Tower cranes are being utilized regularly for big building construction projects. They are essential for the heavy lifting and positioning of supplies and equipment. Tower cranes provide a different configuration that provides many advantages over more traditional cranes. These advantages comprise: quiet electrical operation, higher vertical lift, increased capacities, and reduced space requirements.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is a different configuration that is most often associated with a tower crane. In this situation, a long horizontal jib is connected 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 holds 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 provides a huge advantage in setup time and really saves time in equipment costs too. Self-erecting cranes are often remote-controlled from the ground, although there are some models which 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 some models that have a telescoping tower which allows the crane to work at various heights without the need to reconfigure the tower.
Luffing Jib Tower Crane
Most urban work settings do not have enough clearance or space for the jib to freely rotate without existing buildings blocking its movement. A luffing jib tower crane is great for such tight areas. The majority of tower cranes have a fixed horizontal jib. The operator is able to raise or lower a luffing jib in order to enable the crane to swing in a reduced radius.