Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Throughout the 1950s in the tower crane business, there were many important developments in the design of these huge cranes. Many different manufacturers were started producing bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These machinery dominated the construction industry for both apartment block and office construction. Many of the top tower crane manufacturers didn't utilize cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, the use of luffing jibs became the regular method.
Within Europe, there were major improvements being made in the development and design of tower cranes. Often, construction sites were tight places. Having to rely upon rail systems to transport a large number of tower cranes, became too expensive and inconvenient. Some manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. These types of cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms which enabled sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could 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 resulted in the practice of erecting and anchoring cranes inside the lift shaft of a building. Afterwards, this is the method which became the industry standard.
From the 1960s, the main focus on tower crane design and development started to cover a higher load moment, covering a larger job radius, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.