Lift Truck Components in More Detail
A lift truck is made of thousands of parts. 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. Additionally, a forklift consists of different types of attachments. All the parts which make up a forklift are all essential as they work together to make the equipment's functions possible. The next paragraphs describe a few of the lift truck parts in detail.
The Overhead Guard - The overhead guard is actually the lift truck's metal roof, which 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 would damage the controls inside the cab or hurt the driver. The overhead guard is essential to the frame assembly on several models.
The Mast - Mounted either to the front axle or the forklift frame, the mast is the vertical lift truck part made of interlocking rails. The mast enables the forks to move up and down while providing lateral stability. The interlocking rails may 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.
Forklift Carriage - the forks and other kinds 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 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 - a back rest is a metal rack that 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.
Forklift Attachments - There are various attachments that can be fixed directly to the lift truck's carriage. Forks are the most common type of attachment. Moreover, there are rollers, rotators, L-shaped members, pole handlers, roll clamps and so forth. These different attachments are very useful for moving different types of loads.