Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Throughout the 1950s in the tower crane industry, there were many significant developments in the design of these big cranes. Numerous manufacturers were started producing bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These equipments dominated the construction market for both office and apartment block construction. Many 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 regular method.
Manufacturers based in Europe were also heavily influential in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction areas on the continent were usually constricted places. Depending on rail systems to move a large number of tower cranes, ended up being very expensive and inconvenient. Some manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These cranes were outfitted with self-climbing mechanisms which enabled parts of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could grow along with the structures it was building upwards.
These particular cranes have long jibs and can 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. After that, this is the technique 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 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 significant developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.