Early Crane Evolution
The very first recorded idea or kind of a crane was used by the early Egyptians more than 4000 years ago. This device was known as a shaduf and was utilized to transport water. The crane was made out of a pivoting long beam that balanced on a vertical support. On one end a heavy weight was connected and on the other end of the beam, a bucket was attached.
In the first century, cranes were built to be powered by animals or humans that were moving on a wheel or a treadmill. These cranes had a long wooden boom called a beam. The boom was connected to a base that rotates. The treadmill or the wheel was a power-driven operation which had a drum with a rope which wrapped around it. This rope also had a hook that was connected to a pulley at the top of the boom and carried the weight.
Cranes were used extensively during the Middle Ages to build the huge cathedrals within Europe. These devices were also designed to unload and load ships within main ports. Eventually, major developments in crane design evolved. For instance, a horizontal boom was added to and became known as the jib. This boom addition allowed cranes to have the ability to pivot, hence really increasing the equipment's range of motion. Following the 16th century, cranes had included two treadmills on each side of a rotating housing that held the boom.
Cranes used animals and humans for power until the mid-19th century. This all changes rapidly when steam engines were developed. At the turn of the century, Internal combustion or IC engines and electric motors emerged. Cranes also became designed out of cast iron and steel rather than wood. The new designs proved longer lasting and more efficient. They can obviously run longer also with their new power sources and hence carry out larger jobs in less time.