Professional_Distributor_December_2020 - 7

COVER STORY

DRIVING IN SALES

with cordless

Cordless tools aren't just convenient - tech advancements and
improved performance continue to set new industry standards.
by Kayla Oschmann, Assistant Editor

he performance gap between pneumatic tools and cordless tools
is growing thinner and thinner. In today's shops, more technicians
are gravitating towards cordless- not just for convenience, but for
power output, technology advancements, and versatility.

Technicians of years past widely
accepted that, in most cases, pneumatic
tools offered more power. But that's no
longer the case. With very few exceptions, any job that can be done today
with a pneumatic tool can be done with
a cordless tool. As system components
continue to advance, technicians are
picking up cordless ratchets, drills, and
grinders to help complete additional
tasks in and around the shop. Learn
what advanced features come standard
on these products, what features could
become the next set of standards, as well
as tips for selling cordless tools to help
drive more sales.

SETTING THE STANDARD
As with most products, wait a bit and
you'll find that newer and more efficient
versions emerge with time. For cordless
tools, the battery and the motor are two
major components that have undergone significant enhancements over
the past decade, resulting in the new
standards found in cordless tools today.

Gone are the days of nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries. Lithium-ion (Liion) batteries now take center stage as
the standard for cordless tools.
" It's hard to find any sort of cordless
product sold that wouldn't have a lithium-ion battery, " says Mark Kelly, manager of product marketing at Milwaukee
Tool. " If you're not buying a lithium-ion
battery, you're behind on times. "
Although the Li-ion battery isn't
new in the automotive industry, manufacturers have recently begun to
incorporate 21700 Li-ion battery cells
within cordless tools. Developed by
Tesla Motors and Panasonic, the 21700
battery cells offer more energy density
and therefore a longer run-time than
the current 18650 Li-ion battery cells.
Milwaukee Tool uses 21700 battery
cells in their M18 High Output system.
" With 21700 cells you have a lot
more power that you can get out of the
products, and more run-time, because
they are a little bigger and longer [in
size], " Kelly says. " Even though it's still

lithium, the technology is continually
[evolving] and we're continuing to bring
that new technology to the market. "
The 21700 battery cells in Milwaukee Tool's High Output batteries are the
same cells that Tesla uses in their cars,
says Kelly. " They just use a lot more batteries and more cells, but it's the same
technology, " he adds.
When it comes to the motor found
within cordless tools, the standard is
becoming brushless.
With a brushless motor, tools
require less maintenance, offer more
power, and have a longer runtime. That
is because a brushed motor creates friction, which results in reduced speed and
heat buildup. A brushed motor also
takes more energy to maintain its speed
and the brushes wear out over time.
In a brushless motor, there are no
brushes and therefore no friction, allowing the motor to run cooler and work
more efficiently.
" [Brushless] is what the users want
and are requesting, " says Matt Rivera,
automotive national account manager
at Makita. " There are still products out
there - we still make products - that
have brushed motors, but it seems to
be that the market is going to brushless. "
Brushless motors offer many

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