The highlight of Milwaukee’s recent media event – see all of our new tool coverage here – was One-Key, which they’ve been making a huge deal about. So what is Milwaukee One-Key all about, and how will it unlock the digital jobsite and the future of jobsite technology?
In simplistic tools, Milwaukee One-Key is part hardware, part software. New upcoming Milwaukee One-Key tools will be smart tools, which will communicate with One-Key software. One-Key apps will work on mobile and traditional computing devices.
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Milwaukee One-Key tools will communicate with smartphones and other compatible devices via Bluetooth.
Milwaukee provided a number of clues, and we asked you what you thought One-Key was all about. Some of your Milwaukee One-Key predictions were quite close to the truth.
One-Key Features & Functionality
Inventory Management (Launching Sep 2015)
Tool Reporting (Launching Oct 2015)
Tool Control (Launching Jan 2016)
Tool Control is the functionality I am most excited about. As you can tell, functionality will be rolled out in 3 initial waves.
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Milwaukee One-Key Tool Control
The closest “What is One-Key?” guess was from Noah, who wasn’t even guessing at the riddles! His comment was in response to my preview of Milwaukee’s 2nd generation M18 Fuel impact driver and wrenches! He said:
I can imagine a time in which I’ll pull up an app on my phone and choose from dozens of modes for my driver, not just the four on the unit itself.
Milwaukee is coming out with a new M18 Fuel drill and a hammer drill, to replace the 1st generation models. And a new M18 Fuel impact driver and impact wrenches. All of these tools will also be available as One-Key versions.
Milwaukee has said that they will first focus on fastening tools, such as drills and impact tools, as these tools often see very broad use and would benefit the most from One-Key’s tool control potential.
Let’s talk about the big question – WHY? It seems that Milwaukee believes, and rightfully so I think, that giving users the ability to customize certain aspects of their tools’ previously factory-set profiles will lead to faster, easier, or more efficient work, or simply better performance and end results. This should all translate to savings in time, fatigue or frustrating, and even money.
Basically, Milwaukee One-Key will allow users to reprogram their tools, at least their compatible One-Key tools.
The new One-Key M18 Fuel drills and drivers are scheduled to launch in January 2016, when the One-Key Tool Control functionality becomes available.
The One-Key drills and impact tools will ship with factory settings which can be reverted to at any time. If you revert back to factory settings, you will have to connect with the One-Key app to re-sync your customizations.
Update: Something I should have pointed out is that changes to a One-Key power tool’s settings or modes are done on the app and then uploaded to the tool.
Your phone doesn’t need to be in constant connection with the tool. It’s set-and-forget, unless you want to change or tweak overall settings or those of the selectable modes.
M18 Fuel One-Key Drills
Milwaukee’s One-Key Fuel brushless drills will feature 4 settings buttons, similar to the new impact drivers. And users will be able to customize each of these selectable modes. Once you have the settings set to your liking, you can change back and forth from the different modes with a touch of the appropriate settings button.
That’s correct, the drills will have electronic mode selection buttons on the bottom, just like the new M18 Fuel impact tools do.
You can customize things like the speed range, torque levels, and even select from preset application, drilling, and fastener-specific profiles. I believe you could also even customize the clutch settings!
Want to set the tool back to factory mode? You can. But after you do that you’ll need to re-sync with the One-Key app to restore your customizations.
Something to keep in mind is that the drills will have electronic clutches. Because of this, you also get anti-kickback control, if you want it. I tried this feature, and found it to be particularly effective.
What the drills’ anti-kickback setting does it limit the current draw to the motor, based on the setting on a scale of 1 to 10. This can be manually customized, or it might be tweaked based on a fastener or drill bit profiles.
Speaking of profiles, you can use ones that are created by Milwaukee, or you can create your own.
M18 Fuel One-Key Impact Tools
The Milwaukee One-Key M18 Fuel impact driver and impact wrenches will offer similar speed and torque customization functionality.
The non-One-Key versions have 3 preset speed and torque settings and 1 special 4th mode. With the One-Key impact tools, you can have 3 customized speed and torque modes, or make them all special application modes. You’re in control of how the tool is set and configured.
Milwaukee One-Key Tool Reporting
Right now, there is only one tool that’s coming out that will work with Milwaukee’s One-Key reporting functionality, and that’s their upcoming One-Key M18 Force Logic 6T utility crimpers.
Using the reporting software, users will be able to creating reports that track the success and timing of electrical crimps and terminations. The example they gave discussed setting up electrical service for a hospital, which required X-number of crimps.
The One-Key Force Logic crimper will then report the exact number of crimp cycles, successful crimp cycles, a plot of the pressure for each crimp, and the percentage of crimps that were completed at the full pressure rate.
Forward-Looking
Milwaukee’s product managers kept emphasizing that this – and other aspects of One-Key – are “just the beginning.”
