Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane industry, 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. A lot of of the leading tower crane manufacturers didn't utilize cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, using luffing jibs became the standard method.
In Europe, there were major improvements being made in the development and design of tower cranes. Normally, construction locations were tight areas. Relying on rail systems to move several tower cranes, ended up being very costly and inconvenient. A number of manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These types of cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms that enabled sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could grow along with the structures it was constructing upwards.
These specific cranes have long jibs and can cover a larger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of building and anchoring cranes inside the lift shaft of a building. After that, 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. Furthermore, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.