Early Crane Evolution
More than 4000 years ago, early Egyptians made the first recorded kind of a crane. The original apparatus was known as a shaduf and was initially utilized to transport water. The crane was made out of a pivoting long beam which balanced on a vertical support. On one end a bucket was attached and on the other end of the beam, a heavy weight was attached.
During the first century, cranes were built to be powered by animals or humans that were moving on a treadmill or a wheel. These cranes had a wooden long boom known as a beam. The boom was connected to a base that rotates. The treadmill or the wheel was a power-driven operation that had a drum with a rope that wrapped around it. This rope additionally had a hook that carried the weight and was connected to a pulley at the top of the boom.
Cranes were used extensively throughout the Middle Ages to build the enormous cathedrals in Europe. These devices were also used to unload and load ships in main ports. Over time, major crane design developments evolved. Like for example, a horizontal boom was added to and became known as the jib. This boom addition allowed cranes to have the ability to pivot, thus really increasing the range of motion for the machine. After the 16th century, cranes had incorporated two treadmills on each side of a rotating housing which held the boom.
Even until the mid-19th century, cranes continued to rely on animals and humans for power. Once steam engines were developed, this all rapidly changed. At the turn of the century, electric motors as well as internal combustion or IC engines emerged. Cranes also became designed out of cast iron and steel rather than wood. The new designs proved longer lasting and more efficient. They could obviously run longer too with their new power sources and hence carry out bigger jobs in less time.