Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Within the tower crane business, the 1950s featured numerous important milestones in tower crane development and design. There were a variety of manufacturers were starting to produce more bottom slewing cranes which had telescoping mast. These kinds of machines dominated the construction business for apartment block and office construction. A lot of of the top tower crane manufacturers discarded the use of cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, utilizing luffing jibs became the regular method.
Manufacturers based within Europe were also heavily influential in the design and development of tower cranes. Construction sites on the continent were often tight places. Relying upon rail systems to transport several tower cranes, became very difficult and costly. Some manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These cranes were outfitted with self-climbing mechanisms that allowed sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can grow along with the structures it was constructing upwards.
The long jibs on these particular cranes also 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 that became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane development and design from the 1960s started 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 essential developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.