Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane industry, the 1950s showcased numerous important milestones in tower crane design and development. There were a variety of manufacturers were beginning to make more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These types of machines dominated the construction market for apartment block and office construction. Lots of of the top tower crane manufacturers abandoned the use of cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, the use of luffing jibs became the standard practice.
In Europe, there were major improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Often, construction locations were constricted areas. Depending on rail systems to move several tower cranes, became too difficult and costly. A number of manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These kinds of cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms that enabled sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can grow along with the structures it was building upwards.
These specific cranes have long jibs and can cover a bigger work area. All of these developments precipitated the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes inside a building's lift shaft. Afterwards, this is the technique that 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, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.