Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
In the 1950s in the tower crane industry, there were many important developments in the design of these huge cranes. Many different manufacturers were started making bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These kinds of machinery dominated the construction business for office and apartment block construction. Many of the top tower crane manufacturers didn't use cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and in time, utilizing luffing jibs became the standard practice.
Manufacturers based in Europe were also heavily influential in the development and design of tower cranes. Construction locations on the continent were normally tight areas. Having to depend on rail systems to transport a large number of tower cranes, became too inconvenient and costly. A number of manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms which enabled parts of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it can 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 erecting and anchoring cranes inside a building's lift shaft. Afterwards, this is the technique which became the industry standard.
The main focus on tower crane design and development from the 1960s began on covering a higher load moment, covering a bigger job radius, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most essential developments being made in the drive technology department, amongst other things.