How do construction cranes work? Thanks to pulleys and cables, cranes are able to lift heavy machinery and construction materials easily. There’s something known as “mechanical advantage.” If humans tried lifting several tons of materials using just their arms and legs, it would be very hard (if not impossible) to do so. Cranes, however, utilize mechanical advantage to lift heavy loads.

Cranes are machines designed with lifting capacity and stability in mind. They employ various parts, including winders, sheaves, cables, ropes, and chains in order to decrease the amount of force needed to lift and move things.

A crane’s lever(s) allow a worker to manipulate the crane, so the person can guide items where he or she wants them to go, vertically or horizontally.

A crane’s pulley system does something invaluable: it distributes the amount of weight needed to lift an object. A pulley can be used to apply forces and to transmit power.

Cranes need stability. They’re considered stable when the sum of all movements about the base equal zero. In other words, the size of the rated load on a crane must be less than what it would require to tip the crane over.

Astro Crane, known for crane rentals in New England, can help you set up your lift. Information needed includes the weight and size of the load to be lifted, the height of the building the load will be set onto, how far from the edge of the building the load must be set, and detailed info and dimensions of the area where the crane must sit.

Call Astro Crane at 800-696-2787 or email rentalinquiry@astrocrane.com today.