Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the 1950s in the tower crane business, there were many important developments in the design of these large cranes. Numerous manufacturers were started producing bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These machines dominated the construction market for both apartment block and office construction. Many of the top tower crane manufacturers discarded the use of cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, utilizing luffing jibs became the standard practice.
Manufacturers based within Europe were also really important in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction locations on the continent were normally tight areas. Depending upon rail systems to move a large number of tower cranes, ended up being 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 allowed sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can grow along with the structures it was building upwards.
The long jibs on these specific cranes additionally covered a larger work area. All of these developments led to the practice of building and anchoring cranes inside a building's lift shaft. Afterwards, this is the method that 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, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Moreover, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.