Tower cranes are being used regularly for large building construction projects. They are needed for the heavy lifting and positioning of materials and machines. Tower cranes provide a unique design which offers numerous benefits over more traditional cranes. These advantages include: higher vertical lift, quiet electrical operation, increased capacities, and reduced space requirements.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is another design that is most often associated with a tower crane. In this situation, a long horizontal jib is connected to a vertical tower. One end of the jib acts as a counterweight and the other end of the jib extends horizontally over the worksite. On the hammerhead crane, there is a trolley. This trolley has the lifting cable and travels along the length of the jib. The tower crane could operate anywhere within the jib's radius.
Self-Erecting Tower Cranes
Self-erecting cranes are usually assembled on site with the assistance of a different crane. This greatly saves time in equipment expenses and provides a huge advantage in setup time too. Self-erecting cranes are usually remote-controlled from the ground, even if there are some models which have an operator cab built onto the jib.
Self-erecting cranes are usually freestanding and this allows them the opportunity to be able to be moved around. There are some models which have a telescoping tower which allows the crane to work at multiple heights without the need to reconfigure the tower.
Luffing Jib Tower Crane
The majority of urban work environments do not have enough clearance or space for the jib to freely rotate without existing buildings blocking its movement. A luffing jib tower crane is ideal for such tight areas. The majority of tower cranes have a fixed horizontal jib. The driver could raise or lower a luffing jib in order to enable the crane to swing in a reduced radius.