Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane industry, the 1950s showcased many significant milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a range of manufacturers were beginning to make more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These kinds of machinery dominated the construction business for apartment block and office construction. Lots of of the top tower crane manufacturers didn't utilize cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, using luffing jibs became the regular practice.
In Europe, there were key improvements being made in the development and design of tower cranes. Usually, construction locations were tight areas. Having to rely on rail systems to transport a large number of tower cranes, ended up being very difficult and costly. A number of manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These cranes were outfitted with self-climbing mechanisms that allowed sections 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 could cover a bigger work area. All of these developments resulted in the practice of constructing and anchoring cranes inside the lift shaft of a building. After that, this is the method which became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane design and development from the 1960s began on covering a higher load moment, covering a bigger job radius, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Moreover, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.