Pulleys, ropes, rollers, lifts, earth movers, chariots
or wagons are just a few implements which have alleviated human effort and have
forever contributed to the building process. From stone cathedrals to steel
skyscrapers, instruments rigged for lifting propelled by human or animal power defined
construction capacity. Industrialization
renewed these machines progressing from animal or natural power to steam, fuel
and even electricity and from traditional building materials to iron and steel.
This new type of self-propelled mechanisation improved ability to lift, push, carry,
pull and crush any object of increasingly large sizes.
Mechanisation’s influence on building culture in
general and prefabricated building culture in particular was fundamental as
machines enhanced human capability and took over factories. Large components,
complete subassemblies or completed building sections could be manufactured
off-site and then carried to and integrated into constructions. Further,
mechanisation allowed building sites to be managed as veritable factories; the
tower crane is the absolute machine of on-site mechanisation.
The overhead crane also referred to as the bridge
crane is indispensable in factory production of building components. The bridge
crane is a hoist attached to a travelling beam spanning and running across on
parallel runway girders. The hoist is carried by the beam but can also move
laterally across producing a three axis mobility: x,y and z axes. Tailored to
manufacturing spaces and processes in the late 19th century, a self-propelled travelling
crane was showcased by at the Vienna world exhibit in 1873. Quite an accomplishment, as human powered cranes were still the norm in the late
1800’s. Thirty-five year old engineer Rudolf Bredt designed the crane
that could carry a twenty-five tonne load. Combining a timber and iron
framework one of Bredt’s similar cranes received an award at the Chicago
world’s fair in 1893. Bredt subsequently published a catalogue of cranes in
1894. From late 19th century onward this type of factory implement streamlined
manufacturing.
The industrialization of the crane is currently
further progressing as rolling machines are numerically controlled and can move
precisely through the factory no longer just lifting and carrying but can be
adapted to achieve a horde of various tasks such as cutting and casting.
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| An early travelling crane - source : Kurrer K.E. The History of the Theory of Structures |
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