Project
Tram
A wiring manual and live circuit simulator for a 4-stop material lift.
I helped build a four-stop material lift that runs on 24 V relay ladder logic and a VFD. The wiring only lived in our heads and on paper, so I built Tram: the full Rev A.1 manual plus a live simulator that animates the ladder as the car moves.
Tram exists because real-world control systems deserve documentation as good as software gets. The manual covers power, the control ladder, VFD terminals, shaft switches, the BOM, and commissioning steps — everything needed to wire or service the lift.
The circuit simulator is the fun part: a live 24 V relay ladder where contacts close, relays energize, and the car creeps to its 5-second timed stop at each floor. VFD parameters are tunable, and a landing readout shows what the shaft sees.
It's the project I'm proudest of explaining to non-engineers — you can watch electricity make a decision, floor by floor.