cranes

1. Cranes
Cranes in construction are used to lift or lower objects and move them
horizontally. Either way, all cranes are equipped with pulleys and cables that are
useful when it comes to moving objects around.
They are usually temporary structures that are either mounted on a custom-
built vehicle or fixed to the ground.
They are controlled remotely or by a professional operator who moves in a
cab along with the crane. Like with all other items in construction, the crane
operator has the responsibility to ensure the safety of the construction site, the
working crane, and the rigging crew.
Popular Types of Cranes used in Construction
The different types of cranes come with varying capabilities and features that
determine their use. These features include the lifting capacity, lifting range, lift
angle, the working radius, mobility, weight & dimensions, setup time, and night
working capabilities. These features will determine the kind of crane needed for
the construction industry.
Here are the 12 most popular types of lifting cranes used in construction today:
1. Mobile Cranes
2. Crawler Cranes
3. Telescopic Cranes
4. Lattice Boom Truck mounted cranes
5. Vehicle Mounted Cranes
6. Rough Terrain Cranes
7. All Terrain Cranes
8. Tower Cranes

2. Mobile Cranes
Mobile cranes are the most standard and versatile crane used in construction today.
They are the most basic of all cranes and consists of a steel truss or telescopic
boom mounted on a mobile platform, which could be a rail, wheeled, or even on a
cat track. The boom is hinged at the bottom and can be either raised or lowered by
cables or hydraulic cylinders.
There are plenty of lifting operations where the use of a tower crane would not be
practical. Activities like indoor lifts or statue lifting cannot be engineered using
static tower cranes. The best solution is, therefore, to use the mobile crane. These
crane types are faster to set up and flexible and able to access areas where the static
crane can’t reach. These cranes also do not need a lot of space and are cost-
efficient since they are cheaper than the other major types of cranes. Let’s have a
look at the different types of mobile cranes.
Crawler Cranes
Crawler cranes have the crane mounted on a caterpillar track giving them
supreme mobility and strength to handle hefty loads. They are mobile and also
require little setup because they are robust and do not need outriggers. A crawler
track also makes work on unprepared job sites easy.
In places where the ground is soft, the broad base of a crawler crane helps to
distribute weight through a wider area, hence preventing the crawler crane from
sinking amidst a lift. The major drawback of this machine is that it is expensive
and difficult to move from one site to another. However, this type of crane can
still be moved with the help of trucks, therefore, reducing the cost of
transportation.

3. Telescopic Crane
These cranes comprise large booms fitted with tubes from the inside. A telescopic
crane increases its height using the tubes by a hydraulic mechanism. This crane is
mostly useful in transporting goods from one point to another. However, the
telescopic crane is best at transferring objects to higher positions. This is
because the crane can adjust its height. These cranes are also in rescue operations.

4. Vehicle Mounted Cranes
These types of cranes used in construction usually have one engine used for both
the crane and undercarriage. They are mounted on rubber tires trucks, which offer
excellent mobility. There are outriggers used in stabilizing the truck by expanding
it vertically or horizontally and level the crane when it is hoisting a load of
materials.
The capacity of these cranes rarely exceeds 50-ton capacity. The main advantage
of the vehicle-mounted cranes is that they can travel on the highways without the
help of a unique vehicle, making them easy to use and less expensive. These
cranes also can be rotated 180 degrees, though some can rotate to 360 degrees. The
ones that rotate 360 degrees are more expensive.

5. Lattice boom truck mounted crane
Lattice boom crawler cranes, also known as crawler cranes, are the largest type of
mobile cranes available in the construction industry. They’re so large that they
often need to be disassembled, transported in pieces, and then reassembled on site.
Once a crew has put together a crawler crane, it usually stays on the worksite for
the duration of the job. Due to their size and power, crawler cranes can transport,
hoisting, and move heavy loads easily. Despite being so large, this type of crane
can be used on several types of terrain, including soft ground. This helps make
crawler cranes one of the most versatile pieces of heavy equipment on a worksite.
Learn more about the lattice boom crawler crane evolution.
Rough Terrain Cranes
A rough terrain crane is a crane mounted on an undercarriage with four rubber tires
designed for off-road operations where a typical vehicle mounted crane is not
suitable. The outriggers extend vertically and horizontally to level and stabilize the
crane when hoisting.

6. These cranes have single-engine machines where the same engine used for
powering the undercarriage is the same one used for powering the crane. They are
ideal for construction sites that have uneven, dirt, and rocky terrain. The mobility
and ability of the crane to travel around the site make it an effect support crane for
lighter hoists on highway, construction, and infrastructure projects.
Tower Cranes
Commonly used in the construction of tall buildings, tower cranes
are beautiful machines that offer amazing lifting capabilities. Due to
their size, tower cranes are equipped with an operating cab that
controls the entire crane. Tower cranes have their jib extending
horizontally from the mast (tower part), which itself rests on a
concrete base.
Tower cranes are the cranes you see along city skylines that
are used to build tall structures such as skyscrapers. The basic

7. components of a tower crane are a vertical tower—also known
as a mast—and an outstretched jib.
The trolley and hook block travel along the jib, which can
rotate 360 degrees around the mast (this motion is called
slewing). Often, these cranes are assembled using smaller,
mobile cranes.
There are three different types of tower cranes:
 Hammerhead cranes
 On a hammerhead tower crane, the jib rotates 360 degrees
horizontally around the mast at a fixed level — with the
structure resembling an upside-down “L.”

8.  Racking—when the trolley moves the load horizontally
along the jib without changing its level—is a function
unique to this type of tower crane.
 You may have heard hammerhead tower cranes referred
to as an “A-frame” tower crane, or in some cases as a
topless/flat top tower crane. The difference between an A-
frame and a topless tower crane, is the presence of metal
work (the shape of which resembles an “A”) above the
crane connecting the jib to the counter jib.
 The purpose of a flat top crane is to be used in situations
with low head-room or where multiple cranes may slew
underneath or above one another. In the past, the
drawback to flat top cranes was their inability to lift
comparable capacities to that of an A-frame crane.
According to Cranes Today, flat-tops are beginning to
take over the market with comparable lifting capacities of
32, 40, or even 50 tons.

9.  Luffing tower cranes
A luffing tower crane is also known as a luffing-jib crane. Its
design is similar to a hammerhead tower crane, with the
exception that the jib is latticed and can be raised and
lowered—a motion called “luffing.”
With additional jib mobility, these cranes can:
 Lift heavier capacities than hammerhead cranes
 Are more expensive
 Are especially applicable for work in congested areas and/or
with multiple cranes because of their reduced slewing radius
 Self-erecting tower cranes

10. Self-erecting tower cranes include a horizontal jib and mast
mounted to a ballast and has the ability to fold and unfold for
dismantling and erection on site. In comparison to
hammerhead or luffing tower cranes, SETCs:
 Have a lighter frame
 Are transportable
 Have a much lower max load capacity
SETCs are most applicable to circumstances where:
 Construction requires a tight fit between buildings
 Extremely heavy lifts are not required
 There is frequent erection, dismantling, and transportation of
equipment