Early Crane Evolution
More than 4000 years ago, early Egyptians made the first recorded kind of a crane. The original apparatus was called a shaduf and was first 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 attached.
Cranes which 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 which was called a boom. The boom was attached to a base which rotates. The wheel or the treadmill was a power-driven operation which had a drum with a rope that wrapped around it. This rope additionally had a hook which was connected to a pulley at the top of the boom and carried the weight.
Cranes were used extensively throughout the Middle Ages to make the huge cathedrals within Europe. These devices were also designed to unload and load ships in main ports. Eventually, significant 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, thus really increasing the range of motion for the machinery. Following the 16th century, cranes had included two treadmills on each side of a rotating housing that held the boom.
Even until the mid-19th century, cranes continued to depend on humans and animals for power. When 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 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 thus complete bigger jobs in less time.