Lift Truck Components in More Detail
A lift truck is constructed from thousands of components. The key components that make up a lift truck are the frame of the truck, the engine parts, the overhead guard, the wheels and the tilt cylinders. What's more, a forklift consists of various kinds of attachments. All the components making up a forklift are of equal importance as they work together to make the machine's functions possible. The following paragraphs describe in detail a few of the forklift components.
The Overhead Guard - this guard forms the lift truck's metal roof. It sits above the cab area and protects the machine operator while she or he is sitting and driving. The overhead guard ensures that nothing falling from above onto the truck will injure the driver or damage the controls in the cab. 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 lift truck part made of interlocking rails. The mast enables the forks to move upwards and down while providing lateral stability. The interlocking rails may either have bushings or bushings as guides. There are two ways the mast may be operated: hydraulically by one or more hydraulic cylinders or chain operated with motive power provided by a hydraulic motor.
Forklift Carriage - The carriage is the part which the forks and other kinds of attachments are mounted to. The carriage is in fact directly attached to the hydraulic cylinder and is attached by chains. To allow the forks to be raised and lowered, the carriage could have either bushings or rollers to guide it in the interlocking mast rails.
Load Back Rest - While the carriage is lifted to full height, there is a back rest made of metal that keeps a load from falling backwards. The back rest is either welded or bolted on to the carriage.
Lift Truck Attachments - a variety of attachments could be fixed to the front of the lift truck. The most common attachment is forks. Moreover, there are rollers, rotators, L-shaped members, roll clamps, pole handlers and so forth. These different attachments are useful for moving different kinds of loads.