The hydraulic truck crane is a particular mobile crane that uses hydraulic power to lift and move thousands of pounds. Hydraulics uses forces being transmitted through oil pushing in opposite directions on the pistons of the boom so as to lift thousands of pounds. Hydraulic truck cranes are very vital in building major projects such as bridges, airports, streets and buildings. A crane could complete in minutes tasks which will normally take hundreds of men and lots of hours to accomplish.
These remarkable machines have played a very important role in building houses, cities, individual buildings and entire nations throughout the ages. Even the Great Pyramids within Egypt were probably built with the help of basic cranes to enable the heaviest materials in one of the most amazing construction projects of all time.
The very first representation of a crane was featured during the reign of King Ramses in Egypt during 3000 B.C. This was a portrayal of a lifting device which was used to collect water. The first official "cranes" appeared in Ancient Greece. These mechanism were used to create an entire country throughout the 5th century B.C.
These cranes were initially made out of wood. The designs of cranes started to change when dockyards started to need stronger and larger equipments. Hick & Rothwell developed the very first cast iron cranes during 1834, in Bolton, England. This machinery could lift as much as 2 tons. That same year, the addition of wire rope was added to the crane by an Official of the German Superior Board, Herr Albert Sr. The wire rope made the crane more durable and stronger. This addition allowed cranes to have a larger 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. Germany began to make cast iron cranes 4 years later. The first cast iron crane made by Germany was made in Neuburg.