Maybe like me you have an inquisitive mind and find everything fascinating especially when we take so many things for granted. Todays thing I guess we take for granted is tall tower blocks, how they are built and more importantly the cranes that build them.
Living next to a building site for the past 18 months I have learnt alot about dust, noise, cement and reinforced concrete, the time it takes and many other things. But the best thing I learnt was how a tower crane gets taller and also how they are fixed to the building they are helping to build. However I am not going to mention the supports.
I have however a few photos showing how a crane gets taller by itself and some men and basically it is a lego set for grown men in hard hats and to make a crane grow taller by 2m takes about an hour.
The crane has brought up the next segment
The other crane is far taller and yes it leans
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The top bit with the cab and cables etc has hydraulic jacks connected
so it can raise or lower itself as pieces are added or removed |
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| The new segment is slid in place and the men secure it |
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| Not the slowest or quickest procedure but it does have to be the most accurate |
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| Watch the new piece move in |
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| In it goes |
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| and now they fix it |
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| And another piece |
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| same procedure |
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Notice the crane has grown as the yellow bars at the bottom
of this picture are further down from the platform |
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| And the weights are above the Monas |
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Yes that is a man with the concrete funnel
on the left of this picture |
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| Slotting the other piece into place |
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| Almost finished |
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Far taller now
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2 questions remain...........
1. How do they all get up there? Do they climb the ladder inside?
2. How do they all get down?
The crane is taken down the same way it builtn up.
Now we know and can all sleep better at night knowing this, and you will be able to tell anyone who points at a tower crane and says 'wow thats tall', how it gets to be so tall....
6 comments:
Very detailed thanks. I wish I lived so high up.
Hi Luke,
Very good photos.
I am also wondering how do the crane operators get up there?
Hahaha... I thought that the crane was easily controlled inside to make it taller or shorter, all one has to do is to press a button and the crane will be squeezed shorter or unfold longer...
So... that's how it becomes taller and smaller, it's quite cumbersome. So much for the 21st century technology, eh?
I hate heights! I cannot stay up in there. :)
@ Simon, its has its ups and downs
@ Harry, Yes I am not too sure, I will have to find out now....
@Yari, I always wondered but can't believe it is so simple. I guess it is the simplest way
@ JP, I would love to go up and sit in the drivers seat of one these cranes with a camera, I love heights and views like that. Who knows maybe one day.
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