Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Throughout the 1950s in the tower crane industry, there were many important developments in the design of these large cranes. Numerous manufacturers were started making bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These equipments dominated the construction market for office and apartment block construction. Lots of of the top tower crane manufacturers abandoned the use of cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, the use of luffing jibs became the standard method.
Within Europe, there were key improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Often, construction sites were constricted areas. Relying upon rail systems to transport a large number of tower cranes, became very difficult and expensive. Some manufacturers were offering 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 could 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 in a building's lift shaft. 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, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.