Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane business, the 1950s showcased many important milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a range of manufacturers were starting to produce more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These machinery dominated the construction business for apartment block and office construction. Many of the top tower crane manufacturers abandoned the use of cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, utilizing luffing jibs became the regular practice.
In Europe, there were key improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Normally, construction locations were tight areas. Relying on rail systems to transport a large number of tower cranes, ended up being too difficult and costly. A number of manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These kinds of cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms which allowed parts 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 specific cranes additionally covered a larger work area. All of these developments led to the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes inside the lift shaft of a building. After that, this is the technique that 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, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. Moreover, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.