World's smallest lift truck

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 5/1/2000

In at least one regard, the Hannover Fair was a study in stark contrasts.

On the one hand, the fairground in Hannover, Germany is not only the largest of its kind in the world but was host in late March to the world's largest materials handling show. On the other hand, Linde put on display what it says is the world's smallest fully functional lift truck.

The Linde H 008 is 24 mm long without forks and only 16 mm wide. Tire diameter is a mere 6 mm. The lift truck weighs in at a whopping 10 grams. A 1 pfennig piece (about the size of our penny) would be a good sized load for the truck.

Just as important, the lift truck really operates. Micro-motors in the H 008 for lifting loads measure only 2 mm in diameter. A three-stage planetary gearbox has gears smaller than 0.5 mm. Independent suspension of the rear wheels is by leaf springs one-third the thickness of a common sheet of paper.

After Linde introduced the truck at the CeMat show, they submitted it to the Guinness Book of Records .