Since their introduction in the material handling industry during the 1920s, forklifts have undergone a huge evolution. Nowadays, these machines are a lot smarter and stronger. They have changed the material handling arena and have become irreplaceable workhorses within our warehouse and distribution centres all over the world.
Initially, during their introduction around 100 years ago, forklifts were really simple pieces of motorized machines designed to transport pallet loads from one place to another. Today, extremely sophisticated models are offered in the marketplace. These models are available in various weight capacities, many lifting heights and various designs. Additionally, these kinds of equipments are available with various ergonomic designs to enhance driver comfort and many new safety features. Keeping the operator as comfy as possible can really increase the overall production attained during a shift.
A key feature placed on most of the available lift trucks on the market are tires and forks. Tires enable the equipment to move around and the forks could carry and lift loads. The basic design and application of different kinds of forklifts used in manufacturing centers, distribution centers and warehousing applications is included in this article.
Counterbalanced Forklifts
Counterbalanced Lift Trucks comprise: Electric forklift models and Internal Combustion or IC units.
Narrow-Aisle Lift Trucks
Narrow Aisle Forklifts include: Reach Trucks, Order Pickers and Turret Trucks.
Low Lift Pallet Trucks or Pallet Jacks
Pallets Jacks include Electric-Powered Pallet Trucks and Non-Powered Pallet Trucks.
Counterbalanced Forklift Trucks
The most common type of forklift is the counterbalanced sit-down type of the lift truck. A weight found in the equipment's rear is responsible for counterbalancing the load's weight. The counterbalance is what prevents the forklift the truck from tipping over.
Counterbalanced lift trucks will typically have lifting heights of about 16 feet, or 189 inches. What's more, these models could lift a range between 4,000 to 6,500 pounds. Counterbalanced lift trucks are available with backup alarms and different other types of safety features like for example lights.
The lift truck market is now divided into roughly 60 percent electric units, with 40 percent IC units. Each kind of lift truck has a particular place and is suited to accomplish many different jobs. Depending on whether or not you will be using the equipment outside or inside and what type of surfaces and terrain you will be operating on, as well as what particular types of loads you would be using determines the type of lift truck that you will pick.