For huge building construction projects, tower cranes are used rather frequently. These equipments are quite needed for heavy lifting as well as positioning supplies and equipment. Tower cranes offer a unique design which offers lots of advantages over more traditional cranes. These advantages include: quiet electrical operation, higher vertical lift, reduced space requirements and increased capacities.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is another design that is most often associated with a tower crane. In this case, a long horizontal jib is connected to a vertical tower. One end of the jib acts as a counterweight and the other end of the jib extends horizontally over the worksite. There is a trolley on the hammerhead crane. This trolley holds the lifting cable and travels along the length of the jib. The tower crane can operate anywhere within the jib's radius.
Self-Erecting Tower Cranes
A self-erecting crane is capable of completely assembling itself at the jobsite without any assistance from a secondary crane. This provides a huge benefit in setup time and greatly saves time in equipment expenses too. Self-erecting cranes are normally remote-controlled from the ground, even if there are some models that have an operator cab built onto the jib.
The self-erecting crane is usually freestanding to allow them the opportunity to be moved around. There are several models which have a telescoping tower that enables the crane to work at multiple heights without the need to reconfigure the tower.
Luffing Jib Tower Crane
The majority of urban work environments do not have enough clearance or space for the jib to freely rotate without existing buildings blocking its movement. A luffing jib tower crane is ideal for such confined spaces. Nearly all tower cranes have a fixed horizontal jib. The operator is able to lower or raise a luffing jib in order to allow the crane to swing in a reduced radius.