The Decision That Gets Made Backwards
Most jib crane enquiries start with a capacity and a reach. Both are easy to state and neither is where the decision actually gets made. What determines whether a jib crane works is the structure it mounts to, the height available under the boom, and how hard it will be worked. Get those wrong and you end up with a crane that cannot reach the load, cannot clear the machine, or wears out in eighteen months. This guide runs through the five types, then a six-step selection process with the numbers that matter at each stage.
What a Jib Crane Is Good At
Where it beats an overhead crane
A jib crane serves one workstation extremely well. It is faster to operate for repetitive short lifts, cheaper to install, needs no runway across the bay, and can be dedicated to a machine so the operator never waits for a shared crane. In a shop with an overhead crane already, jib cranes take the small routine lifts off it and free the big crane for the work it was bought for.
Where it does not
A jib serves a circle, not a bay. It cannot move a load across the shop. Capacity is limited compared to an EOT crane, and the load path concentrates into one foundation or one set of brackets. If you need to move material between areas, a jib is the wrong machine.
The Five Types of Jib Crane
Free standing jib crane
A column bolted to its own concrete foundation, with a boom that rotates a full 360 degrees. The highest capacity option — up to around 16 tonnes — and spans reaching about 12 metres. It needs no building structure at all, which is why it works in open areas, outdoors, and in buildings whose columns cannot take a crane.
Wall mounted jib crane
Bolted to a wall or column, with rotation typically limited to 180 or 200 degrees. Capacities up to around 5 tonnes and spans to about 6 metres. It takes no floor space, which matters in tight production lines, but it puts a substantial bending moment into the building.
Wall travelling jib crane
A wall mounted jib on a carriage that travels along a wall-mounted runway. Capacities to around 5 tonnes, jib spans to about 7 metres, with linear coverage along the full wall. It covers multiple workstations in a strip rather than a single circle.
Articulating jib crane
A segmented boom with two pivot points, so the hook can reach around obstructions and into machines. The main arm rotates a full 360 degrees. Capacity is lower — commonly up to around 0.5 tonnes — with spans to about 6 metres. It is the right answer for loading machine tools, working inside enclosures, and any job where a straight boom cannot get to the load.
Portable jib crane
A jib on a mobile base, capacities to around 1 tonne with reach to about 4 metres, rotating 360 degrees. Useful where lifting happens in different places and no location justifies a permanent installation.
Quick Comparison Table
| Type | Typical max capacity | Typical max span | Rotation | Best for |
| Free standing | 16 t | 12 m | 360° | Heavy duty, open areas, no usable building steel |
| Wall mounted | 5 t | 6 m | 180–200° | Saving floor space along a wall |
| Wall travelling | 5 t | 7 m | Linear along runway | Several workstations in a line |
| Articulating | 0.5 t | 6 m | 360° main arm | Reaching around obstructions |
| Portable | 1 t | 4 m | 360° | Occasional lifting in changing locations |
Step 1 — Fix the Capacity
Take the heaviest load you will lift, then add the weight of everything below the hook — slings, shackles, lifting beams, vacuum lifters, tooling. That total is your minimum rating.
Then round up rather than down. Specifying a 500 kg crane for a 480 kg load leaves you no margin and puts the crane at its limit every cycle, which shortens the life of the hoist and the bearing. One step up in capacity is usually a small fraction of the total cost.
Step 2 — Map the Coverage
Span and reach
Measure from the intended mounting point to the furthest position the hook must reach — not to the machine, but to the exact point the load is picked up or set down. Add clearance for the hook block and rigging. Reach is the number people underestimate most often, and it is the one you cannot change after the crane is installed.
Rotation angle
Draw the arc on the floor plan and check what falls inside it. A 360-degree free standing jib may look ideal until you find a column, a pipe run or a wall inside its sweep. A 180-degree wall crane may be entirely sufficient for a workstation set against a wall. Rotation you cannot use is rotation you do not need to pay for.
