For huge building construction projects, tower cranes are used quite frequently. These equipments are quite essential for heavy lifting as well as placing supplies and equipment. Tower cranes offer a different design which provides lots of advantages over more conventional cranes. These advantages include: higher vertical lift, quiet electrical operation, increased capacities, and reduced space requirements.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is a different design that is most typically associated with a tower crane. In this situation, a long horizontal jib is connected to a vertical tower. One end of the jib extends horizontally over the worksite and the other end of the jib acts as a counterweight. 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 can operate anywhere within 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 a secondary crane. This really saves time in equipment expenses and provides a huge advantage in setup time too. Self-erecting cranes are often remote-controlled from the ground, though there are some models that have an operator cab built onto the jib.
The self-erecting crane is generally freestanding to allow them the opportunity to be moved around. There are some models which have a telescoping tower that allows the crane to work at multiple heights without the need to reconfigure the tower.
Luffing Jib Tower Crane
Often, in urban work environments, there is not enough space or clearance for the jib to rotate freely without being blocked by existing buildings. A luffing jib tower crane is ideal for such tight spaces. The majority of tower cranes have a fixed horizontal jib. The operator is able to lower or raise a luffing jib in order to enable the crane to swing in a reduced radius.