Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane business, the 1950s showcased numerous significant milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a range of manufacturers were beginning to make more bottom slewing cranes that had telescoping mast. These machinery dominated the construction industry for both apartment block and office construction. Lots of of the leading tower crane manufacturers didn't use cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, the use of luffing jibs became the regular practice.
Within Europe, there were major improvements being made in the development and design of tower cranes. Often, construction sites were tight places. Depending on rail systems to move several tower cranes, became very expensive and difficult. A number of manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These 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 building upwards.
These particular cranes have long jibs and can cover a larger work area. All of these developments led to the practice of building and anchoring cranes inside the lift shaft of a building. Afterwards, this is the technique which became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane design and development from the 1960s started on covering 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, amongst other things.