Forklift Components in More Detail
A lift truck is made of thousands of components. The major parts which make up a forklift truck are the truck frame, the engine parts, the overhead guard, the tilt cylinders and the wheels. In addition, a lift truck consists of various kinds of attachments. All the components that make up a lift truck are all essential as they work together to make the equipment's functions possible. The next paragraphs describe some 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 while they are using the machinery. The overhead guard ensures that nothing falling from above onto the truck will damage the controls in the cab or injure the operator. The overhead guard is vital to the frame assembly on various units.
The Mast - the mast is a vertical assembly made of interlocking rails and mounted either to the front axle or the forklift frame. The mast provides lateral stability and allows the forks to move up and down. The interlocking rails may either have bushings or bushings as guides. There are two ways the mast may be operated: chain operated with motive power provided by a hydraulic motor or hydraulically by one or more hydraulic cylinders.
Forklift Carriage - the forks and various other kinds 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 allow the forks to be raised and lowered, the carriage could have either rollers or bushings to guide it in the interlocking mast rails.
Load Back Rest - a back rest is a metal rack which prevents a load from falling backwards while the carriage is raised to its full height. The back rest is either welded or bolted on to the carriage.
Forklift Attachments - There are numerous attachments that could be fixed directly to the lift truck's carriage. Forks are the most common type of attachment. In addition, there are L-shaped members, rotators, rollers, roll clamps, pole handlers and so on. These different attachments are really helpful for moving various types of loads.