Guide to Types of Cranes for Construction

Guide to Types of Cranes for Construction
types-of-cranes

12 Types of Frequently Used Construction Cranes

One of the important components in construction is a crane. Whether you are building a high-rise condominium, factory or even a bridge, a crane is an important machinery to move materials around high and low, doing what humans simply could not. However, you can’t use any crane without considering its functionality. Thus, learning the differences between each type of cranes is crucial.

What is a construction crane?

Construction crane is a machinery mainly used for heavy lifting and moving the building materials in the construction site. The history of construction crane goes a long way back in 515 BC. The first usage of crane is in Greece.

Each types of cranes has its own functionality and suitable terrain. There are 2 types of cranes, mobile crane and fixed crane or the alternate name, static crane.

Mobile Crane

mobile-crane

Mobile crane’s strong point is mobility as the name suggests. Mobile crane can be driven around the construction site, providing versatile usage. Furthermore, it’s also easier to move the mobile crane to the construction site. There are 5 types of mobile crane. Each types of cranes varies in size.

1. Rough Terrain Crane

Rough terrain crane is a type of crane used in an off-road operation or as the name implies, used in rough terrain. This provides versatile usage in different terrain. The undercarriage is equipped with four rubber tires, allowing a rough terrain crane to move around the construction site. Rough terrain crane come in various sizes, from 12 tons to 550 tons.

2. Floating Crane

Floating crane or ship crane is a type of crane used for construction in or near the sea. Such as, building ports or bridges. Its strong point is it can be used and move in the water. 

3. Truck Mounted Crane

Truck mounted crane is a carrier truck equipped with a boom to extend and lift materials. It can move around the construction site with ease while carrying a heavy load. In addition, truck mounted crane can be driven on road, making it travel to different or remote area easily.

4. Carry Deck Crane

Carry deck crane is a compact, four-wheeled crane. It can rotate 360 degrees. It is smaller in size compared to other type of crane, but it provides much more agility. Carry deck crane is frequently used in smaller construction sites as it can easily reach every nook and cranny.

5. Crawler Crane

Instead of wheels, crawler crane undercarriage is equipped with crawler tracks or threads. It has great stability. It is frequently used in a starting phase of construction project as It can be used on even or soft ground without sinking, and use in other challenging terrain.

Fixed Crane or Static Crane

fixed-crane

Fixed crane or static crane is a type of crane that is fixed in place with no mobility. It has to be assembled on the construction site. The advantages is it can handle heavy loads and lift the material higher than mobile crane. It can be used in huge construction. There are 6 type of fixed crane in total.

1. Jib Cranes

Jib crane can be mounted on a wall or a pillar. Parts of a crane

 consists of a moveable hoist, allowing the crane to move in circular motion with a single boom. Its ability to move 360 degrees helps the lifting to be more precise and safer.

2. Tower Cranes

Tower crane is a type of crane that is built alongside the building. Its main usage is to lift the material as high as possible, suitable for use in skyscraper project. Tower crane is one of the popular and recognizable crane. It can lift the materials both vertically and horizontally.

3. Overhead Crane

Overhead crane structure resembles a bridge.The hoist of overhead crane goes along both ends of the bridge back and forth. This type of crane is not only used in construction site, but also frequently used indoor such as factory.

4. Gantry Crane

Gantry crane is quite similar to an overhead crane. The most notably characteristic is that gantry crane always have 2 supporting beams and it usually used in construction site.

5. Stacker Crane

Stacker crane is an automated crane, mainly used in warehouse to move goods around the aisle without using a human worker. Additionally, it can be used in an extreme environment for human safety.

6. Telescopic Crane

Telescopic crane is a type of crane that consists of a boom mounted on a hydraulic cylinder. The biggest advantage for a telescopic crane is that with the usage of a hydraulic cylinder, it can change length, retract and extend. Most of the telescopic crane is mounted on a truck . Even though it is considered a type of static crane

7. Hammerhead Crane

Hammerhead crane is similar to tower crane, but with horizontal boom. It is one of the most used fixed crane. The horizontal boom allows the trolley to move along the boom, lifting material with precision. The boom is also able to rotate around. 

Which Construction Crane Should You Use?

which-type-of-crane-to-use

To answer this question, you have to have a clear idea about your project. For example, 

  • What are you going to build
  • The scale of the construction
  • The terrain and the surrounding area
  • The weight of the material

Mobile crane might be great in mobility and transportation to the site, but for heavy lifting and tall buildings, fixed crane is more suitable for the job. Each type of mobile crane or static crane is also different in function.

Each project has a different requirement. If you need any consultation, @EKCRANE is ready to survey your site and choose the suitable type of crane for you. EK CRANE provides crane rental service all around Thailand with professional teams. Safety is out utmost priority.

Summary of Types of Cranes

There are 12 total popular types of cranes, each crane differ in functionality. While a mobile crane’s strong point is mobility, a fixed crane can handle more heavy loads.To understand which type of crane you should use, you have to know the scope of your work. For consultation regarding crane and rental crane, contact [email protected]

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