Lift Truck Parts in More Detail
There are many parts that make up a lift truck. The lift truck's key parts include the frame of the truck, the engine components, the tilt cylinders, the overhead guard and the wheels. What's more, a lift truck consists of different kinds of attachments. All the components which make up a lift truck are of equal importance since they work together to make the functions of the machine possible. The following paragraphs describe some of the lift truck parts in detail.
The Overhead Guard - The overhead guard is really the lift truck's metal roof, that sits atop the operator cab. It's job is to protect the operator whilst they are using the machinery. The overhead guard makes sure that nothing falling from above onto the truck will damage the controls in the cab or harm the driver. The overhead guard is essential to the frame assembly on some 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 upwards and down. The interlocking rails can either have rollers or bushings as guides. There are a couple of ways the mast can be operated: hydraulically by one or more hydraulic cylinders or chain operated with motive power provided by a hydraulic motor.
Lift Truck Carriage - The carriage is the part that the forks and various other kinds of attachments are mounted to. The carriage is in fact directly attached to the hydraulic cylinder and is connected by chains. To be able to allow the forks to be lowered and raised, the carriage could have either bushings or rollers 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 when the carriage is raised to its full height. 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 forklift truck. The most common attachment is forks. Furthermore, there are L-shaped members, rollers, rotators, roll clamps, pole handlers and so on. These various attachments are very useful for moving different types of loads.