Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the 1950s in the tower crane industry, there were numerous significant developments in the design of these big cranes. Numerous manufacturers were started producing bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These kinds of machinery dominated the construction industry for office and apartment block construction. Lots of of the top tower crane manufacturers discarded the use of cantilever jib designs. As an alternative, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, 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. Normally, construction sites were tight areas. Relying on rail systems to move several tower cranes, ended up being very inconvenient and costly. A number of manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These types of cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms which enabled sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can 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 led to the practice of building and anchoring cranes in the lift shaft of a building. Afterwards, this is the method that became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane design and development from the 1960s began on covering a higher load moment, covering a larger 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, among other things.