Hydraulic truck cranes are a specific kind of mobile crane. These cranes make use of hydraulics and could lift thousands of pounds. Hydraulics utilizes forces being transmitted through oil pushing on the pistons of the boom in opposite directions in order to lift thousands of pounds. Hydraulic truck cranes are essential in building major projects like for example airports, bridges, roads and buildings. A crane can accomplish in minutes tasks that will normally take a lot of hours and hundreds of men to complete.
These remarkable machinery have played a very important role in constructing houses, cities, entire nations and individual buildings throughout the ages. Even Egypt's Great Pyramids were likely built using basic cranes to allow the heaviest supplies in one of the most amazing construction projects ever.
The first representation of a crane was featured during the reign of King Ramses in Egypt in 3000 B.C. This was a portrayal of a lifting mechanism which was used to collect water. The first official "cranes" appeared in Ancient Greece. These mechanism were used to create a whole country in the 5th century B.C.
Originally, cranes were first made out of wood. It wasn't until the designers building dockyards decided they needed something stronger and bigger did these machinery develop. Hick & Rothwell designed the very first cast iron cranes in Bolton, England, in 1834. This equipment can lift up to 2 tons. That very same year, the addition of wire rope was added to the crane by Herr Albert Sr. who was an Official of the German Superior Board. The wire rope made the crane more durable and stronger. This addition allowed cranes to have a bigger capacity to lift heavy weights.
The wire ropes were weaved together forming a more powerful rope with even more strength. The newly formed wire also added more flexibility. 4 years later, Germany started to build cast iron cranes. The first cast iron crane made by Germany was made within Neuburg.