Forklift attachments are an undisputable necessity for material handling. Without proper attachment, lifting and moving specific loads might be nearly impossible. Nevertheless, forklift attachments are often ignored, leading to poor and time-consuming operations affecting productivity, load integrity, and personal injuries.
With so many forklift attachments and accessories on the market, it’s vital to know what you need based on the field you’re working in. Using incorrect attachments might not make a difference in your productivity and might lead to accidents and money wastage. That said, outlined in this article are the most common forklift attachments and their uses to help you understand what you might need.
Table of Contents
1. Fork Extension
Material handling and lifting tasks are done every day in most industries. Due to the complexity of these tasks, equipment capable of handling heavy loads efficiently and faster is vital. If you’re working with heavy loads that might be difficult to move with a typical forklift, you might need to attach fork extensions to lift and carry the loads easily. Fork extensions contain restraining straps to hold the load in place and prevent slipping.
Fork extensions increase productivity, minimize pallet damage, and improve load handling.
2. Push And Pull Attachment
The push and pull attachment is a cost-effective solution for substituting plastic or wooden pallet with a slip sheet to increase shipping volume. The push and pull attachment is easily connected to a typical forklift and can be easily disconnected to return it to its previous form.
With the push and pull attachment, you can easily handle loads and reduce packaging weight, making pulling and pushing more effortless and quicker.
3. Multiple Load Handlers
Multiple load handler attachments increase the number of forks in your forklift to enable you to move multiple pallets simultaneously. You can increase the capacity to two or three side-by-side sets of forks. Multiple load handlers are commonly used in warehouses, shipping, and bottling companies.
4. Side Shifters
Side shifters are the most common forklift attachment used today. Side shifters enable lateral load shift from positive or negative 100 to negative or positive 160 mm. With this kind of lateral shift, you can move your load side to side to adjust the pallet alignment without moving the whole forklift.
Side shifters are equipped with hook-on and integrated versions to increase movement and save time. Due to their capability to perform heavy-duty activities and robust design, they can be used for different purposes and fields.
Side shifters reduce fuel usage and damage, promote pallet loading, and improve warehouse space utilization.
5. Paper Clamps
Paper clamps are forklift attachments that increase paper handling activities without damaging the roll. These attachments are designed for efficiency and are commonly used in paper and printing companies. Paper roll clamp is suitable for and can be attached to different machines.
Paper roll clamps increase handling time and can rotate up to 180 or 360 degrees.
6. Drum Handling Equipment
Drum handling attachments come with arch clamps capable of extending and grabbing different kinds of drums. Drum handling attachments can carry, lift, or grab drums and can fit different capacity drums such as 35 to 55 gallons. They can also carry over 1,000 pounds.
7. Fork Positioners
Fork positioners are forklift attachments that allow you to move the fork at the comfort of your seat. These attachments are powered by hydraulics and are an efficient and effective solution for moving the fork manually. They are ideal attachments when regularly handling different size and width loads. Fork positioners reduce pallet damage and enhance safety since the operator remains inside the forklift truck.
8. Masts
There are several types of masts: single, two, three, and four-stage masts. Each mast helps hoist loads to a greater height depending on the stage. Mast attachments allow you to lift loads higher without using a forklift with a larger mast.
9. Rollerforks
Rollerforks are fork attachments that don’t require the use of pallets. Here, two rollers are used: the lower roller moves forward while the upper one moves backward to secure the load. Rollerforks also allow you to unload the product quickly with a similar mechanism. These attachments are commonly used with slip sheets, but sometimes it isn’t necessary, depending on the load type.
10. Rotators
Rotators allow you to rotate the forks up to 360 degrees in a tipping motion. Besides being used to empty bins, these attachments can be used to dump loads. Rotators are excellent at improving productivity and limiting downtime. These attachments are commonly used in recycling, agriculture, food processing, and beverages industries.
Conclusion
The above-discussed forklift attachments are the most common and widely used in different fields. They make work easier, increase productivity, reduce product damage, and enhance personal safety. The information in this article is enough to help you understand what you might need to attach to your forklift.