What I could imagine is a saw that tells you how long it takes to make a cut, or how much current is being drawn, or it might cut to the chase (pun not intended) and tell you when your blade is getting inefficiently dull and in need of replacing.
Maybe one day your One-Key band saw will email you to tell you that it’s time to replace the blade. Or that you are cutting with too much or too little pressure.
Or maybe a tool will email a supervisor to share a tool’s performance profile with your boss.
Milwaukee One-Key Inventory
Fire up your One-Key app, and it’ll recognize all of the One-Key tools in range. This gives rise to easier inventory management of a truck, or small tool crib.
There will also be added inventory management where you can manually add in additional brands’ tools.
Milwaukee has said that they will first focus on the needs of individual users and small teams of users, and will scale up with functionality aimed at larger organizations later on. Some of the demonstrated capabilities included the option to check tools’ last reported locations, to flag tools with special notes, or to mark tools as in need of repair.
Pricing
I was told that the One-Key M18 Fuel drill and impact combo set will cost $50 more than the same non-One-Key Fuel kit. So maybe it will be ~$20-25 more per tool.
First Thoughts
I am downright excited about the tool control aspect, I truly am, and I believe that some users will see the immediate benefits of being able to tweak and set each mode to their desired speed and torque limits. As mentioned, the drills have electronic clutches, which means you can set them to be coarse or finely-tuned, depending on your needs.
Will everyone benefit from One-Key’s tool control? Forgive my language, but hell no! And I expect to see a fair share of comments reflecting this.
I think there will be some very enthusiastic early adopters, some users that catch on after learning more about One-Key and hearing or seeing what it can do, and some users that should spend their money elsewhere.
Keep in mind that One-Key will cost a premium on top of Milwaukee’s most premium Fuel brushless tools.
Despite how impressed I was with the One-Key functionality, I cannot ignore that it’s not going to be benefit all users equally. I’m sure Milwaukee’s not ignoring this fact either.
To be frank, I heard “this is just the beginning” a whole lot, mainly about the tool reporting feature, but about everything. It’s hard to get excited about tool reporting when I don’t even have a good grasp of what a 6-ton crimper is used for. I think that the tool reporting aspect holds great potential, but until it’s relevant to my needs and usage tendencies, it’s just that – potential.
The tool inventory aspect is neat, and is something I might use, and not just for Milwaukee tools. What I would like to see is an import and export feature where it can work with 3rd party spreadsheet software. That should make backups easier, or when a rolling offline record is desired.
Overall, I am very optimistic about what One-Key will mean for users.
What do you think – do any of Milwaukee’s One-Key features or functions appeal to you? What would be on your One-Key wishlist?
What’s at the top of my Milwaukee One-Key tool wishlist? While not as exciting sounding as what can be customized with the One-Key drills and impact tools, I’d really like to see some Milwaukee One-Key LED worklights where you can control the brightness settings for different outputs. Oh, and M12 Fuel One-Key tools too, please!
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Doresoom
So how accurate are we talking on torque limiting for impact tools? Is this eventually going to do away with the need for torque wrenches on automotive fasteners?
I can see the technology being useful for a repetitive task, but for general one-off projects I’m not sure I’d be interested in mucking around with adjusting my cell phone for a tiny boost in performance.
I’m not too surprised the technology seems to be targeted at pro users who are more likely to have specialized applications. They are definitely a bigger customer base for Milwaukee than the average DIY enthusiast.
Stuart
I don’t think so, but with a little bit of trial and error, you might be able to get a lug nut within a certain percentage of spec, to limit how much final manual tightening is needed.
You’re also right about the benefits are going to better for repetitive tasks than a string of distinct individual tasks.
But even if there’s one repetitive task, and a bunch of different other tasks, you could just tailor one of the modes for that frequent repeated operation.
Milwaukee and other pro brands generally don’t market to consumers and DIYers, except for those consumer-special models and kits that pop up around the holidays.
Doresoom
Somehow I missed the fact that the four physical buttons on the tool are programmable. Maybe I was just too excited to read the whole post. That makes a huge difference in ease of use for this type of functionality!
Stuart
Even after I bolded that part?! Don’t worry, happens all the time, and this is a long and rather exciting post.
John L
I can think of limited use for this from an individual consumer standpoint. One thing I would use this for is the compact impact wrench. I could conceivably start the lugs by hand to avoid cross threading and then use a profile that tightens them to the manufacturer specified torque. With additional profiles I can set the torque for other vehicles. The drill will be nice with anti kickback (will this work like bosch’s anti kickback?) As the 1200 in lbs could get unruly. Good timing as I was about to buy both of these tools upon release. Since tool control isnt available until January, do I get any kind of (non one key)mode selection in the meantime?
Stuart
These aren’t marketed towards individual consumers, they’re going to be marketed towards tradesmen and other professional users.
