Early Crane Evolution
More than 4000 years ago, early Egyptians created the first recorded type of a crane. The original apparatus was called a shaduf and was first utilized to transport water. The crane was made out of a pivoting long beam that 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.
Cranes that were built in the first century were powered by humans or by animals that were moving on a wheel or a treadmill. The crane consisted of a long wooden beam that was known as a boom. The boom was attached to a base that rotates. The treadmill or the wheel was a power-driven operation that had a drum with a rope which wrapped around it. This rope also had a hook that lifted the weight and was connected to a pulley at the top of the boom.
Within Europe, the enormous cathedrals established in the Middle Ages were build using cranes. Cranes were also used to unload and load ships in main ports. Over time, major developments in crane design evolved. For example, a horizontal boom was added to and became known as the jib. This boom addition enabled cranes to have the ability to pivot, therefore really increasing the equipment's range of motion. Following the 16th century, each side of a rotating housing that held the boom incorporated two treadmills.
Even until the mid-19th century, cranes continued to depend on humans and animals for power. Once steam engines were developed, this all quickly changed. At the turn of the century, electric motors and internal combustion or IC engines 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 thus carry out larger jobs in less time.