Several commercial and industrial buildings are capable of reaching heights of more than 60 stories. Apparently, when these buildings are being built, they need equally tall cranes to be able to transport the supplies to the higher floors. There are cranes which are operated from the back of trucks or other types that have their own vehicle connected. Tower cranes are the largest kinds on the market.
Tower cranes are the stand-alone structures which are normally found on high-rise building projects. Usually, they are part of a major city's downtown skyline. When new construction such as skyscrapers or apartment buildings and commercial facilities like shopping center are being constructed, chances are a crane would be on site.
Kinds
The two major kinds of cranes can be differentiated by the way in which their boom or jib raises materials. The jib is the metal frame which extends from the main section. On a flat tower crane, the jib remains horizontal as it carries things. On a luffing type of tower crane, the jib could ratchet to downward or upward angles. The lifting capacity for both types can vary from 30,000 lbs. to 10,000 lbs.
Body
The body of the crane is composed of a vertical steel mast which is composed of individual [parts. The sections are added to increase the overall height of the machinery. The mast extends upward to where the desired height is, to the control module, that is a small room that has glass windows on all four sides or to the tower as it is also called. The driver of the crane works from inside of the tower.
Lift
To lift supplies, the crane utilizes a braided metal cord. The cord extends all the way to the end of the boom or jib from a motor located next to the control module. There is a pulley system located at the end of the jib, through which the cord is positioned and lowered down. The jib which holds the cord becomes balanced by a counter jib located on the opposite side of the tower. The counter jib has weights. These weights help to prevent the crane from toppling over when raising heavy materials.