Bosch’s anti-kickback works with accelerometer. It senses the tool counter-rotating and cuts power to the motor.
The One-Key drills’ anti-kickback is current based, and as such it’s customizable. What you’re basically doing is setting the max current draw for an application. Drilling with a 2-1/2″ self-drill bit, for example, should draw X.Y amps, max.
Maybe it’s determined that X.Y + 10% amps is a reasonable max current draw ceiling. If or when motor current draw exceeds that amount, it’s due to the motor jamming up and kicking back.
Instead of letting the motor current draw spike, power is cut to the motor, limiting the tool’s ability to kick back and counter-rotate.
Because motor torque deliver parallels power draw, the anti-kickback control is, in more simplistic sense, a torque limiter.
The new One-Key M18 Fuel drills and impact tools won’t be available until January 2016, so they Tool Control functionality should be available once the tools launch. I believe there will be default preset speed and torque settings for the impact driver and wrenches, and the drills will still have default speed ranges and clutch settings.
At launch, the 4 selectable modes of the drills might be non-functional. Or maybe there will be default settings, but that’s not something anyone has discussed. Great question, and I’ll do my best to find out.
Drew M
Are you sure it is current draw based and not some sort of intelligent algorithm that recognizes when the motor rpm/requested rpm difference suddenly increases.
FWIW, I know some Kontronik brushless motor speed controls know the exact rpm of the motor something like 5 times per revolution of the motor enabling very tight and careful control of the motor.
herp derpson
Accelerometers output acceleration values other than 1 or 0 so they could certainly be used as part of an adjustable mechanism too.
Jason
Is this why Milwaukee couldn’t get into detail about why they didn’t need the huge auxiliary handle like Makita a the event? The are using similar tech to keep things safe with the Gen 2 Fuel drills?
Stuart
No. I got the feeling that the product manager believes – but he wouldn’t outright say it – that Makita’s aux handle on their high torque drill is extended for “look how powerful this drill is that it needs such a huge aux handle” perception purposes.
Also, the One-Key drills have an electronic clutch and digital torque control capabilities. The regular 2nd generation M18 Fuel drill has a traditional mechanical clutch.
Dennis
What about M12 one-key? Will they have those tools? And if so, I guess now that I’ve invested so heavily in that platform, I’d have to start over again right… of course that’s only if the features are worth the investment for me. It just seems like they just came out with the new M12 fuel stuff, especially the circular saw, and now they’re saying thanks for buying these top of the line expensive tools thinking that you’re getting the best of the best, but guess what? , we knew this was coming and now you have to suck it up, and accept that your just released tools suck compared to these very soon to be released tools, THAT WE KNEW ABOUT ALL ALONG. I feel that they’re taking advantage of my addiction to buying the newest, “bestest”, tool on the market! BUT THEN AGAIN IT REALLY IS MY ISSUES THAT HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH. IT’S NOT THERE FAULT I’M SUCH A TOOL JUNKIE! LOL! But, I really love that my team really keeps blowing the rest AWAY. I mean really, Dewalt has blue tooth batteries. WOW! That was underwelming to begin with, but this makes them laughable 🙂
Kent hanson
The local contractor tool store we use just had a major FUEL event, giving away free batteries with almost every tool, free bare tools with the purchase of hole saw kits or things like that. The company I work for just spent shy of $15000 on Milwaukee tools and accessories so this technology won’t be used by use for probably another 5-7 years.
tim
The tool inventory sounds awesome to me. I’ll have to look further into that when there is a more detailed preview.
My personal tools always seem to turn into shop tools and I hate that. Keeping them locked up only goes so far and if they have an app that can lock everyone out of my stuff when in not around I’m sold and will only buy one key tools from this point out.
MKEToolGuy
Its more for keeping track of where a tool is. I don’t believe it will be able to lock out the tools. Maybe a future feature? I don’t know.
Emilio
Will the incorporate a low power Bluetooth chip in to their hand tools? The inventory management looks really useful and it would be amazing if I could walk on to one of mt jobsites and see every tool there from my phone.
Stuart
That’s doubtful, simply looking at it from a cost and maintenance point of view.
I would sooner expect to see an RFID-based system, where each tool had an RFID sensor or discrete tag – which wouldn’t require power – and a One-Key RFID-reader basestation that does the scanning for tools.
Such a hybrid RFID and Bluetooth combination would result in lower cost, while delivering the exact functionality you’re asking for. BUT passive RFID tags only have a range of a couple of feet.
MKEToolGuy
Yeah, definitely see RFID being the way they do something like that
Emilio
Yeah they could make a smart tool box that could read the RFID tags. Hope they are working on this.
pete
The one thing I don’t like is that Bluetooth range is only about 30 ft. But the one key is certainly cool, while I don’t have a need for it in a regular drill I would like it in a impact wrench with a digital tourqe meter that I can preset. idk that’s what I would like to see, I know it’s difficult to make with electronics in that size of a package but still I think it would be cool.
