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. Many different manufacturers were started making bottom slewing cranes with a telescoping mast. These kinds of equipments dominated the construction business for office and apartment block construction. Lots of of the top tower crane manufacturers didn't use cantilever jib designs. Instead, they made the switch to luffing jibs and eventually, the use of luffing jibs became the regular practice.
Manufacturers based within Europe were also heavily important in the design and development of tower cranes. Construction locations on the continent were normally tight places. Relying on rail systems to move a large number of tower cranes, ended up being very inconvenient and expensive. Some manufacturers were providing saddle jib cranes which had hook heights of 262 feet or 80 meters. These cranes were equipped with self-climbing mechanisms which 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 specific cranes additionally covered a bigger work area. All of these developments resulted in the practice of building and anchoring cranes inside the lift shaft of a building. Then, this is the technique that became the industry standard.
From the 1960s, the main focus on tower crane development and design started to cover a higher load moment, covering a bigger job radius, climbing mechanisms and technology, faster erection strategies, and new control systems. Moreover, focus was spent on faster erection strategies with the most significant developments being made in the drive technology department, among other things.