FLOOR TRUCKS AND OPERATOR-POWERED MOVERS BASIC INFORMATION AND TUTORIALS

This type of equipment is the most fundamental materials-handling aid available. The basic simplicity permits easy adaptation for single-purpose application. Standard catalogs indicate the wide variety available, often designed for specific industries. However, custom design may be specified with very little, if any, cost penalty.

Generally, floor trucks are described as follows.

Two-Wheeled Hand Trucks. Two-wheeled hand trucks (Fig. 4.39) are essentially levers on two wheels. The axle connecting the wheels serves as the fulcrum of the lever and carries up to 80 percent of the total load moved.

The two-wheeled cart is normally used for short nonrepetitive moves of smaller loads over smooth floors. Carts are generally 48 to 64 in (1.2 to 1.6 m) high, and are designed to carry a variety of aterials in bags, barrels, bales, boxes, and bins. Typical accessories include height extension, stair climbers, safety brake, spread clamps, and straps.

Dollies. Dollies are smaller-wheeled platforms upon which a load is placed for short distance and intermittent moves. Typically, dollies are fitted with caster-type wheels and are either pulled or pushed by an operator.

Factory Trucks. Factory trucks (Fig. 4.40) are wheeled platforms or containers either moved by an operator or towed by detachable power units.There is a wide variety of devices in this group and an even wider variety of uses for materials movement and as mobile storage.

The hand factory truck is hand-powered, guided by the direction of the moving force, and closely related to the dolly. Several wheel-arrangement patterns are available with tradeoffs between maneuverability and stability.

The towed factory truck is connected to the prime mover by a tow bar which provides the steering direction. Both two-wheel and four-wheel steering are available on towed factory trucks. Two-wheeled steering is generally the least expensive and most commonplace. Because of the steering geometry involved, each truck will follow a turn of shorter radius than the preceding vehicle. As several of these units are connected in trains, the continual tightening of turns requires more space for maneuvering.

The four-wheel-steered truck, with properly adjusted steering, is capable of following the same path as the vehicle in front of it. Where long trains are economically justified and desirable, the four-wheel steered devices may be used to minimize commitment of valuable manufacturing space to aisles.

The Semilive Skid. The semilive skid is a rectangular platform or box having two wheels on one end and two fixed supports on the other. The end having the fixed supports is also fitted with a heavy pickup pin to which a two-wheeled jack is attached. The jack and handle are used as the lifting device and tiller, allowing the skid to be maneuvered by the operator.

Hydraulic-LiftTrucks. Hydraulic-lift trucks (Fig. 4.41) are used for short distance moves at the workplace. They generally range in capacity from 2500 to 8000 lb (1130 to 3625 kg).These trucks require a minimum amount of maintenance, and can last for 20 years.

The trucks can be equipped with a jack like manually operated hydraulic lift or pedal operated system to elevate a loaded pallet. Some units use an electrically driven hydraulic system to lift, often above the maximum 5 in of the manual system. These lift trucks generally use forks for lifting pallets or platforms for special containers and positioning heavy loads.

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