Difference Between Hoist and Crane

Hoist vs Crane

There was a time when man’s life was very simple; he was content with living in a small dwelling made with whatever he could find in his immediate surroundings. Then as he began to reproduce and multiply, he needed a bigger house and more things.
Then the single family unit became a community with more needs and a more complicated way of life. Monuments and buildings were built and transportation through mechanical means came into existence that necessitated the use of pulleys, cranes, and hoists to help in their construction.
Even ancient civilizations used hoists which are devices used for lifting and lowering loads through chains or ropes wrapped around a lift wheel or drum where the load is attached to a hook. It was manually operated then, but today hoists are operated electrically and pneumatically.
Hoists have many uses today and have several types:

Electrically powered hoist which can be the wire rope type or the chain type.
Construction hoist which is also known as a Man-Lift or Buck hoist used as temporary elevator in the construction of large or tall buildings.
Mine hoist which is used in underground mines to raise and lower loads from the mine shaft and out into the open.

Cranes, on the other hand, are machines that are used for lifting which can move loads or materials up, down, sideways, vertically, or horizontally. They are used in the construction, manufacturing, and transportation industries.
Like the hoist, the crane has also been used by ancient civilizations using manpower and beasts of burden such as cows and donkeys. With the advent of the industrial revolution, cranes as we know today were developed. Today’s cranes are powered by steam engines, internal combustion engines, electric motors, and hydraulic systems. Cranes are designed to be able to lift weights, and they must be steady enough so as not to topple, and strong enough so as not to rupture. There are several types of cranes in use today:

Overhead crane or hook crane
Mobile crane
Truck-mounted crane
Side lifter crane
Rough terrain crane
All terrain crane
Crawler crane
Railroad crane
Floating crane
Aerial crane

Cranes use simple machines such as the lever which acts as the horizontal beam, the pulley which delivers force to the load, and the hydraulic cylinder which moves the beam and the jib in order to produce a more efficient and flexible mechanism to move loads.
Summary:

1.A hoist is a device used for lifting and lowering loads while a crane is a device used for moving loads in different directions.
2.A hoist is a simple device while a crane is a more complex device.
3.A hoist can only move loads vertically while a crane can move loads vertically and horizontally.
4.A crane incorporates the uses of other simple machines including the hoist to develop a more effective mechanical device that will make the moving of loads and objects easier and faster.

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