Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
During the 1950s in the tower crane business, there were many significant developments in the design of these huge 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 leading tower crane manufacturers didn't use cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, using luffing jibs became the regular practice.
Manufacturers based in Europe were also really important in the design and development of tower cranes. Construction areas on the continent were usually constricted places. Having to depend on rail systems to move a large number of tower cranes, ended up being very expensive and inconvenient. Some manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These kinds of cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms that enabled parts of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can grow along with the structures it was building upwards.
These specific cranes have long jibs and could cover a larger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of constructing and anchoring cranes in the lift shaft of a building. Afterwards, this is the method that became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane development and design 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. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.