From Ancient Greco-Roman Cranes to Rental Cranes: Cranes Through the Ages

It’s hard to imagine life without one of the greatest construction teams ever conceived. The crane is easily acquired these days through crane rental companies that lease or rent cranes. These companies are the size you need for every purpose imaginable.

The crane is just one of many large construction machines that are used every day, although people usually don’t give it a second look. Yet this piece of heavy equipment is just as vital to modern society as the basic bolt and nut. A crane is used in places and situations where there is a need to lift heavy objects using mechanical power.

The story of the crane

Mankind has always been fascinated by manipulating and working with objects and figures larger than themselves. From the massive stone monoliths of Stonehenge to the ancient pyramids of Egypt, people have always tried to move things much larger in size and heavier in mass. With the average human being so small compared to those giant monuments, how did man get around the problem of size? Using the only advantage he has that has brought human achievement throughout history: the human mind. The human mind realized that size and mass could be negative if you multiplied the power you wielded.

The Greeks are believed to be the first civilization to use the crane. According to J. Coulton’s book, “Lifting in Early Greek Architecture,” the oldest known crane artifacts were discovered in Greek temples as early as 515 BC. . While builders in ancient Egypt used ramps to pull large slabs of stone and similar materials, the Greeks developed the first version of modern day cranes for hire. They used them to build such admired monuments as the Parthenon.

The evolution of the crane

The crane was finally discovered by the ancient Romans, who not only used the original idea of ​​the Greeks, but developed it further. An excellent example of the simplicity and effectiveness of these new Roman designs were the tripastos. This crane consisted of a jib (an inclined strut), a rope, a winch, and a block that had three pulleys. A man operating this device would have a mechanical advantage of three to one, an average person will be able to lift 150kg for an extended period of time.

The modern crane

Modern builders, shipyard workers, and people who really need to lift heavy things now don’t need to invent their own lifting devices, like the Greeks and Romans did. All they have to do is search for crane rental companies on the web, companies that offer all kinds of cranes for rent. These range from mobile truck mounted cranes to massive self-erecting crane platforms. These are powered by technology such as advanced diesel-hydraulic or diesel-electric systems.

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