Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane business, the 1950s showcased many significant milestones in tower crane design and development. There were a range of manufacturers were starting to make more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These machines dominated the construction industry for office and apartment block construction. A lot of of the top tower crane manufacturers abandoned the use of cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, the use of luffing jibs became the regular method.
Manufacturers based within Europe were also really important in the design and development of tower cranes. Construction areas on the continent were normally tight places. Relying on rail systems to transport several tower cranes, became too expensive and inconvenient. A number of manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These 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 building upwards.
These particular cranes have long jibs and can cover a larger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes in the lift shaft of a building. Afterwards, this is the method which became the industry standard.
From the 1960s, the main focus on tower crane development and design started to cover a higher load moment, covering a larger job radius, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most important developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.