For big building construction projects, tower cranes are utilized rather frequently. These machines are quite necessary for heavy lifting as well as positioning materials and equipment. Tower cranes offer a unique design which provides numerous benefits over more conventional cranes. These advantages consist of: quiet electrical operation, higher vertical lift, reduced space requirements and increased capacities.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is another configuration which 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 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 can travel along the length of the jib. The tower crane could 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 provides a huge benefit in setup time and really saves time in equipment expenses as well. Self-erecting cranes are often remote-controlled from the ground, even if there are some models which have an operator cab built onto the jib.
The self-erecting crane is usually freestanding to allow them the opportunity to be moved around. There are several models which have a telescoping tower which enables the crane to work at multiple heights without the need to reconfigure the tower.
Luffing Jib Tower Crane
The majority of 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 ideal for such tight spaces. Nearly all 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.