Ever since their introduction in the material handling industry during the 1920s, lift trucks have gone through a huge change. These days, these high tech machines are a lot smarter and stronger. They have changed the material handling world and have become exceptional workhorses within our warehouse and distribution centres all around the globe.
Initially, during their launch roughly 100 years ago, lift trucks were really simple pieces of motorized machines designed to transport pallet loads from one place to another. These days, extremely advanced units are available in the marketplace. These units are available in different weight capacities, different designs and many lifting heights. Moreover, these kinds of vehicles come with a range of ergonomic designs to improve operator comfort and a lot of new safety features. Keeping the driver as comfy as possible could really add to the overall productivity accomplished during a shift.
A key feature placed on most of the available lift trucks on the market are forks and tires. Tires enable the machine to move around and the forks could carry and lift loads. The basic application and design of various kinds of lift trucks utilized in distribution facilities, warehousing operations and manufacturing facilities is included in this article.
Counterbalanced Forklifts
Counterbalanced Lift Trucks comprise: Electric forklift units as well as Internal Combustion or IC units.
Narrow-Aisle Forklifts
Narrow Aisle Lift Trucks comprise: Reach Trucks, Order Pickers and Turret Trucks.
Low Lift Pallet Trucks or Pallet Jacks
In this particular class, Electric-Powered Pallet Trucks are included, as are Non-Powered Pallet Trucks.
Counterbalanced Forklift Trucks
The most common kind of forklift is the sit-down counterbalanced version of the forklift. A weight situated in the equipment's rear is responsible for counterbalancing the weight of the load. The counterbalance is what prevents the forklift the truck from tipping over.
Counterbalanced forklifts would usually have lifting heights of approximately 16 feet, or 189 inches. Moreover, these models are capable of lifting a range between 4,000 to 6,500 pounds. Counterbalanced lift trucks come outfitted with backup alarms and other safety features like for instance lights.
Around 60% percent are electric units and around 40% percent are internal combustion units. Each type of forklift has a particular place and is best to accomplish many different tasks. Depending on whether or not you would be utilizing the equipment outside or indoors and what kind of terrain and surfaces you will be operating on, as well as what specific types of cargo you will be using determines the type of forklift which you would choose.