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Current events

Lithium-Ion is here to stay and power tool manufacturers are racing to create the right Li-Ion tool for the job.

by Paul Markgraff

Nine years ago, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. embarked on a mission to create a cordless power tool battery that could deliver the holy trinity: longer run time, lighter weight and more power. In January 2005, Milwaukee unveiled its V28 Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) line, marking a significant step in that direction.

The V28 line included many of Milwaukee’s heavy power-drawing tools, including a cordless professional-quality band saw, hammer drill, circular saw, Sawzall recip saw, impact wrench, work light and charger. Milwaukee said it would soon introduce a rotary hammer and job site radio to the line.

Li-Ion technology offers more power than standard Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cd) or Nickel Metal-Hydride (N-MH) cordless power tool batteries. It is a more environmentally friendly technology, weighs less than standard batteries and lasts longer. Milwaukee’s batteries feature built-in fuel gauges and a performance optimization circuit that maintains current discharge balance from the seven battery cells enclosed within the unit and keeps the battery from discharging fully.

While Li-Ion technology is not new – it’s been used in cell phones and computers for years – it is new to the power tool market.

Industry demand is outpacing supply, showing a real craving for this technology.

“We can’t produce them fast enough,” says Richard Peterson, brand manager for Milwaukee Electric Tool.

Just six months later, several power tool manufacturers are hot on Milwaukee’s heels, bringing Li-Ion ideas of their own to bear. Most are vague when asked when they plan to unveil their new tools. But they each have unique ideas about how to create the right tool for tradespeople.

“It’s a technology we’ve looked at for quite a while,” says Christine Potter, DeWalt product manager for cordless tools. “There are many, many forms of Li-Ion. Each one has very different characteristics. What we are looking for is something that provides durability and performance, while increasing productivity on the job site. There’s hundreds of formulas out there, and we’re looking for the right one for our end-user.”

Meeting resistance
Becoming the next power tool maker to market with a Li-Ion power tool line is not as important as creating the correct mix of durability, reliability and customer satisfaction.

Building a Li-Ion battery is not as easy as building a Ni-Cd or Ni-MH battery. It is a different battery chemistry and retains different characteristics. For example, if you run a Li-Ion battery until it has no charge left, you cannot recharge it. It’s dead. So, manufacturers are trying to figure out ways to prevent that from happening.

Cell phones and computers that currently use Li-Ion batteries have safeguards built in to prevent running to no-charge. But the power tool industry has it a little tougher. The application for a cell phone is always the same. Turn it on; make a call; send a text message; turn it off. It uses the same amount of power for each standard application.

Power tools are used for many different applications. And, it takes a different amount of energy to drill through a two-by-four than to drill through a concrete slab or steel plate. The power drawn from the battery differs based upon application. This can be very tough on a Li-Ion battery, requiring complex integrated circuitry to prevent battery failure.

“There is this huge range of power draw and application that can happen to a cordless tool,” says Jeff Wilkison, director of cordless power tools marketing for Bosch. “That’s part of the reason it’s been so slow to come to power tools. What we want is to make sure we have the right mix, and work with our battery suppliers to make sure we have a cell that’s durable enough for our applications.”

Wilkison says Bosch is working on its own Li-Ion battery, but the company wants to make sure it gets it right for the professional user.

Makita brand marketing manager Brent Withey understands what bringing a new product to market means. Makita first brought Ni-MH to market, he says. And for now, Makita is successfully selling its Ni-MH powered tools to the industrial and construction marketplace.

But, Withey also understands how new technology arrives in the marketplace. Li-Ion is the new power tool technology, and it acts as a beacon unto power tool makers.

Size matters
Instead of focusing on big power tools for high-draw applications, Metabo and Cooper Power Tools say they will bring Li-Ion to smaller, more ergonomically focused tools.

Metabo is looking at incorporating Li-Ion technology into its current drill drivers with 12-volt, 14.4-volt and 18-volt batteries. Li-Ion will offer 40 percent greater performance from the same tool and a 40 percent lighter battery pack.

“We are taking a little different stance than our competitors,” says Metabo product manager Terry Tuerk. “We want to package the Li-Ion around the ergonomic package of our tools to bring the user something that is comfortable in their hand, easy to use and lightweight, with the power behind it to get the work done.”

Cooper manufactures Ni-MH-powered DC battery tools designed for building engines and transmissions in an assembly plant setting. The tools, which measure the torque and angle of fasteners, are powerful and precise and normally attached to cords.

Cooper is investigating Li-Ion and expects to introduce a Li-Ion DC battery tool by the end of the year, says Jeff Valder, marketing manager for vehicles, furniture and appliances.

“With Li-Ion, we’ll be able to reduce the battery weight by half,” he says. “And that is huge in the assembly market.”

“With a lot of these applications, you have to take these tools into really tight areas or areas that are not easily accessible. When you get into those kinds of situations, and you have a heavy battery, it just increases the weight of the tool. That weight extended out there increases leverage on the arm. It gets very tiring, very quickly. We’re looking for anything that reduces weight on the tool.”

New kid in town
Doug Bock, group sales manager for Panasonic, says his company will introduce Li-Ion next year. He expects all manufacturers will have Li-Ion because it offers the best benefit for cordless tools; end-users can get more power and less weight.

But Ni-Cd and Ni-MH are not going away. All three battery chemistries will remain in the marketplace, he says.

“It will be a function of how much you want to spend,” says Bock. “I don’t think you’re going to see the whole industry go to one chemistry. There’s too much of a difference in the costs. Some guys are in throwaway scenarios, so they buy the cheap stuff and don’t get too much performance out of it. We’re going to market all three of them.”