Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
During the 1950s in the tower crane industry, there were numerous significant developments in the design of these big cranes. Numerous manufacturers were started producing bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These equipments dominated the construction business for apartment block and office construction. A lot 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 standard practice.
Manufacturers based within Europe were also heavily important in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction locations on the continent were often tight places. Relying upon rail systems to move a large number of tower cranes, became very costly and difficult. Some manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These cranes were outfitted with self-climbing mechanisms which 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 larger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of building and anchoring cranes in a building's lift shaft. After that, this is the method 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, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.