Types of Forklift Attachments and Their Purpose
In its most basic form, a new forklift comes equipped with two forks on a fixed vertical mast, and these forks are only able to raise straight up or straight down. All of the other functionality that we could expect out of the forks are thanks to optional attachments that build on top of this foundation. In the same way that most people today expect automobiles to come with powered windows at minimum instead of window hand cranks (remember those!), most of us in material handling expect a forklift to come with fork tilt and side shift abilities, but these are indeed options that some applications don’t require. Having the ability to pick and choose these types of attachments – and so many more – allows buyers to truly configure a lift to best serve their needs, as well as to reconfigure it as applications change in the future without buying an entirely new lift. To introduce readers to the wide world of forklift attachments, we’ve prepared this healthy list below of the most common options available across most major lift manufacturers.
Warning – many forklift attachments will change a lift’s center of gravity and can lead to serious accidents. If not attached and retained correctly, any attachment can fail, causing significant and even fatal harm. Follow OSHA and the lift manufacturer’s guidelines when using any attachment, and provide all operators with ample training on how these attachments will change the way their lift operates. In almost all cases, attachments should be viewed as providing more stability and versatility within a lift’s default capacity range, and not adding capacity. For applications that exceed a lift’s capacity, attachments are not the solution – a larger or otherwise more suitable lift is required.
Pallet Handling Attachments
Warehouse forklifts predominantly handle palletized or skidded loads, so we’ll begin our list of forklift attachments with those designed to aid with standard pallet handling.
Forks
A lift’s forks themselves can be treated as attachments, as they can be swapped out with forks of different widths, lengths, thicknesses, materials, and finishes to best suit the job at hand.
Fork Side Shifter
Shifters allow a load to be moved side to side, most commonly used for precise positioning of pallets in racks or on trucks without needing to move the lift.
Fork Positioner
Positioners adjust the spacing between forks, bringing them closer together or farther apart when needed to align with varying load widths and fork channels.
Fork Extensions
Fork Extensions are steel members that slide over a lift’s existing forks to provide extra length or width.
Multi-Load Forks
For high volume material handling tasks, multi-load fork attachments have multiple pairs of forks that can pick up two, four, or more pallets side by side at once.
Reach Forks
Most useful for unloading truck trailers from one side or reaching into double-deep selective pallet racking, reach forks have an accordion-like scissor mechanism that allow the forks to reach out to a pallet without moving the lift.
Mast Extender
Forklift masts can have extenders added which increase the surface area and contact surface of the backrest, providing greater stability for larger loads.
Fork Rotator
As with dump bins and precise equipment setting applications, forklift rotators allow the forks to be spun and inverted.
Fork Covers
Protecting the forks and sensitive loads being handled from scratches, scrapes, and marring, fork covers are often constructed of plastic or fabric materials and simply slide over the forks.
Non-Pallet Load Attachments
Aside from pallets, a huge array of other container and packaging types exists that forklifts can handle with the right attachments, such as those below.
Fork Pusher / Puller
Handling stacks of products placed on a slipsheet instead of a pallet, a push/pull attachment grips the sheet and then pushes or pulls the stack onto wide forks.
Flat Clamps
Flat clamps can grip square bundles, containers, appliances, and other materials from the sides instead of picking up from below. These attachments are most often used for breaking down large carton stacks into smaller loads, bale handling, and recycling waste cube handling.
Roll Clamps
Similar to flat clamps, roll clamps grip large diameter, short, cylindrical objects from the sides, such as with paper, textile, concrete pipe, and other building material rolls.
Drum Clamps
Shaped specifically for heavy steel, plastic, or fiber drum containers, drum clamps help move individual drums securely without needing a pallet base.
Roll and Reel Pole
Long rolls and multiple short reels can be easily transported on a pole attachment from their center spindle, avoiding contact with their outside perimeter. Pole attachments are most often used in handling carpet, wire, cable, and textile products.
Specialty Attachments
No matter how unique an application, there is likely a specialty Forklift Attachment out there to match. While we’ll include the application-specific attachments we encounter most often below, custom attachments can always be fabricated to meet your individual needs.
Cylinder Rack
Since transporting pressurized gas cylinders is inherently risky, cylinder rack attachments provide a safe, stable carriage for chaining up cylinders and moving them around with a forklift.
Lifting Boom
Used extensively in rigging and maintenance applications, a lifting boom provides a safe hook attachment point for picking objects from above. Booms can include hydraulic lift cylinders, electric hoists, telescoping arms, and other features.
Lifting Beam
Where the lifting booms mentioned above extend out away from the mast to handle large-footprint loads, lifting beams typically sit close to the mast and provide simple hook points for smaller, wider overhead lifts.
Work Platform
Work platforms grant safe aerial access using a forklift by lifting employees up within a contained, guarded cage.
Floor Cleaner / Sweeper
Turning a forklift into a floor cleaner, sweeper attachments add brushes, cloth wipers, or even magnetic pick-up bars to a lift quickly.
Fork Plow
Plow attachments help clear snow, push piles of loose materials, and scrape debris from open-ground areas.
Fork Bucket
Buckets are great options for infrequent scooping and moving piles of loose materials using a forklift in lieu of a skid steer loader or other equipment.
Fork Tray
When a quick worktable or loose material lifting surface is needed, a flat fork tray is a great solution. Many trays include swing-side ramps, allowing heavy goods to be skated or hand-trucked onto the platform without requiring operators to lift themselves.
MH Equipment is one of the largest material handling service providers in the United States, with 33 locations and over 1100 employees serving customers in 10 upper Mid-West and Eastern states. Our mission is to deliver exceptional service in material handling equipment sales, service, rental, certification & training, emergency response, and engineering. From complete fleet management to warehouse design, vehicle sales to roadside response, our local experts are here to serve your needs. For more information or to discuss your application, please call us at (308) 210-7387, visit our website here, or email us here.
With high quality products and considerate service, we will work together with you to enhance your business and improve the efficiency. Please don't hesitate to contact us to get more details of Forklift Load.