Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane business, the 1950s showcased many significant milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a range of manufacturers were beginning to make more bottom slewing cranes that had telescoping mast. These equipments dominated the construction industry for apartment block and office construction. Many of the leading tower crane manufacturers discarded the use of cantilever jib designs. As an alternative, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, the use of luffing jibs became the standard method.
Manufacturers based in Europe were also really influential in the design and development of tower cranes. Construction sites on the continent were normally tight places. Depending upon rail systems to move a large number of tower cranes, became too costly and inconvenient. Some manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These kinds of cranes were outfitted 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 additionally covered a bigger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of constructing and anchoring cranes in a building's lift shaft. After that, this is the method that 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 bigger job radius, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Moreover, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.