Since their introduction in the material handling industry in the 1920s, lift trucks have undergone a huge evolution. These days, these machines are much stronger and smarter. They have changed the material handling arena and have become exceptional workhorses within our warehouse and distribution centres all around the globe.
The initial lift trucks roughly 100 years ago, started as really simple pieces of motorized machinery that were just capable of transporting pallet loads from one place to another. Nowadays, extremely advanced models flood the marketplace. These units are available in a huge array of weight capacities, various designs and numerous lifting heights. Furthermore, these machines come with a variety of ergonomic designs to enhance driver comfort and lots of new safety features. Keeping the driver as comfy as possible can really increase the overall productivity attained during a shift.
Among the only remaining universal features which are on the wide range of forklifts available nowadays are the tires which move the equipment and the forks that are utilized to lift loads. The basic design and application of various kinds of forklifts used in manufacturing facilities, distribution facilities and warehousing applications is included in this article.
Counterbalanced Lift Trucks
Counterbalanced Forklifts comprise: Electric forklift models as well as Internal Combustion or IC units.
Narrow-Aisle Forklifts
Narrow Aisle Forklifts comprise: Turret Trucks, Reach Trucks and Order-Pickers.
Low Lift Pallet Jacks or Pallet Trucks
Pallets Jacks include Electric-Powered Pallet Trucks and Non-Powered Pallet Trucks.
Counterbalanced Forklift Trucks
The most common type of forklift is the sit-down counterbalanced kind of the lift truck. A weight found in the back of this machine is responsible for counterbalancing the weight of the load. The counterbalance is what prevents the forklift the truck from tipping over.
Counterbalanced lift trucks would normally have lifting heights of about 16 feet, or 189 inches. Additionally, these models are capable of lifting a range between 4,000 to 6,500 pounds. Counterbalanced lift trucks are offered with backup alarms and different other kinds of safety features such as lights.
The lift truck market is now divided into around 60% electric models, with 40 percent Internal Combustion units. Each and every kind of lift truck has a particular place and is best to accomplish a lot of various tasks. Depending on whether or not you would be using the machinery outdoors or inside and what type of surfaces and terrain you will be operating on, as well as what particular kinds of loads you will be using determines the kind of forklift which you will choose.