Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane business, the 1950s showcased numerous important milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a range of manufacturers were starting to produce more bottom slewing cranes that had telescoping mast. These equipments dominated the construction market for apartment block and office construction. Lots of of the top tower crane manufacturers discarded the use of cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, using luffing jibs became the standard method.
Manufacturers based within Europe were also heavily influential in the design and development of tower cranes. Construction areas on the continent were often tight areas. Depending on rail systems to transport a large number of tower cranes, became very expensive and difficult. Some manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These kinds of cranes were outfitted with self-climbing mechanisms that allowed sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can grow along with the structures it was constructing upwards.
These particular cranes have long jibs and can cover a larger work area. All of these developments resulted in the practice of building and anchoring cranes inside the lift shaft of a building. Then, 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. Furthermore, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.