Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the 1950s in the tower crane industry, there were many significant developments in the design of these big cranes. Many different manufacturers were started producing bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These kinds of machines dominated the construction market for both apartment block and office construction. A lot of of the top tower crane manufacturers discarded the use of cantilever jib designs. Instead, 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 sites were constricted places. Relying upon rail systems to move a large number of tower cranes, ended up being too expensive and inconvenient. Some manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These cranes were equipped 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.
The long jibs on these particular cranes additionally covered a larger 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 technique that became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane development and design from the 1960s started on covering 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, amongst other things.