Mike Z
Bluetooth range is only 30 ft for most consumer goods because they choose to go with a standard power to keep costs down and battery life up. Things like the Milwaukee Bluetooth M18 jobsite radio use an upgraded BT radio that you can get up to 100 ft range.
Dennis
Oh, by the way Stuart, thank you so much for having such an informative write up ready in advance. Without you, I think most of us would still be scratching our heads trying to figure out when this stuff will be released and exactly what these new features mean. GREAT JOB!
Stuart
You’re very welcome!
I cannot take all the credit. Milwaukee engineers and product managers eagerly answered all of my questions, even the tough ones. Without the added insight, I’d be scratching my head about all this too.
Brian
I guess I’m a dinosaur. I don’t use a smart phone intentionally as I don’t find a use for most of the features. That alone takes me out of the demographics for this product. I bought a Milwaukee drill driver a couple of years ago so I won’t be replacing it anytime soon. I can see the usefulness of some of the features for a company with many employees using company tools but that is about it. Trying to modify the behavior of a tool with another tool before using the first tool just adds unneeded complexity and more time spent than picking up the first tool and just using it. For me I see no point and no advantage. Clearly I am not in their demographic. Maybe I should find a brand that whose demographic I fit.
Doresoom
I had similar thoughts at first, but it looks like you can program the tool once, and not have to mess with anything else ever again. There are four physical buttons on the tool that can be programmed for different operational profiles.
It’s unclear if Milwaukee allows for interfacing with a Bluetooth capable laptop if a user doesn’t have a cell phone, but that seems like a viable alternative.
Mahalo
I don’t think that you really need to take the whole demographic issue to heart. What’s wrong with a company innovating and providing optional upgrades to some of its high-end users? Ford makes a car (GT) that costs nearly $400,000. But that doesn’t mean that they are rejecting their customers who like cars like the Fiesta or Focus.
MKEToolGuy
Well, I believe they will be providing a bunch of preset modes for things like deck screws and self tapping screws… Imagine never stripping / breaking a screw again, and being able to switch between 4 tasks at a press of a button, or adjusting and saving those settings for reuse. That is where this will pay off big.
Trthmastr
I agree. It’s more needless distraction. Their designers are just having fun they need to continue innovating new tools, and focus on more devices to hook up to those great batteries. A 12 volt clamp on fan would be great. I’d rather see a 18 volt coffee maker or soup heater. Going into big brother land with computer tracking is the wrong thing. Its already hard enough to keep people off their phones duri g the day. I dont need a computer monitored saw telling me when my blade is dull. But don’t leave the Red Zone.
Milwaukee is the undisputed leader in cordless innovation. Not to mention tool boxes, and great vacuums, lights, and fans. There are more great tools for those batteries than any other tool maker. As long as you are on the Milwaukee platform you will have the largest inventory of labor saving devices out there. I dont think the general public, specifically the contractors are going to spend the extra money for this blue tooth feature. Mainly because under heavy use the 12 and 18 volt power tools only last 2 years.
Brian
I just bought into a few m12 fuel and m18 tools. I will not be replacing anything for many years.
Drew M
Some of this reminds me of NASA’s Mini Power Tool, except not designed for use in space.
herp derpson
Buying stuff based on software that hasn’t shipped is a really bad idea.
Might not ship on time, might not work, might never ship or work. Wait until you can see the feature you need running live.
Stuart
I saw the tools running live, that’s where the screenshots came from, and tested the drill.
Edit: Sorry, my smartphone auto-corrected “screenshots” to “carmakers,” and it took me 2 hours to realize it.
herp derpson
“Launching Jan 2016”
I’m sure they have something like the real thing going and I’m sure they intend to launch Jan2016, but that’s not shipping yet.
Stuart
Didn’t say I disagreed with you. If the tool I’m buying is dependent on app support, I’m waiting until the app is out and verified.
All I’m saying is that I saw the pre-release version working, live. And we switched the settings back and forth for the drill I was testing. It worked, and as an extension, production models should work just as well.
MKEToolGuy
You should have been at the media event earlier this summer… The tech is pretty close to ready…
James C
New jobsite prank, back your buddy’s drill to set it at 10 rpm. Ha! Joking aside, cool stuff.
Jaber
It’s amazing to know this
Mahalo
I can also see one-key eventually being used to log user data and even transmit this to a centralized system. For example, as an employer, you might be able to monitor how, when, and for how long tools are used. This data could be utilized to increase productivity in certain settings, and also monitor/predict when tools might need to be serviced or replaced.
Jay k.
It looks like it will be able to track how efficient/inefficient you are and tell your boss. “Only 10 crimps today, yesterday you did 13!!!”
