will require the following materials:

4 PVC pipes (1” by 19”)
8 PVC pipes (1” by 6”)
8 PVC pipe connectors
2 9V batteries
2 9V battery clips
1 Gear DC Motor
6 wires
Solder
Soldering Iron
Helping Hands
Tape
Styrofoam Slab
Fishing Wire (2 Feet)
Cardboard
Aluminium Tape
Hot Glue Gun
2 22" Copper Wire
Washer
Small Weight
2 Make Do Hinges

Step 2: Make the Structure of the Building

To make the structure of the building, connect the pipes to make a rectangular prism. See photo attached. On top of the building, tape/glue a piece of 6.2" by 6.2" square of styrofoam, placing the motor on top of it.

Step 3: Do Circuitry for Motor

Follow the attached file and connect solder the wires together. Ensure that they are long enough to go from the top to the bottom of the building as the motor will be on the top and the buttons and batteries will be on the bottom. To solder, take the soldering iron and put the wires in the helping hands. Then take the solder and melt it over the exposed wires that are being held by the helping hands. Don't get burnt.

Step 4: Make and Install Elevator

In order to make the elevator, cut 6 6" by 5.5" squares, and glue 5 of them together, making a rectangular prism with 1 open side. The open side will be the door.

Next, take the fishing wire and thread it through the motor, knotting it so it does not come out. Then wind the fishing string around the motor.

Make a small hole through the centre of the piece of styrofoam on top of the building and string the wire through the hole. Next, make a small hole through the centre of the top of the elevator and through the centre of the bottom of the elevator and string the wire through. At the bottom of the elevator, tie the string onto a washer and tape the washer to the bottom of the elevator to ensure that the elevator does not fall down. (I tried many different types of wires such as copper wire and twine but they did not work. Additionally, I tried to tape the bottom of the fishing wire to the bottom of the elevator but that came out).

Finally, to stabilise the elevator, make a hole on the top left and bottom right of the top of the elevator, bottom of the elevator and top of the structure and run 1 piece of copper wire on each side (as seen in the photo). Putting this does not allow the elevator to wobble. Put the weight in as the finishing touch because that makes the elevator slower and makes it easier for the elevator to go down.

Step 5: Buttons & Aesthetics

To make the buttons, cut 2 2.5" by 1.5", 2 1.5" by 1.2" and 2 2" by 0.75" pieces of cardboard. Put the biggest piece at the bottom, fold the smallest piece in half and glue the bottom of the smallest piece to the centre of the biggest piece. Then, glue the centre of the remaining piece, to the bottom of the smallest piece. Add aluminium tape to the top and bottom of the inside of the bottom, and tape the wires to the aluminium tape (see image for final). Then, when you press the button, the circuit will be completed and the elevator will move.

First, add the door. To add the door, use the 6th piece you made for the elevator and use make do hinges to open and close it. Use a small piece of copper wire bent in a semi circle to make the handle.

For aesthetics, cut 3 21" by 9" slabs of styrofoam and glue them to the back and sides of the structure. Next, use 4 6.5" by 7" slabs of Styrofoam and glue that on top of the structure leaving the back open if any repair work on the motor is ever needed. Additionally, make a 8.5" by 6" slab of styrofoam to glue to the front of the structure to put the buttons on. Next, glue the buttons onto the slab of styrofoam.

Finally, to make the floors, use an 11" by 5" slab of styrofoam and glue that in front of the structure at the bottom, so some of the wires are hidden. Next glue an 11" by 1.5" piece of styrofoam 7" above the first piece to indicate the second floor.