A type of winch machine, generally equipped with a hoist rope, wire rope or chain and pulleys, can be used for both lifting and lowering materials and to move horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy things and moving them to other places. The device uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond a person's normal capacity. Cranes are widely used in the shipping industry for loading and unloading loads in the construction, material movement industry, and the manufacturing industry for heavy equipment assembly.

The first known crane machine was the shadouf, a water-lifting device that was invented in ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and later appeared in ancient Egyptian technology. Construction cranes later appeared in ancient Greece, where they were operated by humans or animals (such as donkeys) and used for building buildings. Larger cranes were later developed in the Roman Empire and allowed heavier weights to be lifted using human tread wheels. In the High Middle Ages, harbor cranes were introduced to load and unload ships and assist in their construction - some were built on stone towers for extra strength and stability. The oldest cranes were made of wood, but with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, cast iron, iron and steel took over