Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane industry, the 1950s showcased numerous important milestones in tower crane design and development. There were a range of manufacturers were beginning to produce more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These types of equipments dominated the construction business for both office and apartment block construction. A lot of of the top tower crane manufacturers abandoned the use of cantilever jib designs. As an alternative, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, utilizing luffing jibs became the standard practice.
Manufacturers based within Europe were also really influential in the design and development of tower cranes. Construction locations on the continent were usually tight places. Depending on rail systems to move several tower cranes, became too inconvenient and expensive. Some manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms that allowed parts 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 particular cranes also covered a bigger work area. All of these developments led to the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes in the lift shaft of a building. After that, this is the method which became the industry standard.
From the 1960s, the main focus on tower crane design and development started to cover a higher load moment, covering a bigger job radius, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. In addition, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.