Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the 1950s in the tower crane industry, there were numerous important developments in the design of these large cranes. Numerous manufacturers were started producing bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These machinery dominated the construction market for office and apartment block construction. Lots of of the leading 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 standard method.
In Europe, there were major improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Usually, construction locations were tight areas. Having to depend upon rail systems to move several tower cranes, ended up being very costly and inconvenient. A number of manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 80 meters or 262 feet. 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 building upwards.
The long jibs on these particular cranes also covered a bigger work area. All of these developments led to the practice of constructing and anchoring cranes inside a building's lift shaft. Then, this is the method which became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane development and design from the 1960s began on covering a higher load moment, covering a bigger job radius, faster erection strategies, climbing mechanisms and technology, and new control systems. Furthermore, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.