Makita’s brushless impact driver has been on the market for a while, and to put it frankly, we expected them to expand their 18V brushless lineup by now.
(Check out our brushless motors 101 post to read more about the merits of brushless cordless tools vs. tools with brushed motors.)
Meanwhile, Makita’s competitors have been busy releasing a couple of exciting new brushless cordless tools that either just hit the market or are coming down the pipeline in the near future. Dewalt’s impact driver; Milwaukee’s FUEL drill, hammer drill, and impact driver; and Hitachi’s (new to the US market) brushless drill and hammer drill are the most notable new designs.
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Don’t worry, although there’s been little buzz so far, Makita’s engineers haven’t been sleeping – they’ve been working on a few new brushless tools, including a rotary hammer with built-in HEPA dust collection.
Makita LXDT08 18V Impact Driver
The new impact driver doesn’t look to replace the current model (LXDT01), as it does not feature a similar 3-speed setting torque-control. What it does feature is a 5-7/8″ overall length, 0-2500 RPM and 0-3200 IPM motor, 1420 in-lbs max torque delivery, 3.4 lb weight with 18V LXT battery, and the kit comes with a 30-minute rapid charger.
Makita says that the new impact is further optimized for up to 50% longer runtime per charge. [vs…?]
ETA is Spring 2012, and MSRP is estimated to be $319.
Makita LXPH05 18V Hammer Drill
The new hammer drill is 7-5/8″ long and weighs 3.8 lbs, making it a fairly compact model. Its small size doesn’t come for free, as the torque ratings show. Still 400 in-lbs of max torque is fairly respectable, and should be suitable for many users. The 2-setting gearbox is rated at 0-400 RPM/0-6000 BPM and 0-1500 RPM/0-22500 BPM, and there are 16 clutch settings.
Like the impact driver, the hammer drill kit appears to come with a new 30-minute rapid charger.
ETA is Spring 2012, and MSRP is estimated to be $319.
Makita LXT239 Combo Kit
This 2-piece combo includes both the impact driver and hammer drill/driver, 2 18V LXT batteries and a 30-minute rapid charger.
ETA is Spring 2012, MSRP appears to be $329 via Home Depot.
Makita LXRH01 18V Rotary Hammer
All we know about the new brushless rotary hammer thus far is that it accepts SDS-Plus bits, weighs 11.1 lbs, and is designed with a built-in HEPA dust collection kit. It has a no-load speed of 0-950 RPM and 0-4700 BPM. ETA is Summer 2012.
All tools will also be available as bare-tool add-on models.
Thanks to K for the heads-up about the hammer drill!
Dan Richards
Brushless motors can’t be field serviced. Anybody else see that as an issue?
Stuart
What type of servicing do you anticipate the motors needing? In general, I believe that brushless motors are much less prone to wear compared to brushed motors.
KenjiFox
Brushless motors never wear out. The only thing that can wear out is the bearings. In a tool like this, under normal conditions, you wouldn’t live long enough to see that happen. These are tools you hand down to your children.
fred
The batteries may be the Achille’s Heel of a cordless tool. We are probably thinking that Makita and others will continue to support their LiIon battery platforms ad-infinitum – or if not then 3rd party refurbishers will take over — but experience with says that ultimately we will probably reach a point where it become impractical to keep the tool going. This happens to some corded tools as well – some fell off because they were no longer OSHA compliant – but I can point to dozens of ’60’s and 70’s vintage corded prtable tools – and even older stationary machinery that I still have in productive use.
Mark Wynn
Have corded portable power tools that my grandfather used (gunsmith) and passed on to my father … and they still work for me today. Meanwhile, I’ve discarded several systems of battery powered tools when the tool died, or replacement batteries became almost as costly as a new system. Only an ancient Makita 9 volt drill still works … although with laughable run time compared to todays cheapest systems.
dung
This is true, brushless motors do not use carbon brushes therefore I beleive there is no need for field service, an electronics servo circuit is supplying appropriate current/voltage to the motor to active and control the magnetic poles. This technoloy was used in old time VCR like the captain motor the machine which feeding both the magnetic tape of the cassette as well as driving a belt to other mechanism the the VCR.
