Tower cranes are being utilized often for huge building construction projects. They are necessary for the heavy lifting and positioning of supplies and equipment. Tower cranes offer a unique design that provides a lot of benefits over more conventional cranes. These advantages comprise: quiet electrical operation, higher vertical lift, increased capacities, and reduced space requirements.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is another design which is most often associated with a tower crane. In this case, a long horizontal jib is attached to a vertical tower. One end of the jib extends horizontally over the worksite and the other end of the jib acts as a counterweight. There is a trolley on the hammerhead crane. This trolley holds the lifting cable and can travel along the length of the jib. The tower crane can operate anywhere within the jib's radius.
Self-Erecting Tower Cranes
A self-erecting crane is capable of completely assembling itself at the jobsite without any assistance from another crane. This greatly saves time in equipment costs and provides a huge benefit in setup time as well. Self-erecting cranes are normally remote-controlled from the ground, even if there are several models that have an operator cab built onto the jib.
Self-erecting cranes are generally freestanding and this enables them the opportunity to be able to be moved around. There are some models which have a telescoping tower that enables the crane to work at various heights without the need to reconfigure the tower.
Luffing Jib Tower Crane
Often, within urban work environments, there is not enough clearance or space for the jib to freely rotate without being blocked by existing buildings. A luffing jib tower crane is ideal for such tight spaces. Nearly all tower cranes have a fixed horizontal jib. The driver can raise or lower a luffing jib in order to allow the crane to swing in a reduced radius.