Garrick
I remember when we thought a computer would help to let us know when the mustard in our fridge needed to be replaced. All we had to do was type into our computer that mustard or whatever was low, and when we went shopping we could print out a list of everything we needed to buy. It would save on sticky notes and pencil lead. Of course, it took longer to do, and used more paper and printer ink. And we still had to make the observation that the mustard was low. Nevertheless, people ran out and spent $5000 on a computer.
MKEToolGuy
$5000 for a computer? I think you over spent…
A high end PC would only run you $750 – 850 now-a-days…
Jeremy
Hmmmmm, rarely am i disappointed with milwaukee but this seems to be a bomb. Lots and lots of r&d we’ll end up paying for for not much bang. Just my opinion but I feel a gifantic flop coming on this one.
Trthmastr
It’s pretty lame. It’s hard enough getting people to focus on the task at hand. There’s also no shortage of paperwork. This kind of thing just complicates the work site. If individuals would act and think like craftsmen no one would need this. Anyway with 80 percent of construction workers speaking Spanish it won’t matter. They’ll still beat the tools to heck and throw used toilet paper all over the porta potty.
Richard G.
As for me, From what I read, I see one really needed feature, is to be able to set a specific torque on an impact wrench. The rest, is just a …. We can live without 🙂
Joey
Great innovation, like many guys on here already invested in M18 and M12 I don’t see myself running out and buying this. But, I do see it as a great upgrade option. Curious what the competition will have to offer.
Greg
For me as a GC I do not see the need for any of this really. I’d rather see smaller chargers or better battery station set ups. But I do get it. If I had 10 trucks and 20 guys keeping inventory would be nice, or a tech on a production line with 100 others being able to set my tools to exact torque specifics for the job I do day in day out would be helpful.
Setting torque is something i could care less about when driving in screws or drilling a hole. I’ve never been in a situation with any of my drills and said “dam! I wish I could Torque this drill down a bit”
I hope this pans out for them in the long run. I love their M12 system and have a lot, but when I need the big guns I’m heavily invested in Dewalt.
Nick H
I don’t know, lots of hype for bluetooth and cell phone app. For me, I can generally gauge toque by feel then use a torque wrench. this will not replace a torque wrench since there isn’t a way of calibration certification (which most pro companies will require). The innovatory control is nice if your constantly loosing track of tools? Again pro’s should already have a since of good tool accountability. The only gimmicky utility I see is the tool reporting, nice to see details you otherwise wouldn’t know. Not something I’d be pouring money into, That’s just me tho.
rhyino
It would be great if they could somehow use the BT technology to integrate with their app to create a “find my tool” function. It might be helpful if a tool is forgotten in a ceiling or crawlspace. At the end of the day the crew could use the app to make sure all tools are stored in the proper location.
This new One Key feature set seems to be geared toward tool management for a crew rather than a one man show.
Chris
Has there been any talk about a “trade-in” program to get the new units? I just purchased an M18 Fuel Drill about 6 months ago and would love the ability to trade it in for a new ONE Drill. (for a fee of course, maybe $50?). I wasn’t sure if they can just replace the internals? Or will need a full swap.
Stuart
Definitely not possible. The One-Key tools are based on the second generation of M18 Fuel fastening tools, and so a drop-in upgrade just won’t be possible.
I haven’t heard of any upgrade program, but will keep my eyes and ears peeled for news.
tajparis
I like it. I’m in the market for an impact wrench for work, and this sounds very promising. Being able to set and switch between different torque and speed profiles would really be a benefit when I need to go back and forth between a bunch of small low torque fasteners and high torque bolts/nuts.
fred
I’m not sure about if the ability to set tool output (RPM, Torque etc.) is what I’d get excited about. Most of the tools we bought from Milwaukee (including PEX and Force Logic tools were used on the jobsite not the shop where repetitive tasks were more common. Nice to have – but maybe not a deal maker or breaker – and probably a cost/benefit calculation will be the deciding factor.
The other aspects or promise of the new system – regarding inventory control and maintenance scheduling is more intriguing for me. I would think for folks with really big tool inventories (maybe utilities?) these features might be even more compelling. When I was working, I tried assiduously to keep a tool inventory for our 3 physical plants, 2 work out locations and fleet of trucks. It was not so much to schedule maintenance – since for non-capital tools (most of what Milwaukee makes) – we just ran tools to failure – and then made a decision about repair/replace. I did want to know what we thought was in inventory and check it from time to time to see what we needed to buy based on what had been junked/lost/stolen. In recent years – with availability of tools and expedited shipping via the Internet – we kept spares only for critical production tools and consumables – not small power tools.
Doug C
Seems like a gimmick to me. I adjust the “torque” on my drill with a little ring behind the chuck. i run the impact driver till the screw is flush or as deep as i want it. with this stuff, if the setting left the screw high i would probably take out my phone and increase the torque. I mean how accurate is this thing? it is going to know exactly when the screw will shear? for mechanical work, if I want and accurate torque on a bolt i use a torque wrench. How many of you would really feel comfortable torquing head bolts with this thing?