(Brushless tools have been used in space by NASA for long time, I think ther reasons the idea has been passed on to consumers as the cost of BL has come down significantly)
DH
pete
this impact driver does look interesting….im pretty sure based on the wording Makita is implying that the battery life is improved 50% over the traditional (probably 3Ah) impact life. Looks like they really beefed up the rubber padding on the back of the motor, and a few other key impact points. also, the belt hook looks fixed (older ones were more like a wire frame, and would get hooked into a belt loop…)
In response to the first statement, of this probably not replacing the 3-speed model, i wanted to point out that the 3-speed is just one of the versions of this impact gun that they still produce. there still have the non-3speed model (HD still carries it), which i personally consider to be better anyways (owning one that is still cranking away for the past 5 years hard use). if you need to control speed, ease up on the trigger, or get a real drill.
Joe
Is it me or do makitas new tools look cheaply built
Allen McGranahan
I have felt that way about a lot of power tools. I think it has something to do with the flashy color patterns and extreme contours of the tools itself. They make them seem toy-like in my opinion.
fred
Seems like many of the manufacturers have succumbed to this style of tool casing – with Hitachi and Makita being the worst from my eye. I myself – liked the old dulled-aluminum housings of yesteryear but maybe this new styling is meant to have eye-appeal to a broader audience – but I agree it does the opposite for me. Nonetheless – having invested in close-on 100 Makita LXT tools – we are likely to be stuck buying some of these new-look tools as well.
adam
I think the new drills look pretty nice, EXCEPT for the giant bulge they’ve added to the bottom of the handle where the battery slides. what the hell is that all about?
Allen McGranahan
In the shop I am now only useing corded tools, the power is always there, and more of it.
Fred
Brushless motors can fail, whether its from wearing out or the bearings seizing, or a few other things. With brush/stator motors, the failure point is usually more predictable and as mentioned can be field serviceable. Most equipment I’ve owned (considering tools using electric motors in general are brush/stator) do not include a replacement set of brushes. I have a few that do, but you need the replacement parts readily available in the field for the tool to be field serviceable anyway.
The most likely point of failure for a brushless motor is the bearings. They will likely sieze since there isn’t enough room for them to get misaligned or go oblong.
The plastic in a lot of these tools is primarily to make them more powerful or in general add heavier/beefier internal components while still maintaining the same overall weight or in some cases reducing the weight. The biggest benefit though is allowing them to manage the weight of the tool better, they can make it more balanced and especially not torque your arm and get away from you.
And it may be growing on me but I was definitely not a fan of Hitachi’s green plastic either.
Joe tool
The impact driver tools really wobble…they suck. I recommend DeWalt er Milwaukee
Andrew
No wobble on mine, although there is a degree of chuck movement on all impact drivers for the slip ring.
Joe tool
and I tried the DeWalt / Milwaukee…they dont wobble like a Makita, Milwaukee has the industry best warranty on tool and battery.
Justin
Just bought this from Home Depot. After a bunch of research i’ve decided on going brushless. But I cannot decide between Milwaukee’s Fuel line and Makita (should DeWalt be in this conversation too?). I’m looking for a brushless power tool that can last with me for the next 5 years. Both Milwaukee and Makita offer a driver/drill/hammer & impact driver combo pack. Money out of the equation – what should I go for?
Stuart
Makita’s LXDT06 is *almost* available. Bosch’s is a couple of months out.
Out of the models currently available, I would go for the Milwaukee FUEL. Dewalt and Makita models are alright, but the Milwaukee has a slight edge. And down the road add on a 2.0Ah battery if the kit only comes with 1.5Ah batts.
This is of course if you didn’t buy into any one system yet. All of the current premium brushless models are darn good, so it comes down to nitty-gritty.
Astounded
Anyone complaining that you might not have this in 30 years like your grandfathers old random corded tool needs to be a little more realistic.
If you can use this for even 10 years at the most and it’s only $400-$500 in a driver combo. How could that be such an issue?
I think you may have bigger problems in life if $50 a year for quality and convenient tooling is too much.