Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane industry, the 1950s featured numerous significant milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a range of manufacturers were beginning to make more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These equipments dominated the construction industry for apartment block and office construction. Lots of of the top tower crane manufacturers didn't use cantilever jib designs. As a substitute, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, the use of luffing jibs became the standard method.
Manufacturers based in Europe were also really important in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction areas on the continent were normally constricted areas. Having to depend upon rail systems to move several tower cranes, became very expensive and difficult. Some manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These types of cranes were outfitted with self-climbing mechanisms which enabled sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could grow along with the structures it was building upwards.
These specific cranes have long jibs and can cover a larger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes in a building's lift shaft. Then, this is the method that 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, 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.