Typically the base that is bolted into a huge concrete pad provides the essential support for a tower crane. The base is attached to a tower or a mast and stabilizes the crane that is attached to the inside of the building's structure. Often, this attachment point is to a concrete lift or to an elevator shaft.
The crane's mast is normally a triangulated lattice structure that measures 10 feet square or 0.9m2. Connected to the very top of the mast is the slewing unit. The slewing unit consists of a gear and a motor which allows the crane to rotate.
Tower cranes are able to have a maximum unsupported height of 80m or 265 feet. The maximum lifting capacity of a tower crane is 16,642 kg or 39,690 lbs. with counter weights of 20 tons. Furthermore, two limit switches are used to be able to make certain that the driver does not overload the crane. There is also another safety feature called a load moment switch to ensure that the driver does not exceed the ton meter load rating. Finally, the maximum reach of a tower crane is 70 meters or 230 feet.
There is certainly a science involved with erecting a tower crane, specially due to their extreme heights. At first, the stationary structure needs to be brought to the construction location by using a big tractor-trailer rig setup. After that, a mobile crane is used so as to assemble the machine portion of the jib and the crane. These sections are then connected to the mast. The mobile crane then adds counterweights. Forklifts and crawler cranes may be a few of the other industrial machines that is typically utilized to erect a crane.
When the building is erected, mast extensions are added to the crane. This is how the crane's height could match the building's height. The crane crew uses what is called a climbing frame or a top climber that fits between the top of the mast and the slewing unit. A weight is hung on the jib by the work crew in order to balance the counterweight. Once complete, the slewing unit could detach from the top of the mast. In the top climber, hydraulic rams are used to adjust the slewing unit up an additional 6.1m or 20 feet. Next, the crane operator utilizes the crane to insert and bolt into position one more mast part piece.