Tower Cranes Grow to New Heights
Throughout the 1950s in the tower crane business, there were many significant developments in the design of these large cranes. Many different manufacturers were started producing bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These kinds of machinery dominated the construction business for both office and apartment block construction. A lot of of the top tower crane manufacturers discarded the use of cantilever jib designs. In its place, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, utilizing luffing jibs became the standard method.
In Europe, there were major improvements being made in the design and development of tower cranes. Often, construction locations were tight areas. Having to depend upon rail systems to move several tower cranes, ended up being very expensive and difficult. A number of manufacturers were offering saddle jib cranes that had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms that allowed sections of mast to be inserted into the crane so that it could grow along with the structures it was building upwards.
These particular cranes have long jibs and could cover a larger work area. All of these developments resulted in the practice of constructing and anchoring cranes inside a building's lift shaft. Afterwards, this is the method that 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 larger job radius, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. Additionally, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.