Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane business, the 1950s showcased numerous important milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a variety of manufacturers were beginning to produce more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These machines dominated the construction industry for apartment block and office construction. Lots of of the top tower crane manufacturers discarded the use of cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, the use of luffing jibs became the standard practice.
Within Europe, there were major improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Usually, construction locations were tight areas. Depending on rail systems to transport a large number of tower cranes, ended up being very expensive and inconvenient. Some manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These kinds of cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms which enabled parts of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could grow along with the structures it was building upwards.
The long jibs on these specific cranes also covered a bigger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes in the lift shaft of a building. Afterwards, this is the method which became the industry standard.
From the 1960s, the main focus on tower crane development and design started to cover a higher load moment, covering a bigger job radius, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most important developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.