Lift Truck Components in More Detail
A forklift is made of thousands of components. The main parts which make up a lift truck are the frame of the truck, the engine parts, the overhead guard, the wheels and the tilt cylinders. In addition, a forklift consists of different types of attachments. All the components making up a lift truck are all important as they work together to make the machine's functions possible. The subsequent paragraphs describe several of the lift truck parts in detail.
The Overhead Guard - The overhead guard is actually the forklifts metal roof, that sits atop the operator cab. It's job is to protect the operator while they are utilizing the machinery. 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 some 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 downwards. The interlocking rails may either have bushings or bushings as guides. There are a couple of ways the mast may 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 various other 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 raised and lowered, the carriage may have either rollers or bushings to guide it in the interlocking mast rails.
Load Back Rest - When the carriage is raised 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.
Forklift Attachments - a range of attachments could be fixed to the front of the lift truck. The most common attachment is forks. Additionally, there are rollers, rotators, L-shaped members, pole handlers, roll clamps and and all that. These various attachments are very handy for transporting various types of loads.