Lift Truck Parts in More Detail
A lift truck is made of numerous parts. The major parts which make up a forklift truck are the frame of the truck, the engine parts, the overhead guard, the wheels and the tilt cylinders. Furthermore, a lift truck has different kinds of attachments. All the parts making up a lift truck are all essential because they work together to make the machine's operation possible. The next paragraphs describe in detail some of the forklift components.
The Overhead Guard - The overhead guard is actually the lift truck's metal roof, that sits atop the operator cab. It's job is to protect the operator while they are utilizing the equipment. The overhead guard makes sure that nothing falling from above onto the truck will damage the controls in the cab or hurt the operator. The overhead guard is vital to the frame assembly on several units.
The Mast - Mounted either to the front axle or the forklift frame, the mast is the vertical lift truck component made of interlocking rails. The mast allows the forks to move upwards and downwards whilst providing lateral stability. The interlocking rails could either have rollers or bushings as guides. There are a couple of ways the mast could 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 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 raised and lowered, the carriage can have either rollers or bushings 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 - There are many attachments that can be fixed directly to the forklifts carriage. Forks are the most common type of attachment. In addition, there are L-shaped members, rotators, rollers, pole handlers, roll clamps and so forth. These various kinds of attachments are really useful for transporting various kinds of loads.