Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane industry, the 1950s showcased many 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 equipments dominated the construction business for both office and apartment block construction. Many of the leading tower crane manufacturers didn't utilize cantilever jib designs. As an alternative, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, utilizing luffing jibs became the regular method.
In Europe, there were key improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Normally, construction locations were tight areas. Having to rely on rail systems to move several tower cranes, became too expensive and inconvenient. Some manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms that allowed parts of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can 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 precipitated the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes in a building's lift shaft. After that, this is the technique which became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane design and development from the 1960s started on covering a higher load moment, covering a larger job radius, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Furthermore, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most important developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.