Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the tower crane business, the 1950s showcased numerous significant milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a range of manufacturers were starting to produce more bottom slewing cranes that had telescoping mast. These types of machinery dominated the construction business for office and apartment block construction. Many of the leading tower crane manufacturers discarded the use of cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, the use of luffing jibs became the standard practice.
Manufacturers based within Europe were also heavily influential in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction areas on the continent were normally tight places. Depending upon rail systems to move a large number of 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 cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms which allowed sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could grow along with the structures it was constructing upwards.
These specific cranes have long jibs and could cover a larger 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 development and design started to cover a higher load moment, covering a larger job radius, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.