Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane industry, the 1950s showcased many significant milestones in tower crane design and development. There were a range of manufacturers were beginning to make more bottom slewing cranes that had telescoping mast. These machinery dominated the construction market for both office and apartment block construction. A lot of of the top tower crane manufacturers didn't use cantilever jib designs. As a substitute, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, utilizing luffing jibs became the standard practice.
Within Europe, there were major improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Often, construction locations were tight areas. Relying on rail systems to move several tower cranes, ended up being too difficult and expensive. A number of manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These types of cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms which enabled parts of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can grow along with the structures it was constructing upwards.
These specific cranes have long jibs and can cover a larger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of constructing and anchoring cranes in the lift shaft of a building. After that, this is the method which 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 bigger 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.