Step 3 — Work Out Height Under Boom
This is the figure that decides whether the crane works, and it is not the same as the boom height. Height under boom is what remains after you subtract:
- The headroom taken by the hoist and its trolley
- The height of the hook block
- The height of any lifting attachment
- The height of the tallest load
- Clearance to lift it clear of whatever it sits on
Work backwards from the load, not down from the roof. On low-headroom sites this calculation alone often rules out a hoist type or forces a different jib configuration.
Step 4 — Check the Mounting Structure
Free standing foundations
The hidden cost of a free standing jib is concrete. The column transmits an overturning moment into a foundation that must resist it, which means a designed reinforced pad sized against the crane’s reactions and your soil bearing capacity. On higher capacities and longer spans, that foundation can rival the crane in cost and takes weeks to design, cast and cure. Budget and schedule it from the start rather than discovering it after the order.
Wall and column mounting
Wall and wall travelling cranes need structure that can take the reaction moment — a designed steel column or a properly reinforced concrete one. Brick and block infill walls are almost never suitable. Get a structural assessment before ordering, and specify anchor bolts by engineering calculation with a recorded installation torque.
Step 5 — Set the Duty Class
Duty class is about how hard the crane works, not how much it lifts. Count lifts per hour, estimate the average load as a fraction of rated capacity, and count operating hours per shift.
The failure pattern here is consistent. A crane classed for light duty and run on a production line at forty cycles an hour will show bearing and gearbox wear long before anything looks structurally wrong. Specify the class from the real cycle count, not from the capacity.
Step 6 — Choose Rotation, Hoist and Controls
- Manual rotation suits lighter capacities, short reaches and occasional use.
- Motorised rotation with soft start makes sense on heavier loads, longer reaches, higher cycle counts, and anywhere the load is handled near people.
- Chain hoists are economical for lower capacities and shorter lifts; wire rope hoists suit higher capacities, longer lifts and higher duty.
- Variable frequency drives on hoist and rotation cut load swing sharply — a safety and a productivity gain.
- Pendant control works where the operator stays with the crane; radio control where they need to move around the load.
Specification Mistakes That Cost Money
- Quoting reach to the machine instead of to the pick point. The hook needs to be over the load, not near it.
- Ignoring the rigging weight. Slings and a spreader beam can eat a meaningful share of a small crane’s rating.
- Treating height under boom as an afterthought. It gets discovered on installation day, and by then the boom height is fixed.
- Choosing a type before checking the structure. A wall crane on an unsuitable wall becomes a free standing crane with a foundation nobody budgeted for.
- Under-classing the duty. The cheapest crane on the quotation is rarely the cheapest crane over five years.
- Forgetting the swept area. The crane’s arc has to be clear of people, racking, machines and traffic routes, and that area should be marked on the floor.
FAQs
What is the difference between a jib crane and a gantry crane? A jib crane rotates around a fixed point and serves a circular or partial-circular area. A gantry crane travels along rails and serves a rectangular area. Jibs suit single workstations; gantries suit material movement across a space.
Can a jib crane be installed on an existing building column? Sometimes, after a structural check against the crane’s reaction forces. Many columns need strengthening or additional bracing first. Never assume a column is adequate because it looks substantial.
How long does a free standing jib crane take to install? The crane itself goes up in a day or two. The foundation is the schedule driver — design, excavation, casting and curing typically add three to six weeks before the crane can be erected.
Do we need 360-degree rotation? Only if you can use it. Check the arc against your floor plan first. Many installations use less than 180 degrees in practice, and a restricted-rotation crane is often cheaper and easier to mount.
What maintenance does a jib crane need? A daily operator check on hook, latch, rope or chain and limit switches. Periodic checks on the bearing, rotation stops, brackets and anchor torque. A documented inspection by a competent person at least annually.
Conclusion and Next Step
Choose in this order: what the load actually weighs with its rigging, where the hook has to reach, what height remains under the boom, what the structure can take, and how hard the crane will work. The type follows from those answers rather than the other way round.
About Heben Cranes
Heben Cranes designs and manufactures free standing, wall mounted, wall travelling and portable jib cranes — specified against your reach, your headroom, your structure and your duty cycle, with foundation and bracket reactions supplied so nothing gets discovered late.
Send us your load, reach, headroom and cycle count, and we will come back with the right jib type and a full specification. Get started at hebencranes.com.
