Nowadays, many in-service electric forklifts need to complete battery performance upgrading to meet the rising working intensity of warehousing, logistics and manufacturing scenarios, and chassis retrofitting is the most common implementation path for this demand. Among all technical indices of the whole retrofitting process, the physical dimension parameters of the new battery pack are the core precondition to guarantee the smooth installation and long-term stable operation of the modified equipment, which shall not be ignored by relevant engineering personnel.

The first core dimension parameter to verify is the overall outline size of the target battery pack, which shall match the reserved installation cavity of the original chassis completely. Before selecting the new battery pack, engineering personnel shall carry out full-size measurement of the original reserved cavity, including the inner length, width, height, and the reserved operation gap for heat dissipation and line arrangement around the cavity. The outline size of the new battery pack shall not squeeze all reserved gaps, otherwise the subsequent heat dissipation efficiency will drop significantly, which may cause abnormal temperature rise of the battery pack during high-intensity continuous operation.

The second key dimension parameter refers to the positioning and connection interface size at the bottom of the battery pack. The original electric forklift chassis is pre-installed with fixed support brackets, limit baffles and locking bolts that match the original battery pack. When retrofitting, the hole position distribution, aperture size and bottom load contact area of the new battery pack must be checked against the original positioning structure of the chassis. If the interface dimension deviation exceeds the allowable range, extra customized transition connection structures shall be installed, to make sure the battery pack will not shift or loose under frequent start, stop and steering operation status of the forklift.

The third dimension parameter that cannot be omitted is the overall height of the battery pack after installed, as well as its relative position to the surrounding moving components of the chassis. Engineering personnel shall verify the distance between the top of the new battery pack and the bottom of the forklift counterweight, the hydraulic lifting system pipeline and the cab bottom pedal, to avoid friction or collision between the battery pack and other moving parts in the process of forklift goods lifting, turning and driving on uneven road surfaces. All the dimension deviation control of the above links shall strictly follow the relevant industry safety operation specifications for industrial trucks, to eliminate hidden safety risks in the subsequent daily use process.

After all the above dimension parameters are confirmed to be qualified, engineering personnel can carry out trial installation and test operation, to further verify the rationality of dimension matching, so as to make the retrofitted electric forklift reach the expected performance level, and extend the whole service life of the equipment on the premise of guaranteeing use safety.