Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane business, the 1950s featured many important milestones in tower crane design and development. There were a variety of manufacturers were beginning to produce more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These kinds of machinery dominated the construction business for both office and apartment block construction. A lot of of the leading tower crane manufacturers abandoned the use of cantilever jib designs. As an alternative, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, the use of luffing jibs became the regular practice.
Manufacturers based in Europe were also really influential in the design and development of tower cranes. Construction sites on the continent were normally tight areas. Relying upon rail systems to transport several tower cranes, became very expensive and inconvenient. Some manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These types of cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms that allowed parts of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can 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 inside the lift shaft of a building. After that, this is the method which 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 bigger job radius, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.