For big building construction projects, tower cranes are utilized rather often. These equipments are rather required for heavy lifting as well as placing supplies and equipment. Tower cranes offer a different design that offers many benefits over more traditional cranes. These benefits comprise: higher vertical lift, quiet electrical operation, reduced space requirements and increased capacities.
Hammerhead Crane
The hammerhead crane is commonly associated with a tower crane. The long horizontal jib is attached to a vertical tower, in this case. 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 holds the lifting cable and travels along the length of the jib. The tower crane could operate anywhere in the jib's radius.
Self-Erecting Tower Cranes
Self-erecting cranes are usually assembled on site 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 usually remote-controlled from the ground, although there are some models which have an operator cab built onto the jib.
Self-erecting cranes are normally freestanding and this allows them the opportunity to be able to be moved around. There are several 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
Nearly all urban work environments do not have enough clearance or space for the jib to rotate freely without existing buildings blocking its movement. A luffing jib tower crane is great 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.