About the only thing i could want that ties my phone and a tool together is a way to get the tool to start ringing when i cant find it and call it on the phone. monitoring tool usage by staff? either the guy is getting the job done or he isn’t, i don’t care how much he is using the drill. how long it takes to cut thru a board? or if the blade is dull? jeez, any carpenter worth his salt can tell when the blade is dull cant he?
What do you all build that requires such innovation, precision, accuracy and cost ? i build houses , not pianos.
Doug C
PS its hot as hell here in GA and it makes me grouchy 🙂 sorry for the rant.
Kent hanson
I build 10 to 20 thousand square feet pre-eng steel buildings and can’t figure out where I would use this functionality over what we are already doing. That being said if I could see it in action and it made sense then maybe I could be swayed.
Anchor bolts torqued with a torq wrench. A lot of guys use the current m18 that have the three settings and everyone uses them wide open and uses the trigger to adjust torque or speed.
BenB
Nice features. Something differentiating. But not as ground breaking as hyped. Battery related improvements would have been interesting, similar to new Metabo batteries, Makita charger, Dewalt version of app connected battery, I would love to see how my batteries are doing.
glenn
While certainly interesting from a technological standpoint, and some will have a use for it, this is not something that I need or will be buying into.
I am very happy with the the M12 and M18 tools that I already have. They are all more than adequate for my work and hobby needs and I wont be replacing them any time soon.
Frankly a lot of hype for tech that I believe will have a limited take up after the initial release and excitement wanes.
Far more useful to all of us would be DC only chargers for example.
mnoswad
All of my tools already have one touch tool control via my finger on the trigger.
Only interest would be theft tool lock out. But that doesn’t help me unless the tool has gps tracker.
But still not interested on any of this.,
The reaction will be a trend towards simplicity and basics.
PlumberPhil
That’s right the tools should be equipped with some kind of find my tool tracking system because when they grow legs and walk away I want to know where there going or where I left it please take this serious and try to make it happen Milwaukee Tool
Jay k.
Love milwaukee… i simply dont need this…
Jay k.
Where’s the m12 angle grinder, fan, nail gun, shears, and inflater… that’s what i want!
glenn
Agreed, R&D would have been better spent on expanding the tool lines rather than tech which will potentially fail at the sales counter,
Jay k.
Yep!
Mike
This is a useless gimmick that nobody will ever use I have never changed the speed switch on my impact driver ever if you can’t control the speed with your finger you better find a different occupation ,Milwaukee is pissing a lot of user’s they keep coming out with new tools every 2 years they have a such a hardarn for dewalt your never gonna beat them in the states your a Chinese owned company and dewalt is American and starting to build in U.S.
Mike
Just because you won’t use these features doesn’t make them a gimmick. The ability to limit a tool’s power, track a tools use is a HUGE advantage when it comes to having employees. I want it on all our M12 drills now! Guys always strip screws with them. Those drill will NEVER need all the power they have. Being able to track how many crimps a tools does is awesome. Then I can ask why they went thru 1000 connectors, but only did 200 crimps.
The DeWalt system is silly. I don’t care about the battery. This is a whole different level for commercial applications. At home, I’d never use it.
It’s sort of their job to keep coming out with new tools. That is like saying people are mad at Chevy cause they released a 2016 model of their truck, just a year after the 2015’s came out.
I’m seeing less and less DeWalt every day. Most of the job sites we see I’d say DeWalt is maybe 1/4 of the tools. DeWalt isn’t the big power house it used to be.
tajparis
Yeah, trigger control is fine and dandy…until you slip up one time and shear off a bolt head and cause yourself hours of extra work. I mean, for all us mere imperfect mortals, that is.
Stand in an awkward position, holding up a heavy component with one hand and trying to line up the impact on a bolt head with the other. It’s pretty easy to have an oops moment. I’m intrigued by something like this that can help make my job easier.
Chris B
I see setting torque etc very helpful. I’m always working with my nephews and friends kids. I grew up on a farm and many of my friends didn’t. Being able to push a button that puts the tool in “kid” or “training” mode would be great. Once mastered turn them loose with the full force of the tool. Just a thought.
firefly
It’s a neat concept but none that get me excited about. First the electronic torque control. I already have the clutch and trigger feel for that. Sure it’s not exact science but neither is this.
I don’t mind having an interface to tweak a few profile on a tool. But I want the tool to be able to reset the profile to default right on the tool if needed. The tool must give permission to the software before the profile is set. So there must be a hardware handshake prior to setting the profile. So the tool always in control and not the app. At the end of the days we all want a tool that work and work well. That should be the first priority. The supplement app is just icing on top.
