DeWalt’s lineup of cordless tools makes it possible to cut the cord – and ditch the gas can
As tool manufacturers develop ever-more powerful cordless tools, the sight of hoses and cords snaking across a construction jobsite is quickly becoming a thing of the past. With nearly 200 cordless power products in its lineup DeWalt is living up to its tagline, “The power of corded, the freedom of cordless.”
With old Nicad batteries, users anticipated taking longer to cut, drill, or drive when transitioning over to cordless, but with today’s lithium ion battery packs you’re truly able to operate as well as – or better – than you could with a corded tool.
“But it’s not just cutting the cord, it’s also getting rid of the gas can,” says Stephen Blain, commercialization manager – professional power tools for Stanley Black & Decker Canada, DeWalt’s parent company.
“The 60-volt battery platform gives us the power to go into realms where it was only gas-powered tools before,” says Blain. DeWalt’s 9″ brushless concrete cut-off saw (DSC690) is a great example of that. At 6,500 RPM, the saw can make cuts in concrete up to 3 1/4″-deep then switch to slicing through rebar.
DeWalt takes worker health and safety very seriously. Under the “Perform and Protect” banner, a number of tools have been developed with safety-specific fixtures such as dust control, vibration dampening, and Anti- Rotation E-Clutches and electronic Kickback Brakes.
The concrete cut-off saw, for example, is equipped with an adjustable five-position guard that allows users to safely work at awkward angles in tight spaces, and when used with the dual-sided water feed system it is U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Table 1 compliant.
As dust collection regulations get ever stricter, DeWalt’s R&D team recognized a real-world problem with most dust collection systems. Users empty the collection containers by dumping them in large, open garbage bins, sending much of the collected dust airborne. So they developed the Evacuator, an attachment that enables users to empty silica dust into a collection bag without any particles escaping. “It’s all about protecting the end-user and helping them to be safer on the jobsite,” says Blain.
Of course, on the job it’s how a tool performs that will matter most to users. “We don’t release a new tool until its performance matches or even exceeds the power of a corded tool,” says Blain. He cites one example of an internal test DeWalt did with their circular saws. With its advanced circuitry and brushless motor, the 20-volt Max 71/4″ cordless circ saw (DCS570) actually sliced through 4′-lengths of MDF about a second faster than the corded version. That may not sound like much, but it adds up. “If every cut is more efficient and easier to do, at the end of the day you’re not going to be hurting as much.”
Other companies are capitalizing on DeWalt’s technology by pairing their own tools with DeWalt battery packs. “When you have such a recognizable brand known for quality, other companies want to partner with us,” says Blain. Those products include Graco’s cordless, airless paint sprayers and Klein’s cable cutters and crimpers, all of which operate on the 20-volt Max system, and Rehau’s Everloc+ Pex tool that uses a 12-volt Max battery.
Contractors and homebuilders are partnering with DeWalt for its ever-increasing array of cord- and gas-free tools that help them get the job done quickly and safely.