For huge building construction projects, tower cranes are used quite often. These machinery are quite necessary for heavy lifting as well as placing materials and equipment. Tower cranes provide a different design which provides many benefits over more conventional cranes. These benefits include: quiet electrical operation, higher vertical lift, increased capacities, and reduced space requirements.
Hammerhead Crane
A hammerhead crane is another design that is most typically associated with a tower crane. In this case, a long horizontal jib is attached 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. There is a trolley on the hammerhead crane. This trolley has the lifting cable and travels along the length of the jib. The tower crane could operate anywhere within the jib's radius.
Self-Erecting Tower Cranes
Self-erecting cranes are often assembled on location with the help of another crane. This provides a huge benefit in setup time and greatly saves time in equipment costs as well. 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.
The self-erecting crane is generally freestanding to enable them the opportunity to be moved around. There are several models that have a telescoping tower which allows the crane to work at multiple heights without the need to reconfigure the tower.
Luffing Jib Tower Crane
Nearly all urban work settings 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 confined areas. Nearly all tower cranes have a fixed horizontal jib. The driver can raise or lower a luffing jib in order to allow the crane to swing in a reduced radius.