Today was Day 1 of Milwaukee’s 2015 new product symposium. It’s late, I’m pooped, and I just spent way too long trying to transfer a photo from my camera to my iPad, and then to my smartphone for resizing.
But here it is – a teaser of one of the 80+ new tools that I’ll be checking out tomorrow.
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That’s right, Milwaukee has refreshed some of their new M18 Fuel brushless drills and impact drivers and wrenches. What must be their most popular cordless tools are going even better!
The new impact is TINY! The new drill seems to reduced in size too.
Seriously, the new impact is so short it’s probably shorter than many brands’ 12V models. Specs and more details will come tomorrow, and I’ll share what I can when I can. I might not get to a full write up for another day or too, but hopefully this teaser pic will make up for that.
Wow, just wow.
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Chris
Impact looks to be close to the same length as my DCF 895
mike aka Fazzman
Cool,im curious what new cool stuff they may have in store for us. Get some rest Stu 😉
Adam
And of course, I just bought an M18 Fuel drill last week :p
Ryan
Return it!
james
will they offer a trade up incentive? Just bought an m18 fuel impact driver.
Jason
Probably not. You best option is to return and buy the new one when it comes out.
Mizzourob
I was worried that they were going to revise their battery platform, so I’m glad to hear M18 is still in the mix and I’m guessing there will be more M12 tools. Now if only they would add a couple of 4 volt tools to go with the screwdriver (maybe a flashlight, multimeter, OBD2 car scan tool, wall scanner or anything else that uses AA batteries).
Stuart
Nope, Milwaukee is deeply committed to their M12 and M18 battery form factors. M28 probably too. They said on the HQ tour that M12 and M18 were designed from the start to be forward-looking.
RX9
I honestly think the M28 is being quietly retired. Milwaukee seems to have figured out that you can achieve superior torque via brushless motors, thereby eliminating the rationale for a bulky 28V cell. There’s always a need to balance power and runtime against maneuverability and weight. 18/20V seems to be the sweet spot for most applications.
Jason
I saw some pictures of a M28 Fuel rotary hammer on the web, but nothing ever came of it. It made me think their might have been some additional life to the M28 platform. With the M18 SDS max I’m not so sure.
Stuart
I saw the M28 Fuel as well, after one or two readers emailed in about it.
The message from Milwaukee is clear – M28 is not a current focus for the USA market. They said that there’s nothing on their 24 month roadmap, and emphasized that focus is on M12 and M18.
Jason
Is the M28 Fuel SDS just for other markets besides in the USA, or is it just something they will just soft launch and offer? I’m just curious if it was a mistake or something for sites to list it.
Stuart
I think that it was built for European and/or Australian markets, and that some are made available here for those who might want them.
Jason
That does make sense
KL
Ya know I sold off my 4V stuff long ago but if they’d try something like Tek4 did it could be cool. I’d love to see a nice pair of Bluetooth noise canceling ear protection. And a quality headlamp. Otherwise Tek4 had a bunch of great ideas, particularly measuring tools that were perfect for low voltage.
RX9
The tek4 was a nice concept, but it really wasn’t in need of a battery system per se.
All tek4 batteries really consist of is just a single protected 18650 cell wrapped in plastic cladding.
I would rather have seen Ryobi (or any other manufacturer for that matter) release tools that just use the standard protected 18650 cell without any of the needless bulky cladding.
KL
Eh, they make an adapter which just fits 3 AAA’s. That’s pretty cool IMO.
Pablo
The Makita looks shorter still.
Stuart
I had a very brief sneak peek, so I can’t say for sure.
Maybe the photo betrays how short it is in person.
Grip feels redesigned, I’ll need the full story tomorrow to be sure.
Chris
The grip redesign would be the most welcome, it’s probably the worst in the industry among the big 4 tool companies
Stuart
The redesign is subtle, but noticeable when comparing new vs. previous tools back to back.
There will be much more about this in days and weeks to come.
Jay k.
Get some rest stu… cant wait to get new details…
Oscar
Are the m12 getting refreshed as well?
Michael Quinlan
If you get any opportunities for questions, and are so inclined, ask when they’re going to come out with a decent M18 right angle drill. The single speed of the current model is all but useless with its 125 in-lbs of torque. It stalls on a 3/4″ hole in 2-by material using a Bosch daredevil spade bit.
Pablo
You should just get a right angle adapter and quit waiting.
Or get the Hole Hawg.
Jeff Van Voorst
I just bought a m18 fuel combo set a few weeks ago. Should have waited…
Jeff Van Voorst
As a teaser, on Milwaukee’s web page they have an m18 3-1/4 planer (2623-20) listed as coming soon.
RX9
Stuart, tell them they should make a Fuel right angle impact wrench.
The 2668 is a bit of a disappointment, with only 60 ft-lbs and a battery angle/layout that is wrong.
They need to go back to the drawing board on that application and figure out how to beat the Ingersoll Rand W5330 , which has thrice the torque, and a battery layout that doesn’t get in the way.
Stuart
They have a right angle impact, I don’t recall if Fuel, and I believe it was M12. Packed in enough torque to overdrive a long fastener. Sooooo many tools. I’ll get updates up as quick as humanly possible.
RX9
Hmmm.
Well, I’m looking forward to all the latest goodies they have cooked up.
Keep up the good work!
Chris Fyfe
We appreciate all your hard work ! Seeing it is fun , writing about it can be a drag . The 9ah M18 high demand pack looks interesting .
Off the cuff , I can see lots of uses for it .
Chris