Tower cranes (top tower cranes), also known as tower cranes, originated in Western Europe. The boom is mounted on the upper part of the tower crane. The large working space is mainly used for the vertical and horizontal conveyance of materials and building components in the construction of buildings. It consists of three parts: metal structure, working mechanism and electrical system. Metal structures include towers, booms and bases. There are four parts of lifting, changing, rotating and walking in the working organization. Electrical systems include motors, controllers, power distribution cabinets, connection lines, signals, and lighting devices.

From the aspect of technical development of tower cranes, although new products emerge in an endless stream, new products have improved in terms of production efficiency, ease of operation, easy maintenance and reliable operation, but the technology of tower cranes has not changed fundamentally. Tower crane research is moving toward modular development. The so-called combined type is to take the tower structure as the core, according to the structure and functional characteristics, the tower body is broken down into several parts, and according to the serialization and generalization requirements, follow the modular principle and then divide each part into several modules. According to the requirements of the parameters, appropriate modules are used to form tower cranes with different technical performance characteristics to meet the specific requirements of construction. The implementation of modular tower cranes will help accelerate the development of tower crane product development, save product development costs, and better serve customers.