Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane industry, the 1950s featured many important milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a variety of manufacturers were starting to produce more bottom slewing cranes that had telescoping mast. These machines dominated the construction business for both apartment block and office construction. A lot of of the leading tower crane manufacturers discarded the use of cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, using luffing jibs became the standard practice.
Manufacturers based in Europe were also heavily influential in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction locations on the continent were normally tight areas. Relying upon rail systems to transport several tower cranes, ended up being very costly and difficult. A number of manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These cranes were outfitted with self-climbing mechanisms which enabled sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could grow along with the structures it was constructing upwards.
The long jibs on these particular cranes additionally covered a larger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes in the lift shaft of a building. After that, this is the technique which became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane development and design from the 1960s started on covering a higher load moment, covering a bigger job radius, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. Furthermore, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most important developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.