Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane industry, the 1950s showcased many important milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a variety of manufacturers were beginning to produce more bottom slewing cranes that had telescoping mast. These types of machinery dominated the construction business for both apartment block and office construction. Many of the top tower crane manufacturers didn't utilize cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, utilizing luffing jibs became the regular method.
Within Europe, there were major improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Often, construction sites were constricted places. Relying upon rail systems to move a large number of tower cranes, ended up being very difficult and costly. A number of manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These cranes were outfitted with self-climbing mechanisms that allowed sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could grow along with the structures it was constructing upwards.
These particular cranes have long jibs and could cover a larger work area. All of these developments led to the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes inside the lift shaft of a building. Afterwards, 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, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. In addition, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most important developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.