Stuart
You do get an on-tool hardware reset, and communication with the app is NOT required for this. re-syncing is only necessary to get your customizations back.
Nathan
interesting ideas – went a little further than I thought it might but either way.
leads to 2 major concerns – how hackable will this be – and how useful.
the tracking of the tools and the enable/disable I can see very useful on a jobsite.
monitoring how the tool is used – I sort of see equally useable if a owner was willing to use the information and take the time. I mean you could have the potential to do real time MX management of the inventory – but even that takes time. as opposed to alway changing blades every week, or etc etc.
I suspect there’s a element in there for logging a tool to a user perhaps. that might be the most useful.
fred
I guess there are lots of pranksters ad folks with evil intentions out there who might want to hack a tool.
I see that Chrysler is the middle of a recall because some of their vehicles can be controlled remotely by hackers
Tomas
For folks buying tools for around the home (aka me) it’s really not nessisary. I’m a tech guy so you’d think I’d be excited about this, but for me it’s just one more thing likely to break – or not execute well – down the road.
I need my rotary saw to cut thru wood, I need my impact driver to drill screws into said wood, and I need my drill to drill some pilot holes and double as a screwdriver. That’s about it.
KL
So Stu saw this at NPS but couldn’t speak of it…..so can u now tell us the M12 thing of which you could not speak????
Oh and I agree something like expanded DC chargers would benefit the consumer more than this OneKey.
Stuart
I already talked about the M12 tools – a right angle impact driver (https://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m12-right-angle-impact-driver-2467/) and new M-Spector inspection cameras, one with a flexible camera that looks like it came out of an action movie (https://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m-spector-flex-inspection-camera/).
If there was an M12 product that I couldn’t speak of, I wouldn’t have told you that there was an M12 product I couldn’t speak of. But… *wink wink nudge nudge* My notes say that I can spill the last bean tomorrow, and I’m double checking now.
Stuart
The last M12 product that will coming out later on is a new M12 thermal imager with 102x77px resolution. It’s a smaller, simpler, and less expansive model than Milwaukee’s premium thermal imager (https://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m12-thermal-imaging-camera/).
Noah
Wow, Stuart, thanks for the quote. I really didn’t think I’d hit the nail so close on the head.
I was just thinking today how this technology could benefit me. First was while I was drilling/countersinking for wood screws, and second was driving self tapping wafer head screws. While I’m not going to be an early adopter, I will certainly keep an eye on this tech.
Josh
I’d like to see tool security. Like a lock option you can hit when you walk away from a tool for lunch or leave a job site for the day. Making the tool useless if it grew feet
Brian
This is why I thought the hype was useless. Let the equipment and/or tools speak for themselves. What was hyped was One-Key TM a tool that won’t be used by 95% of tool buyers and won’t be used by the other 5% until their current tools wear out. This was largely a waste of time and energy and much ado about not much at all. Maybe in 5 to 10 years it will be worth talking about.
Joey
Brian,
I think you miss the potential with the One Key, I doubt it a waste of time and energy considering that if you already have batteries they will work along side any new One Key tool. I won’t rush out to replace all my tools to One Key but I bet if I invest on a precision expensive tools like the new 6T Utility Hydraulic Crimper that’s more than $3,000 It makes great sense. I’m more of a professional and like mentioned its not for everyone.
CubanB
But can it run Linux?
Mark Wisniewski
It’s the Application! My application is Tighten 30 to 50 no. 8-32 screws to 38-42 in.-lbs. on work holding fixtures that need to hold Delrin parts securely and not dent them. Then place said fixture into CNC machine and machine Delrin into finished components. Too loose and parts could be ripped out of the fixture, destroying something. Also too tight could break the screw. It could also wreck the $3000.00 fixture.
I have the perfect application for this type of tool. For driving screws into a $2.00 2×4 it’s not needed.
For drilling holes in metal (steel, stainless steel) Say 350 SFM is a different RPM for every size drill bit. If you know the ultimate SFM for the material you are drilling. Then you could program the perfect RPM for that material and diameter combination. You could get more holes per drill bit.
Wiz
Steve
Anti-theft tech would have been more useful. How about gps tracking when a tool gets used or something? Or maybe if your tools get stolen an app that you can use to trigger some sort of onboard gps to send out signals as to where it is. Just throwing ideas out there.
Stuart
More features and capabilities are coming. I’m fairly certain that tool lockout is on the roadmap.
Skye
Gps tag!
I would love it if you could track tools, it would be helpful for contractors at the end of jobs to make sure everything is accounted for but also in case of theft.
Anyone who has had tools stolen would probably gladly pay the premium price per tool. And if Milwaukee can tap into that market, the individual buyer vs the enterprise buyer, they might actually get somewhere with this but I’ll be honest I think without a gps tag or something else to appeal to individual buyers (as in people who buy the tools to use them vs to supply their company) I just don’t think this is going to appeal to enough people.
