Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane industry, the 1950s showcased many important milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a variety of manufacturers were starting to produce more bottom slewing cranes that had telescoping mast. These types 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. As a substitute, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, utilizing luffing jibs became the standard method.
In Europe, there were major improvements being made in the development and design of tower cranes. Usually, construction locations were constricted places. Relying on rail systems to transport a large number of tower cranes, ended up being too difficult and expensive. A number of manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that 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 can cover a bigger work area. All of these developments resulted in the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes inside a building's lift shaft. Afterwards, this is the method that 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. In addition, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.