Tower cranes are being used often for big building construction projects. They are needed for the heavy lifting and positioning of supplies and equipment. Tower cranes offer a unique configuration which provides numerous benefits over more traditional cranes. These benefits comprise: quiet electrical operation, higher vertical lift, reduced space requirements and increased capacities.
Hammerhead Crane
The hammerhead crane is usually associated with a tower crane. The long horizontal jib is connected to a vertical tower, in this case. 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 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 help from another crane. This greatly saves time in equipment expenses and provides a huge advantage in setup time too. Self-erecting cranes are usually remote-controlled from the ground, even if there are some models which 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 several models that have a telescoping tower that allows the crane to work at multiple heights without the need to reconfigure the tower.
Luffing Jib Tower Crane
Most urban work settings do not have enough space or clearance 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 could raise or lower a luffing jib in order to allow the crane to swing in a reduced radius.