query: instance_of windlass
supports: For the tool used to raise paddle gear on canal locks , see Windlass ( `` lock key '' ) The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights . Typically , a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder ( barrel ) , which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt . A winch is affixed to one or both ends , and a cable or rope is wound around the winch , pulling a weight attached to the opposite end . A steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. They played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads and the Panama Canal. The development of simpler, cheaper diesel-powered shovels caused steam shovels to fall out of favor in the 1930s. A tow truck (also called a wrecker, a breakdown truck, recovery vehicle or a breakdown lorry) is a truck used to move disabled, improperly parked, impounded, or otherwise indisposed motor vehicles. This may involve recovering a vehicle damaged in an accident, returning one to a drivable surface in a mishap or inclement weather, or towing or transporting one via flatbed to a repair shop or other location. A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and elevators. The spool can also be called the winch drum. More elaborate designs have gear assemblies and can be powered by electric, hydraulic, pneumatic or internal combustion drives. Some may include a solenoid brake and/or a mechanical brake or ratchet and pawl device that prevents it from unwinding unless the pawl is retracted. A gear or cogwheel is a rotating machine part having cut "teeth", or cogs, which mesh with another toothed part to transmit torque. Geared devices can change the speed, torque, and direction of a power source. Gears almost always produce a change in torque, creating a mechanical advantage, through their gear ratio, and thus may be considered a simple machine. The teeth on the two meshing gears all have the same shape. Two or more meshing gears, working in a sequence, are called a gear train or a "transmission". A gear can mesh with a linear toothed part, called a rack, thereby producing translation instead of rotation. A solenoid brake is an electrically controlled brake. The brake is turned on and off by an electrical solenoid. Typically a spring engages the brake when unpowered, and the solenoid releases it when powered. An elevator (US and Canada) or lift (UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa) is a type of vertical transportation that moves people or goods between floors (levels, decks) of a building, vessel, or other structure. Elevators are generally powered by electric motors that either drive traction cables or counterweight systems like a hoist, or pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston like a jack. A rope is a group of yarns, plies, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting, but are too flexible to provide compressive strength. As a result, they cannot be used for pushing or similar compressive applications. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly constructed cord, line, string, and twine. Fiber rope is made from fiber, whereas wire rope is made from wire. Wire rope is rope made from wire. It consists of several strands of metal wire laid (twisted) into a helix. The term "cable" is often used interchangeably with "wire rope", but narrower senses exist in which "wire rope" refers to diameter larger than 3/8 inch (9.52 mm), whereas sizes smaller than this are designated cable or cords. Initially wrought iron wires were used, but today steel is the main material used for wire ropes.
candidates: brake building canal change construction device direction elevator fiber group machine may metal part people public pump result sequence shop simple machine soil spring steel string structure surface term train truck vehicle weather wind wire
answer: simple machine