LP73
If Milwaukee is going to go for the tie into smart-tools , make the tool traceable when it is stolen. This is the biggest problem for the professional on job sites.
Milwaukee tools M12 & M18 perform better than all other tools I have used. I have been in the trades for 30 yrs. Hilti,Rigid,and Milwaukee have all been on my job sites
great performance from all ,but as of late service from the manufacturers has seem to have become non existent. Quality of Rigid tools has deteriorated. Hilti is still greatly, but pricey
Craig
I own the two drills with one key and the wireless function is not popping up on the app. (Top right in blue)
Yes Bluetooth is on.
I set the drill to One touch mode and nothing .
I also try putting the drill on one (1) while attempting to save/change the settings on one, on the app with no luck either.
It keeps saying connect the drill with one key lol
So non of the setting on the drill connect to the app.
Repeating My iPhone 6 has the Bluetooth on..
This sucks !!
I wonder
Will computers ever be worth the metals used to construct them..
Adrian Hagop
I think this is the best example of technology for the sake of technology I have ever seen. It gets under my skin that, even in a small way, I’d be paying for the R&D dollars that went into this if I ever bought another Milwaukee tool.
It has put me off the brand for life.
P.S. I work in information technology and love seeing innovative new products and uses for technology. This is just isn’t it and seems like a big fail.
Stuart
The M18 Sawzall can perform better when customized via One-Key.
https://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m18-one-key-fuel-sawzall/
But I can definitely see where you’re coming from.
Tyson Morphew
I would like to know a average torque value for the setting 0 thru 10 on a 1/2 inch drive 18 volt
Stuart
I assume it’s linearly proportional, such that setting 5 = 50% of the max torque value.
Narciso Joslin
I bought milwaukee m18 cordless set at a pawn shop (drill/driver,impact driver,sawzall,rotary hammer,bandsaw,& worklight) . But the drill and impact are one-key and they are locked. I took it back to the place where I purchased it and I was told that it was sold ” as is” . So now I am out a couple of hundred $$. Do you know how or where I can take them to get them unlocked. If I could get a hold of the previous owner, but I wouldn’t know how to start. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Matt
So, I drove 4 hours each way today to meet a guy and bought 2 6T crimpers and 4 heads. Anyway, once we met i tested both tools which worked great. I went to link them to the One Key App after testing and the first linked right up and for whatever reason the 2nd took a bit longer. By the time i got the 2nd to link up the seller had already gotten back on the road and was gone. The first one works perfectly with the App, but the 2nd quit working once I got it linked up and told me it’s in someone else’s inventory. How do I fix this??????
Stuart
Contact the seller and have them remove it from their inventory, or contact Milwaukee to ask their advice?
John
Years later, I must say I’ve grown quite fond of this stuff. As a prosumer and builder, the more fleet tracking, inventory management features don’t see much use, but I’ve recovered both misplaced and stolen tools through the tracking.
Being able to change creature-comfort settings like the tool light duration and power is nice. Setting custom profiles for torque and speed behavior though, is the bees knees. Not just hard single-speed settings, but functionally behavioral curves for the various stages of fastening and loosening a bolt, nut, screw, drilling etc. All within the same profile. Really great stuff, especially for repetitive work. Now the programmable torque limiting and anti-kickback seem to be current and RPM based, so it’s no replacement for a torque wrench, but with a bit of tweaking and checking with a torque wrench, you can get fairly close, at least when not operating a *cold* tool in extremely varied climate with maybe a 30-40°C delta, like going from a heated workshop to arctic winter outside. If requiring that, you should set two profiles, the latter one tweaked with the tool being cold at those cold temperatures.
In case of geotracking, it does require another person with the tools and/or app having been close enough to ping the tool at it’s current location, or a former location distinct enough, to be useful for locating and recovery. Same if wanting to lock-out or set off the “alarm” of the tool after it has ventured beyond your own bluetooth range. But that’s still an enormous step forwards.
Full independent, precision geotracking for private or commercial use, would require a GPS antennae *and* a cell network module; both with coverage, and a SIM card inside the tool (to enable it to receive commands and report out its location). Not realistic at this moment, even at the end of 2020. And that’s far too much juice required, to be able to stay alive for extended time after removing the main tool battery. Running that off a coin cell would probably not give more than a few hours of uptime. Maybe a couple of days at best with a really big one, if that contraption only updates on 30 minute intervals and can power down to an ultra-low-power idle state between updates. Which would make recovering a tool on the move, almost impossible. If requiring juice from the main tool battery to operate, every thief intentionally targeting power tools will know that as soon as you do, and just disconnect the battery. If it runs off a coin cell, they’ll just remove that battery. Having the tool not run without it, or because that stuff is defective, is obviously a no-go for the legal owners and operators of the tool.