There are a variety of different ways that raise or lower lifts on a forklift: scissors lifts, rack and pinion lifts, telescoping lifts, screw lifts and articulated lifts. Scissor lifts use crisscrossed folding supports and a screw mechanism utilized to draw the members together. Rack and pinion lifts utilize a pinion, that is a small drive gear, to drive a straight-toothed rack to lift the load. The telescoping lift mechanism is designed with many sections which extend and retract into and out of each other to attain lifting action. Screw lifts utilize threads to raise the lift. Articulated lifts use a mechanism which involves multiple parts which unfold or articulate. An example of an articulated lift is the "cherry picker."
Forklift Material Handling
There are a lot of reasons to keep up with innovations in material handling processes. Material handling processes and the machines could be used to handle increased geographical coverage, more SKUs, and the requirement to lower inventories. Machinery that are well ahead of the technological curve could help maximize efficiency and increase effectiveness.
Forklift Battery & Charging Technology
The newest innovations on electric lift trucks have yielded longer run-times and higher capacities than ever before, that makes the decision to convert from the traditional IC forklift over to the improved electric models. Battery and charger combinations are providing a lot more power for a lot longer periods than older systems can achieve. Improvements in charger and battery technologies are not only making electric lift trucks more productive but they are making it possible to have more environmentally friendly warehouse operations.
These new batteries are called Lithium-Ion Batteries or Li-ion batteries. This technology is still quite new, but Li-ion batteries show incredible promise. They are not just smaller but are capable of holding up to six times the charge of traditional lead acid batteries. Li-ion batteries have really low maintenance requirements and could maximize opportunity charging through zero memory technology.