The most common type of elevator currently in use is the cable-driven elevator. With this design, the elevator car (cabin) is moved up and down by a system of load-bearing steel cables. The hoisting cables (1) are attached to the cabin frame and are looped over a device called a pulley or sheave (2). The pulley is essentially a wheel with multiple grooves around its circumference to hold the cables, and when the pulley rotates, it causes the cables to move along with it. The pulley is driven by an electric motor called a traction machine (3). When the motor of the traction machine rotates, the pulley rotates and lifts the cabin; when the motor rotates in the opposite direction, the cabin lowers. In gearless elevators, the motor directly rotates the pulley, while in geared elevators, the motor rotates a set of gears to turn the pulley. Typically, the entire pulley system, traction machine, and control cabinet (4) are installed in the machine room located at the top of the hoistway.

The cable system used to move the cabin is connected to a counterweight (5) on the other side of the pulley. The counterweight weighs approximately the same as the empty cabin plus about 50% of its rated load. In other words, when the cabin carries 50% of its capacity, the counterweight and the cabin are balanced. The purpose of this balancing is to save energy. When both sides of the pulley have roughly equal mass, only a small amount of additional force is needed to move the pulley in either direction. Basically, the motor only needs to overcome friction; the weight on the other side of the pulley does most of the remaining work. In other words, thanks to this balance, the entire system conserves energy; when the cabin is pulled down, it creates stored energy in the counterweight above, and vice versa. The way the elevator works is similar to a seesaw with children of roughly equal weight on both ends.

Both the cabin and the counterweight run on a system of guide rails (6) installed along the hoistway. These rails prevent the cabin and counterweight from shaking and are also part of the safety system that helps stop the cabin in an emergency.

Elevators are also equipped with many additional safety devices to automatically control the entire operation of the elevator and prevent any safety-related situations. Therefore, the equipment used is very strictly selected, and only specialists with in-depth knowledge in the field can meet the requirements.