Views: 0 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2025-10-17 Origin: Site
In the field of engineering and construction, truck cranes, known as the "mobile giant arms," have their technical level directly determining the efficiency of infrastructure construction and operational safety. From the imitated mechanical equipment in the early days of the People's Republic of China to today's world-leading intelligent equipment, the evolution of core technologies for China's truck cranes is not only a history of industrial manufacturing upgrading but also a continuous innovation centered on "precision, efficiency, and safety." From pure mechanical manual operation to today's intelligent connected management and control, each technological breakthrough has redefined the boundaries of engineering hoisting.
In the 1950s, China's truck crane industry was in its infancy, with core technologies completely relying on imitating models from the Soviet Union, Germany, and other countries. The technical feature was dominated by pure mechanical transmission. Truck cranes during this period were essentially a simple combination of "truck chassis + mechanical boom," with core operations entirely dependent on manual labor, resulting in prominent technical bottlenecks.
In terms of power transmission, early models adopted mechanical gear transmission. Actions such as boom telescoping and luffing relied on the cooperation of wire rope pulley blocks and manual rockers, which not only required extremely high operational intensity but also achieved very low action precision. Taking the Q51 5-ton truck crane successfully trial-produced by Shanghai Truck Crane Factory in 1963 as an example, it had only a 2-section mechanical boom with a maximum lifting height of less than 10 meters. During operation, 3-4 operators were required to cooperate to complete the hoisting positioning, and the operating radius error often exceeded 1 meter. In terms of safety assurance, there were almost no special protective devices during this period, leading to extremely high risks of accidents such as overloading and rollover. Operational efficiency was also severely restricted, with a 5-ton crane having a daily hoisting capacity of less than 20 tons.
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Looking forward to the future, the core technologies of truck cranes will develop towards "greenization, extreme intelligence, and lightweight." In terms of greenization, new energy power (electric, hybrid) will gradually replace traditional fuel engines. The pure electric truck crane launched by XCMG has a cruising range of up to 200 kilometers, meeting the needs of short-distance operations in cities. In terms of extreme intelligence, artificial intelligence algorithms will realize "autonomous planning and autonomous operation," enabling cranes to automatically complete the entire hoisting process according to construction drawings. In terms of lightweight, the application of new materials such as carbon fiber and high-strength steel will reduce the weight of the equipment while ensuring strength, improving road traffic capacity.
From mechanical rockers to intelligent screens, and from isolated operations to the Internet of Everything, the technological evolution of truck cranes has witnessed the rise of China's industrial manufacturing. In the future, with continuous technological breakthroughs, this "mobile giant arm" will shine in a broader range of engineering fields and contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the global infrastructure cause.
90s, the introduction of hydraulic transmission technology launched the first technological revolution in the truck crane industry, completely changing the inefficiency and crudeness of mechanical operation. With the advantages of "small size, high power, and stable transmission," the hydraulic system quickly became the core power transmission method for truck cranes, promoting the development of models towards "large tonnage and high precision."
The core technological breakthroughs during this period focused on three aspects: First, the maturity of hydraulic telescopic boom technology replaced the traditional mechanical boom, realizing multi-section telescoping and stepless luffing of the boom. The QY25 25-ton truck crane launched by XCMG in 1995 adopted a 3-section hydraulic telescopic main boom for the first time, with the maximum lifting height increased to 22 meters and the operating radius error reduced to less than 0.3 meters. The daily hoisting capacity of a single equipment increased to 80 tons, which was 4 times that of mechanical models. Second, the optimization of the hydraulic outrigger system realized the rapid deployment and leveling of outriggers through multi-cylinder synchronous control technology, greatly improving the operational stability of the equipment and making field operations of large-tonnage models possible. Third, the progress of power matching technology accurately matched the engine with the hydraulic pump, solving the problems of "high fuel consumption and severe heat generation" of the early hydraulic system and significantly enhancing the continuous operation endurance.
The popularization of hydraulic technology promoted China's truck crane industry to achieve the leap from "following" to "keeping pace."
Entering the 2010s, with the development of electronic control technology, the truck crane industry ushered in the second technological revolution. The core shifted from "hydraulic transmission" to "electronic control and intelligence," realizing breakthroughs in "operational automation, safety and precision, and management visualization." Technological innovation during this period was no longer limited to the upgrade of individual components but built an intelligent management and control system covering the entire operation process.
Key technological breakthroughs were reflected in three major fields: intelligent control system, safety protection system, and operation auxiliary system. In terms of intelligent control, the application of electro-hydraulic proportional control technology realized precise regulation of the hydraulic system. The XCT55L6 55-ton truck crane launched by XCMG in 2015 was equipped with an independently developed intelligent control system, which could realize multi-action composite control of boom telescoping, luffing, and slewing, improving operational efficiency by 30%. It was also equipped with the "automatic hoisting plan planning" function—only by inputting parameters such as hoisting weight and operating radius, the system could automatically generate the optimal working condition plan, enabling new operators to get started quickly. In terms of safety protection, electronic monitoring equipment such as load limiters, moment limiters, and inclination sensors became standard configurations. When the equipment was close to the risk of overloading or rollover, the system would automatically alarm and cut off dangerous actions, reducing the operation accident rate by more than 60%. In terms of operation assistance, the application of remote monitoring system realized real-time tracking of equipment status. Enterprises could monitor the equipment's operation position, fuel consumption, fault information, etc., through the background system, providing data support for operation and maintenance management.
