Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Throughout the 1950s in the tower crane industry, there were many significant developments in the design of these big cranes. Many different manufacturers were started producing bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These machines dominated the construction business for office and apartment block construction. A lot of of the leading tower crane manufacturers abandoned the use of cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, utilizing luffing jibs became the regular practice.
Manufacturers based within Europe were also heavily influential in the design and development of tower cranes. Construction sites on the continent were usually tight areas. Having to rely on rail systems to transport a large number of tower cranes, ended up being too inconvenient and expensive. A number of manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These types of 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 building upwards.
The long jibs on these specific cranes additionally covered a larger work area. All of these developments led to the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes inside a building's lift shaft. After that, this is the technique which became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane development and design from the 1960s began on covering a higher load moment, covering a bigger job radius, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. Furthermore, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most important developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.