Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane business, the 1950s showcased numerous important milestones in tower crane design and development. There were a range of manufacturers were starting to produce more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These types of machines dominated the construction business for office and apartment block construction. Many of the top tower crane manufacturers didn't use cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, utilizing luffing jibs became the standard method.
Within Europe, there were major improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Usually, construction sites were tight places. Relying on rail systems to transport several tower cranes, ended up being too expensive and difficult. Some manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These kinds of cranes were equipped 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 building upwards.
The long jibs on these specific cranes additionally covered a bigger work area. All of these developments resulted in the practice of building and anchoring cranes in the lift shaft of a building. Then, this is the technique which became the industry standard.
From the 1960s, the main focus on tower crane design and development started to cover 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 significant developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.