Some industrial and commercial buildings are capable of reaching heights of over 60 stories. Obviously, while these buildings are being built, they require equally tall cranes to be able to move the supplies to the upper floors. There are cranes which are operated from the rear of trucks or other kinds that have their own vehicle connected. Tower cranes are the biggest kinds on the market.
Tower cranes are the stand-alone structures which are usually found on high-rise building projects. Often, they are part of a major city's downtown skyline. Wherever new construction such as apartment buildings and skyscrapers and commercial facilities like shopping center are being constructed, odds are a crane would be on site.
Types
The two major types of cranes could be differentiated by the way in which their jib or boom lifts supplies. The jib is the metal frame that extends from the main section. On a flat tower crane, the jib remains horizontal as it lifts things. On a luffing kind of tower crane, the jib could ratchet to downward or upward angles. The lifting capacity for both kinds can vary from 30,000 lbs. to 10,000 pounds
Body
The body of the crane is composed of a vertical steel mast which is composed of separate sections. The sections are added to increase the overall height of the machine. The mast extends upward to where the desired height is, to the control module, which is a small room which has glass windows on all four sides or to the tower as it is also referred to. The crane operator works from inside of the tower.
Lift
The crane uses a braided metal cord to lift materials. This cord extends out from a motor situated near the control module to the end of the jib or boom. There is a pulley system situated at the end of the jib, through which the cord is positioned and lowered down. The jib that holds the cord becomes balanced by a counter jib situated on the opposite side of the tower. The counter jib holds weights. These weights help to prevent the crane from tipping over when raising heavy materials.