Lift Truck Components in More Detail
There are hundreds of components that make up a lift truck. The forklifts main parts consist of the truck frame, the engine parts, the overhead guard, the tilt cylinders and the wheels. Additionally, a forklift consists of a variety of attachments. All the components making up a lift truck are all important because they work together to make the functions of the machine possible. The next paragraphs describe in detail several of the forklift components.
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 whilst they are using the machine. The overhead guard ensures that nothing falling from above onto the truck will hurt the driver or damage the controls inside the cab. The overhead guard is vital to the frame assembly on several models.
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 could either have rollers 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.
Lift Truck Carriage - the forks and other types of attachments are mounted to the carriage. The carriage is attached to the mast directly to the hydraulic cylinder or it is attached by chains. 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 while the carriage is lifted to its full height. The back rest is either bolted or welded on to the carriage.
Lift Truck Attachments - There are numerous kinds of attachments which can be fixed directly to the lift truck's carriage. Forks are the most common type of attachment. Additionally, there are L-shaped members, rollers, rotators, roll clamps, pole handlers and and all that. These various kinds of attachments are very helpful for transporting different kinds of loads.