Early Crane Evolution
More than 4000 years ago, early Egyptians made the first recorded type of a crane. The original apparatus was called a shaduf and was initially used to transport water. The crane was made out of a pivoting long beam which balanced on a vertical support. On one end a bucket was connected and on the other end of the beam, a heavy weight was connected.
In the first century, cranes were built to be powered by animals or humans that were moving on a treadmill or a wheel. These cranes had a wooden long boom called a beam. The boom was attached to a base that rotates. The wheel or the treadmill was a power-driven operation which had a drum with a rope which wrapped around it. This rope additionally had a hook which lifted the weight and was connected to a pulley at the top of the boom.
Cranes were utilized extensively throughout the Middle Ages to build the huge cathedrals in Europe. These devices were also designed to load and unload ships in key ports. Eventually, significant crane design advancements 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, therefore greatly increasing the range of motion for the machine. Following the 16th century, cranes had incorporated two treadmills on each side of a rotating housing which held the boom.
Even until the mid-19th century, cranes continued to depend on humans and animals for power. Once steam engines were developed, this all rapidly changed. 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 as opposed to wood. The new designs proved longer lasting and more efficient. They could obviously run longer as well with their new power sources and therefore carry out larger tasks in less time.