Lift Truck Components in More Detail
There are numerous components which make up a forklift. The lift truck's key parts include the frame of the truck, the engine parts, the tilt cylinders, the overhead guard and the wheels. In addition, a lift truck has various kinds of attachments. All the parts making up a lift truck are of equal importance since they work together to make the equipment's operation possible. The following paragraphs describe a few of the forklift parts in detail.
The Overhead Guard - The overhead guard is really the forklifts metal roof, that sits atop the operator cab. It's job is to protect the operator whilst they are utilizing the machine. The overhead guard ensures that nothing falling from above onto the truck would injure the operator or damage the controls inside the cab. The overhead guard is essential to the frame assembly on various units.
The Mast - Mounted either to the forklift frame or the front axle, the mast is the vertical lift truck component made of interlocking rails. The mast allows the forks to move upwards and down whilst providing lateral stability. The interlocking rails can either have rollers or bushings as guides. There are a couple of ways the mast may be operated: chain operated with motive power provided by a hydraulic motor or hydraulically by one or more hydraulic cylinders.
Lift Truck Carriage - the forks and different other types of attachments are mounted to the carriage. The carriage is attached to the mast directly to the hydraulic cylinder or it is connected by chains. To be able to enable the forks to be lowered and raised, the carriage may have either bushings or rollers to guide it in the interlocking mast rails.
Load Back Rest - When the carriage is lifted to full height, there is a back rest made of metal which 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 attachment is forks. In addition, there are L-shaped members, rollers, rotators, pole handlers, roll clamps and so forth. These different attachments are very helpful for moving different types of loads.