Tower cranes are being used regularly for large building construction projects. They are required for the heavy lifting and placing of materials and machines. Tower cranes offer a different design which offers numerous advantages over more traditional cranes. These benefits include: higher vertical lift, quiet electrical operation, reduced space requirements and increased capacities.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is a different configuration that 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 acts as a counterweight and the other end of the jib extends horizontally over the worksite. On the hammerhead crane, there is a trolley. This trolley holds the lifting cable and travels 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 another crane. This greatly saves time in equipment costs and provides a huge advantage in setup time too. Self-erecting cranes are normally remote-controlled from the ground, even though there are some models that have an operator cab built onto the jib.
Self-erecting cranes are usually freestanding and this allows them the opportunity to be able to be moved around. There are several 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
Nearly all urban work environments do not have enough space or clearance for the jib to rotate freely without existing buildings blocking its movement. A luffing jib tower crane is great for such tight spaces. 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.