Types Of Cranes Used In Construction Projects

Cranes are massive and essential machinery needed to do work on a construction site. But did you know there are different types? Read on to find out more.

Construction projects are usually very extensive and require a lot of machinery to construct the simplest of buildings. The various types of cranes are used for different purposes in a construction site.

A crane consists of different components like pulleys, booms and cables which enable it to lift, carry and lower down heavy machinery and construction materials. This machine is often used by the manufacturing and construction industry. There are different kinds of lorry cranes that are used for various purposes, and some of them are:

1. Mobile Cranes

One of the commonly used types of cranes is a mobile crane. This type of crane mainly consists of a telescopic boom attached to a mobile platform that can be wheeled, cat or rail truck. The boom is attached to the bottom of the crane which can be adjusted with the help of a hydraulic cylinder or a cable according to the construction projects.   

2. Telescopic Crane

Telescopic cranes are a little different than normal ones as they consist of several tubes attached to one other. These tubes are used to increase and decrease the size of the boom. These kinds of cranes are usually used to install steel truss or carry brick pallets. These cranes have the additional component at the end of the boom similar to forklift crane which helps in carrying brick pallets and other heavy objects.

3. Tower Crane

Tower crane is a modern version of a balance crane. These are usually fixed to the ground so that they can be used to lift heavy materials to great heights. These cranes can hold up to 20 tons of material to the height of 265 feet. To ensure the safety of constructors and operators, it is necessary to ensure that the crane is fixed on a concrete base and large bolts are secured for anchoring purposes.

4. Truck Mounted Crane

In this type of equipment, the crane is attached to a truck. The good thing about this type of crane is that it can easily be shifted to other places. These cranes consist of outriggers that are placed in horizontal and vertical positions to stabilise it during the process of hoisting.

5. Overhead Crane

Overhead crane is also known as a suspended crane. This is usually used in for manufacturing purposes or in a factory, these can easily lift a lot of load at one time. As the hoist of a crane is adjusted on a trolley, it can easily move along two beams.

6. All Terrain Crane

As the name suggests, a terrain crane can be used on all roads whether they are paved or rough. The only difference is that this type of crane consists of more wheels as compared to others. Extra wheels help in maintaining the balance of the vehicle especially on rough terrains and uneven roads.

7. Floating Crane

These cranes are basically used for constructing a port or a bridge. These can also be used for loading and unloading heavy materials from ships. These cranes can lift up to 9000 tons of material, so these can also be used to lift ships that are sunk in water.

These are some of the commonly used cranes that are used in construction projects.