Milwaukee M18 Fuel "One Key" Tools

[Stuey]

Milwaukee lifted the press embargo, and my post went up today: http://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-one-key/

In a nutshell One Key versions of their new brushless drills (http://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m18-fuel-brushless-drills-2703-2704/) and their brushless impact driver and wrenches (http://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m18-fuel-impact-driver-compact-wrenches-gen2/), will be user-reprogrammable.

You'd be able to change things like speeds, torque levels, anti-kickback controls, etc. I believe that ramp-up and down might be possible, at least maybe with fastener and drill bit profiles. Will have to see.

So here's my question: Hot or Not?

I'm definitely interested, but I'm also very easily excitable when it comes to tool tech.

 

[walrus]

Milwaukee lifted the press embargo, and my post went up today: http://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-one-key/

In a nutshell One Key versions of their new brushless drills (http://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m18-fuel-brushless-drills-2703-2704/) and their brushless impact driver and wrenches (http://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m18-fuel-impact-driver-compact-wrenches-gen2/), will be user-reprogrammable.

You'd be able to change things like speeds, torque levels, anti-kickback controls, etc. I believe that ramp-up and down might be possible, at least maybe with fastener and drill bit profiles. Will have to see.

So here's my question: Hot or Not?

I'm definitely interested, but I'm also very easily excitable when it comes to tool tech.

Not, might be great in a factory setting where every product down the line had to have something tightened the same but out in the field driving screws in for conduit clips, I don't see the purpose.

 

[Hayzuse]

Not! I was kinda bummed after all the hype they had behind it


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[Kracin]

the only benefit i can see if setting an impact to the point that it's "overclocked".

ie, 3rd party software that allows you to run the impact at double the speed (for a short time to prevent permanent damage). so you can get 300 ftlbs out of that 200 ft lbs 1/2 small impact to break that nasty bolt lose. or so you can get 1500 ft/lbs out of the big boy to knock that 1.5" bolt lose and avoid grabbing the 7 foot breaker bar.

another bonus could be for wheel/tire/builders who require specific torque, depending on how accurate the torque settings are, you could need to run 200 bolts down to 125 ft/lbs of torque. if you have it dialed in just right you can run the impact down on every bolt and achieve proper torque without ever clicking a wrench 200 times, or worrying that the torque stick is out of calibration.


aside from that, trigger control that is quick and precise has done the job forever. i don't see people spending 10 minutes setting their drill up to do what a finger already did.

maybe for a drill you can program the trigger pull to be like the festool (fein?) drill that does the quick intermittent pulls to keep a drillbit centered til the hole starts. allowing you to easily start a hole without wearing your finger down.



also, to add. if the charger is also connected to the app. you could realistically grab real time info of battery charging, and see exactly how much life expectancy a battery has left. and whether or not it has dead cells or other problems. avoiding a lot of time sent to a repair place where they send it back same as it came in since they didnt see the problem you asked about.

 

[Big Vic]

This is not exciting at all, not to mention it gives workers an excuse to get on there cell phones while working which is a waste of time and money. Thankfully we don't allow cell phones where I work if your caught your sent home after the third your terminated.

 

[dinhtuann123]

I think its awesome

 

[Rock Hound]

I think it is pretty neat and probably well suited to companies where a foreman can then keep people from just running the equipment on full bore all of the time, but it is not of any real value to me. So, I am somewhere in between your two options.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

I'm a little old school...about the ONLY thing I would like to see would be Milwaukee removing the "Clutch Setting Ring"...I hate it and think its STUPID beyond belief...I've had numerous cordless drills, every one of them has been set to the drill setting for its entire life.
That Clutch/Drill selector ring is probably the only complaint I have with my Fuel Drill...too easy to get kicked off into the clutch setting.

SO...if the new "One Key" Fuel drill does away with all those manual controls on the drill, and I can software code in the drill to be set to "DRILL, 100% Torque" setting and forget it for life...then yes..I'll buy the One Key and use it Once...

*Edit...just went and looked at the link you posted of the Gen 2 Fuel...still has the stupid selector so as your poll suggest...i'll use the extra money to buy beer or yet another utility knife....

 

[kctyphoon]

i cant see this being used by most people, but might be useful in a factory setting for assembly work.. Tesla uses Dewalt impacts to assemble some of their car parts, so this might be a good feature for something like that.

what would be nice for the normal person is if you could completely disable the tool at the end of a workday or for the weekend with a smart phone - where it would NEED to be turned back on by the owner before use again..

 

[firworks]

Since there is of course no Windows Phone app I would give it a resounding Not. The one thing I'll say about this is, it's an experiment from Milwaukee I'm sure. They're basically making a lot of telematics data available and it may not be clear why it is useful yet. Either the company itself or some types of end users / industries may in time figure out how to make good use of that data. Until that point it probably looks pretty stupid but who knows maybe it will end up cool when we look back in a few years.

 

[Trey T]

I'm a huge fan of M18 but that's just too much tech for me as a hobbyist; perhaps, it may work well in a production environment where quality assurance exist.

 

[Strouty]

Great, now the hackers are going to be able to take over my tools.

Can they post updates to facebook or twitter?

 

[Fusion13]

I'm a huge fan of M18 but that's just too much tech for me as a hobbyist; perhaps, it may work well in a production environment where quality assurance exist.

