Escalator Mechanism Simulator (2D)

Drive

Belt speed 50%

Incline angle 30°

Load

Passengers on incline 4

Chain running — steps level on the flat, rising on the incline.

Live Readout

Chain speed

0.00 m/s

Vertical rise

0.00 m

Incline length

0.00 m

Motor power

0.00 kW

How it works

All the steps of an escalator are bolted to one continuous roller chain that loops around a top drive sprocket and a bottom idler sprocket, exactly like a bicycle chain. A gearmotor turns the top sprocket; every step is dragged along at the same chain speed, so the belt of steps moves as one rigid loop.

Each step tread stays level the whole way around because it hangs from two chain tracks at different radii — but on the straight incline the risers unfold vertically, turning a flat conveyor into a visible staircase, then fold flat again as they curl around the top and bottom sprockets and vanish under the comb plate.

The motor's job is to supply the power needed to lift whatever load is riding the incline: P = n·m·g·v·sin(θ) / η — more passengers, a steeper incline or a faster belt all raise the mechanical power the drive must deliver, divided by the drivetrain efficiency η (chain, gearbox and sprocket losses, typically 80–85%).