Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
During the 1950s in the tower crane business, there were numerous significant developments in the design of these big cranes. Numerous manufacturers were started making bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These kinds of machines dominated the construction industry for apartment block and office construction. Many of the leading tower crane manufacturers abandoned the use of cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, utilizing luffing jibs became the standard method.
Manufacturers based in Europe were also really important in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction sites on the continent were normally tight places. Relying on rail systems to move several tower cranes, became too costly and difficult. Some manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms that allowed parts of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could 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 led to the practice of building and anchoring cranes inside the lift shaft of a building. Afterwards, 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 larger job radius, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Furthermore, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.