Tower Crane Material

Lol, Hi MEW

I am a crane operator and you must know that you are going to have to be waay more specific than that. But what the heck, for the sake of a response lets go with the big hitter, steel. The steels used in tower cranes (any cranes for that matter) are incredible. Long gone are the days when a mobile crane weighed as much as it could lift. The exotic alloys of steel that are available today mean that modern mobile cranes weigh in at about half their best lift. Tower Cranes, same same, pretty much.

It should be tested quality mild steel such angles,channels, plates etc.

It depends on differents parts,the most ordinary SAE1010 are used in most frame parts but it must be a good steel or even forged in others with heat treatment included.See for example some frame of a reachstacker is made by just that 1010 but may be you need to replace that after some years and is a big really big deal so use a better one like 4140 for that purpose.Container fittings are made with 4140 or 4340, heat treatment or forged even being a laminated steel,testing the pieces in a lab,getting a certification of strength.Same for shafts.1045 are used for hydraulic pistons and its cilinders 1020.When is possibble without safety compromises use cast iron with lube properties for the head hydraulic cilinder.Bushes sometimes cannot be bronz SAE65 or 64:hard steel for open bushes 9260 or 1070 (steels for springs).hardened 1045 for studs are never enough:4140 hardened.Pease never use threaded bars from store are just 1010.Galvanizated bolts are used in so big towers but i dont justifie that practice only use 8.8,10.9 or 12.9 quality bolts are not much more expensives.Gears are 1020 type:8620 is the proper alloy,(never use 4140 for that),surface treatment.1020 are used for not welded and high pressure hydraulic conduits too.

So .1,.2, .4-.45,.6-.7,1.0 are the carbon percent in every the steel you will use in machanics constructions (52100 is the only 1percent i know and comes in bearings).Uncommonly you will make a piece with more than .45 percent of carbon steel by yourself (you dont make your springs or conic washer).Stainless steel is not a common thing to see.

And on top of all else, it pays to check each and every welded joint twice prior to assembly! We had two of the biggest ever built (I was told) here and partly erected when we found that almost all of the welds were cracking or otherwise compromised. Some were not even completed! You'll probably read about the lawsuits later...