Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane business, the 1950s showcased numerous significant milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a variety of manufacturers were beginning to make more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These kinds of machinery dominated the construction market for apartment block and office construction. Many of the leading tower crane manufacturers didn't utilize cantilever jib designs. As a substitute, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, utilizing luffing jibs became the regular method.
In Europe, there were major improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Normally, construction locations were tight places. Relying upon rail systems to transport a large number of tower cranes, became very difficult and costly. A number of manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms that allowed parts of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could grow along with the structures it was constructing upwards.
These particular cranes have long jibs and can cover a bigger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of building and anchoring cranes in the lift shaft of a building. After that, this is the technique that became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane design and development from the 1960s started on covering a higher load moment, covering a larger job radius, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. In addition, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.