Tower cranes are being utilized regularly for big building construction projects. They are necessary for the heavy lifting and placing of materials and machinery. Tower cranes provide a different design that provides a lot of benefits over more conventional cranes. These advantages include: quiet electrical operation, higher vertical lift, reduced space requirements and increased capacities.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is a different design which is most often associated with a tower crane. In this situation, a long horizontal jib is attached to a vertical tower. One end of the jib acts as a counterweight and the other end of the jib extends horizontally over the worksite. There is a trolley on the hammerhead crane. This trolley has the lifting cable and can travel along the length of the jib. The tower crane can operate anywhere in the jib's radius.
Self-Erecting Tower Cranes
A self-erecting crane is capable of completely assembling itself at the jobsite without any help from a secondary crane. This really saves time in equipment expenses and provides a huge benefit in setup time as well. Self-erecting cranes are usually remote-controlled from the ground, though there are some models that have an operator cab built onto the jib.
The self-erecting crane is generally freestanding to enable them the opportunity to be moved around. There are several models that have a telescoping tower that allows the crane to work at various heights without the need to reconfigure the tower.
Luffing Jib Tower Crane
Normally, within urban work settings, there is not enough space or clearance for the jib to freely rotate without being blocked by existing buildings. A luffing jib tower crane is ideal for such confined areas. Most tower cranes have a fixed horizontal jib. The driver is able to raise or lower a luffing jib in order to enable the crane to swing in a reduced radius.