Forklift Components in More Detail
A lift truck is made of thousands of parts. The main components that make up a lift truck are the truck frame, the engine parts, the overhead guard, the wheels and the tilt cylinders. In addition, a lift truck consists of different kinds of attachments. All the parts that make up a forklift are all important as they work together to make the equipment's functions possible. The subsequent paragraphs describe in detail some of the forklift parts.
The Overhead Guard - this guard forms the lift truck's metal roof. It sits over the cab area and protects the machine operator while she or he is sitting and driving. The overhead guard makes sure that nothing falling from above onto the truck would hurt the operator or damage the controls inside the cab. The overhead guard is essential to the frame assembly on several 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 enables the forks to move upwards and downwards. The interlocking rails may either have bushings or bushings as guides. There are two 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 carriage is the part that the forks and various other attachments are mounted to. The carriage is in fact directly connected to the hydraulic cylinder and is attached by chains. To be able 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 which prevents a load from falling backwards. The back rest is either welded or bolted on to the carriage.
Lift Truck Attachments - a range of attachments can be fixed to the front of the lift truck. The most common type of attachment is forks. In addition, there are L-shaped members, rotators, rollers, pole handlers, roll clamps and so forth. These different attachments are handy for transporting various kinds of loads.