Tower cranes are being used regularly for large building construction projects. They are essential for the heavy lifting and positioning of materials and machinery. Tower cranes provide a unique configuration which provides many advantages over more traditional cranes. These advantages consist of: quiet electrical operation, higher vertical lift, increased capacities, and reduced space requirements.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is a different design that is most often associated with a tower crane. In this case, a long horizontal jib is connected 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 has the lifting cable and travels along the length of the jib. The tower crane is capable of operating 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 assistance from a secondary crane. This really saves time in equipment costs and provides a huge advantage in setup time as well. Self-erecting cranes are usually remote-controlled from the ground, though there are some models which have an operator cab built onto the jib.
Self-erecting cranes are generally freestanding and this allows them the opportunity to be able to be moved around. There are several models which have a telescoping tower which allows the crane to work at multiple heights without the need to reconfigure the tower.
Luffing Jib Tower Crane
Often, within urban work settings, 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 great for such confined spaces. Nearly all tower cranes have a fixed horizontal jib. The operator can raise or lower a luffing jib in order to allow the crane to swing in a reduced radius.