And even then those tools are calibrated very expensive pieces and unless these things are accurate down to .5ft or less lbs I doubt they would ever see the time of day in that environment as well

 

[rlitman]

And even then those tools are calibrated very expensive pieces and unless these things are accurate down to .5ft or less lbs I doubt they would ever see the time of day in that environment as well

And why not? Current draw is directly proportional to torque, and brushless motors already have a good idea of rotation. It should be easy enough to make a tool that is calibrated to torque + turn that meets tight enough tolerances for NASA.

 

[rice rocket]

Tesla uses Dewalt impacts to assemble some of their car parts, so this might be a good feature for something like that.

Really? I would hope they'd use something a little more precise than that. The industry is still mostly corded or air. In a production/workshop environment, cordless in unnecessary because they just hang on tool retractors over your workstation. It's also less lifting for your employee.

i.e.
http://apexpowertools.com/brands/assembly/index.cfm


I know IR makes some cordless that is certified precision torque, but they are way more expensive than their standard IQV stuff.

http://www.ingersollrandproducts.com/am-en/products/tools/fastening/cordless-fastening-systems



Back to the original topic though, I could see this useful for general construction, where torque is mostly TLAR anyways and it will save some village idiot from cracking a beam trying to sink a lag through the center of the Earth.

But really, setting your torque on your drill/impact with your run of the mill dial/slider will be fine for most people.

 

[Plutal]

Does the app sync data with milwaukee? I could see the data being ammunition for warranty claims being denied.

I will buy a new impact driver. Probably not the bluetooth, maybe an old model if I can get a good price.

 

[Fusion13]

And why not? Current draw is directly proportional to torque, and brushless motors already have a good idea of rotation. It should be easy enough to make a tool that is calibrated to torque + turn that meets tight enough tolerances for NASA.

I highly doubt we will ever see a milwaukee drill/impact that can constantly deliver precision torque in a production environment

 

[Stuey]

Does the app sync data with milwaukee? I could see the data being ammunition for warranty claims being denied.

I will buy a new impact driver. Probably not the bluetooth, maybe an old model if I can get a good price.

If it does transfer data, it will likely be anonymous.

 

[Ign]

I highly doubt we will ever see a milwaukee drill/impact that can constantly deliver precision torque in a production environment

This. I see a lot of assumptions on Toolguyd comments that you can set it for a specific torque and it'll hit that everytime. I find that highly unlikely. There's too many variables in socket length, extensions, socket material, socket construction, square drive slop, and user style - seems to me a true accurate impact will hit until ** ft lbs then STOP; I don't think the Milwaukees shut down completely?

Stu, WHY the press embargo? If we learned of OneKey on July 20 instead of July 31 would the universe implode? I think Milwaukee's putting way too much effort into this hype. OneKey = the Kardashian of tools??

As for clutch settings, they are great for sinking wood screws or self-drilling sheetmetal screws w a bit more consistency, BUT still heavily dependent on user tactics, ie a clutch will engage much sooner at half throttle but if you go full bore and gain inertia it engages much later. Think sliding a heavy desk across a room - get it going and it's easier to keep it going. And with the clutches you can still sink a wood screw much too deep unless you let off when it starts ratcheting. Same reason I don't think exact torque values can be hit if Cletus stays on the trigger too long.

 

[rice rocket]

I agree the impact will never be accurate, but if the clutch is indeed an electronic clutch (as Metabo, Fein, and Festool have implemented in their drills), I could see it being reasonably accurate. To a specified setting though, from drill to drill, you'd have to deal with if they have different amount of lubrication/wear/etc., so I would never tie it to an actual number.

 

[rlitman]

This. I see a lot of assumptions on Toolguyd comments that you can set it for a specific torque and it'll hit that everytime. I find that highly unlikely. There's too many variables in socket length, extensions, socket material, socket construction, square drive slop, and user style.

On an impact, I kind of agree. The best you can hope for is to approach the accuracy of a torque stick (basically +/- 10% ish).
But on a DRILL, you could easily achieve torque values within a couple of percent. It would be AWESOME if they used the same circuit that senses overload (which basically already is a torque shutdown) that stops rotation to make an electronic "clutch" that is actually usable. This is not outside of the realm of possible.

 

[Loscaldazar]

This. I see a lot of assumptions on Toolguyd comments that you can set it for a specific torque and it'll hit that everytime. I find that highly unlikely. There's too many variables in socket length, extensions, socket material, socket construction, square drive slop, and user style

Well, yes, but standard micrometer or split beam torque wrenches are the same way....

 

[rice rocket]

Well, yes, but standard micrometer or split beam torque wrenches are the same way....

That really doesn't matter in non-impact situations.

 

[Ign]

That really doesn't matter in non-impact situations.

This. Slowly loading a socket is one thing, start banging it around and you introduce a myriad of variables I couldn't even begin to list. Slop/tolerances, wall thickness, material elasticity, and on and on and on. I imagine even ambient temp affect how much a socket expands under load.

 

[Advan]

What a load of horseshit, just more **** to fail! "It may be useful in a production environment" is true, but believe me, plenty of companies already have that covered, and you rarely see contractor grade cordless tools in a production environment!

 

[Stuey]

I really don't think production environments are the intended audience. Everything Milwaukee said about One Key targets users in the field.