Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the 1950s in the tower crane business, there were many important developments in the design of these large cranes. Many different manufacturers were started producing bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These kinds of machinery dominated the construction business for both office and apartment block construction. Lots of of the leading tower crane manufacturers didn't utilize cantilever jib designs. As an alternative, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, utilizing luffing jibs became the regular method.
Manufacturers based within Europe were also heavily influential in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction areas on the continent were usually tight places. Relying on rail systems to transport several tower cranes, ended up being too expensive and inconvenient. Some manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These kinds 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.
These particular cranes have long jibs and could cover a bigger work area. All of these developments led to the practice of constructing and anchoring cranes in a building's lift shaft. After that, this is the technique that 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 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 important developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.