Tower cranes are being used often for large building construction projects. They are needed for the heavy lifting and placing of supplies and machines. Tower cranes provide a different configuration that provides many benefits over more traditional cranes. These benefits include: quiet electrical operation, higher vertical lift, reduced space requirements and increased capacities.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is another 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. 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 within the jib's radius.
Self-Erecting Tower Cranes
Self-erecting cranes are normally assembled on location with the help of a different crane. This provides a huge advantage in setup time and greatly saves time in equipment expenses as well. Self-erecting cranes are normally remote-controlled from the ground, though there are several models that 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 some models that have a telescoping tower which enables 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 ideal for such tight spaces. The majority of tower cranes have a fixed horizontal jib. The driver is able to raise or lower a luffing jib in order to allow the crane to swing in a reduced radius.