Early Crane Evolution
Over 4000 years ago, early Egyptians made the very first recorded kind of a crane. The original apparatus was called a shaduf and was first used to transport water. The crane was made out of a pivoting long beam that balanced on a vertical support. On one end a heavy weight was attached and on the other end of the beam, a bucket was connected.
In the first century, cranes were made to be powered by humans or animals that were moving on a treadmill or a wheel. These cranes had a wooden long boom called a beam. The boom was attached to a rotating base. The wheel or the treadmill was a power-driven operation that had a drum with a rope that wrapped around it. This rope additionally had a hook which carried the weight and was attached to a pulley at the top of the boom.
Within Europe, the huge cathedrals established in the Middle Ages were build using cranes. Cranes were also used to load and unload ships within main ports. Eventually, major advancements in crane design evolved. Like for instance, a horizontal boom was added to and became known as the jib. This boom addition enabled cranes to have the ability to pivot, thus greatly increasing the equipment's range of motion. After the 16th century, each side of a rotating housing that held the boom incorporated two treadmills.
Cranes used humans and animals for power until the mid-19th century. This all changes rapidly once steam engines were developed. At the turn of the century, electric motors as well as IC or internal combustion engines emerged. Cranes also became designed out of cast iron and steel rather than wood. The new designs proved more efficient and longer lasting. They can obviously run longer as well with their new power sources and hence carry out bigger tasks in less time.