Lift Truck Components in More Detail
There are hundreds of components which make up a lift truck. The lift truck's main components consist of the frame of the truck, the engine components, the tilt cylinders, the overhead guard and the wheels. In addition, a forklift consists of different kinds of attachments. All the parts that make up a lift truck are all important since they work together to make the equipment's functions possible. The subsequent paragraphs describe in detail several of the forklift components.
The Overhead Guard - The overhead guard is really the forklifts metal roof, which sits atop the operator cab. It's job is to protect the operator while they are utilizing the equipment. The overhead guard ensures that nothing falling from above onto the truck will damage the controls inside the cab or harm the driver. The overhead guard is essential to the frame assembly on various models.
The Mast - Mounted either to the front axle or the forklift frame, the mast is the vertical forklift component made of interlocking rails. The mast enables the forks to move up and downwards whilst providing lateral stability. The interlocking rails could either have bushings or bushings as guides. There are a couple of ways the mast can be operated: hydraulically by one or more hydraulic cylinders or chain operated with motive power provided by a hydraulic motor.
Forklift Carriage - the forks and other attachments are mounted to the carriage. The carriage is attached to the mast directly to the hydraulic cylinder or it is attached by chains. To be able to allow the forks to be lowered and raised, the carriage could have either rollers or bushings to guide it in the interlocking mast rails.
Load Back Rest - When the carriage is raised to full height, there is a back rest made of metal that prevents a load from falling backwards. The back rest is either welded or bolted on to the carriage.
Lift Truck Attachments - a variety of attachments can be fixed to the front of the forklift truck. The most common type of attachment is forks. In addition, there are rollers, rotators, L-shaped members, pole handlers, roll clamps and so forth. These various kinds of attachments are useful for moving various types of loads.