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Custom Service Crane, Inc.
Mahomet, IL 61853
P: (217) 586-5697
F: (217) 586-6300

 

Member of the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association

 

2 Wilbert Tower Cranes over city

Wilbert Tower Cranes
Wilbert Tower Crane Load Charts

San Marco Tower Cranes
San Marco Tower Crane Load Charts

If the first thing that comes to your head upon hearing the word “crane” is an image of a construction site with a prominent skeletal framework of an unfinished skyscraper along with hundreds of workers sporting yellow hard hats, then you are probably thinking of a specific type of crane known as the tower crane.

  • A tower crane is a type of crane mostly used in the construction of tall buildings. It is usually the type of crane most people associate with the general form of the word “crane”.
    Most tower cranes consist of the same basic parts:
  • The base – The base serves as the foundation of the crane itself. It is often bolted into the ground, from which it supports the entire height of the tower or mast.
  • The slewing unit – The slewing unit can be found on top of the mast. It contains the necessary gears and motors that allow the crane to rotate.
  • The operator's cab – This section of the tower crane is where the crane driver operates the crane via a series of controls and switches.

Visually speaking, tower cranes are pretty hard to miss. They often rise just as high as the nearby structures undergoing construction, and can afford a reach that is almost as far as its own height. How do these tower cranes lift such heavy objects without either tipping over or breaking the long arm that carries the load?

In order to make this feat possible, the materials used in the production of tower cranes are of the finest grades of steel. In fact, the tower crane is considered the modern version of the balance crane, often set up by affixing the structure into the ground in order to support the incredible weight of the materials being lifted. To avoid tipping over, counterweight materials, typically concrete blocks, are loaded into the short arm, with the long arm being used to carry objects on and off the ground.