General Research on Cranes

A crane can also be defined as a tower or derrick that is equipped with cables/ropes and pulleys used to lift and lower heavy materials. Cranes are commonly used in the construction and manufacturing industry of heavy equipment.
Cranes are driven by different means namely by electrical power (motor), steam, hydraulics or even manually (hand power).

I have been doing some research on various types of cranes and it appears there two main forms:

1) Mobile Cranes – these usually take the form of a telescopic boom mounted on a mobile platform i.e. rail, water or wheels. These cranes have the advantage of flexibility and mobility which allows easy transportation from one location to another. Examples include:

Truck-mounted crane


Crawler crane

Floating crane

2) Fixed Cranes – sacrifice mobility in exchange for the ability to lift and move greater loads, this is because they have greater stability and can reach far heights. While these cranes are not meant to be moved, some can be disassembled and reassembled for added mobility. Examples include:

Tower crane


Jib crane


My next post will show sketches of my crane idea, which has to meet the design specification for the invitation to tender.