Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane industry, the 1950s featured numerous significant milestones in tower crane design and development. There were a range of manufacturers were starting to produce more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These types of equipments dominated the construction industry for 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 eventually, the use of luffing jibs became the standard method.
Manufacturers based in Europe were also really important in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction locations on the continent were usually constricted places. Depending on rail systems to transport several tower cranes, became very inconvenient and expensive. Some manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms which allowed sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can grow along with the structures it was constructing 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.
The main focus on tower crane development and design from the 1960s started on covering a higher load moment, covering a bigger job radius, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Moreover, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.