Milwaukee has announced a new line of ultra-durable impact-rated screwdrivers bits, Shockwave Matrix Carbide.
Driving up to 2800 more screws than other premium driver bits in testing, Shockwave Matrix Carbide is the new industry benchmark.
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They say that the new bits can drive up to 2800 more screws than competing bits.
What’s New About Them?
Through the disruptive engineering methods and new-to-world innovation in Shockwave Matrix Carbide bits, users no longer have to sacrifice wear resistance to gain impact durability. The combination of proprietary Matrix Carbide Steel and optimized Shockzone technology deliver extreme wear resistance while still being able to absorb the peak torque of an impact driver.
Translation: the new bits are made from a fancy new steel alloy and feature an optimized torsion zone.
Shockwave Matrix Carbide Introduction Schedule
The new Milwaukee Shockwave Matrix Carbide screwdriver bits will be available in a variety of bit lengths and kit configurations, with Phillips, Square, and Torx tip styles. There will be both 2″ power bits, and 1″ insert bits.
April 2019: Phillips #1, 2, 3; 3″ magnetic bit holder
October 2019: Square #1, #2, #3; Torx T20, T25
Shockwave Matrix Carbide Benefits
Milwaukee says that the “extreme wear resistance” will be most valuable in highly repetitive tasks where thousands of screws are driven, and bits tend to cam-out or wear. Applications include steel stud framing, drywalling, decking, and pre-fabrication.
Lifetime Tip Warranty?
Press materials say:
This revolutionary advancement in driver bit technology is backed with a Lifetime Tip Warranty ensuring users that they will continue to be able to drive fasteners long after all other bits have failed.
We don’t yet know what this means, exactly. Does it mean that when you buy a bit you can expect it to last for life? Or does lifetime mean the life of the bits?
Updates to Shockwave
Press materials also discussed changes being made to the existing Shockwave lineup.
The upgraded line was engineered to extend bit life with a Custom Alloy76 Steel for up to 50X more life, and will feature a new Wear Guard Tip to protect the fit over the life of the bit. An optimized Shockzone also absorbs peak torque and prevents breaking.
In other words, other Shockwave bit sizes and styles will be improved upon as well. The next-generation Shockwave screwdriver bits will be launching in Spring 2019.
First Thoughts
Longer-lasting bits? Sure!
We’re waiting on pricing and availability information (not their fault, I asked after business hours), but I think it’s safe to assume that the new Shockwave Matrix Carbide bits will be pricier than the typical Shockwave bits. If they last as long as press materials suggest, the premium will be worth it for heavy users.
How much longer will they last compared to Shockwave bits? Is the longevity to cost premium ratio at least 1:1?
What exactly is it made from? They say “proprietary Matrix Carbide Steel,” but that can describe most tool steels. What’s so special about the new alloy that it can be harder and more wear resistant without being prone to breakage?
Depending on the price, would you buy these new bits?
What questions do you have?
We’ll follow up once we know a little more.
Robin
Google “carbidizer”. It’s probably their normal steel (I’ve seen “alloy 76” used in their marketing before) but with a carbidized tip. The increased life claims are similar to those made by the carbidization companies. There are tool steel alloys known for carbides such as D2, but I’m dubious that is the case here.
Stuart
Carburization? I considered that, but if you look at the screwdriver bits in the images, they appear to have a shiny silver finish. If that’s not a surface treatment, and I wouldn’t think it is, it would suggest substantial differences between Shockwave and Shockwave Matrix Carbide accessories.
Instead of adding wear resistance to impact bits, it’s possible they enhanced the toughness of an alloy previously used for non-impact accessories, such as S2 or a variant.
Robin
Nope, not a typo, I am referring to “carbidization” done with a “carbidizier”. I actually had to fight autocorrect on it. I’ll post a link to a machine from google results if that is ok with you, but the process I’m referring to will deposit a surface layer of tungsten carbide on many metals.
Robin
Stuart, I just rememebered it’s a big thing in custom knives… carbidizing titanium blades, and lock faces in frame locks for wear resistance. I’m highly suspicious this is Milwaukee’s angle on this. That actually makes me feel better, because it is fairly legit from all indications I’ve seen.
Tim
I have my doubts as to how impactful it is even in knives. The only real claim there might be layering a thin layer on top of a soft metal like titanium that would give it a more “toothy” edge.
A thin layer of carbide directly on the surface of a driver bit would be practically worthless. The softer metal underneath would still give way under force.
IMO, if the marketing is accurate, it would have to be a new alloy or new heat treat method or combination of the two.
Stuart
I’ve heard it’s done with knives – at least lockbars; your post led me to dig deeper and I saw that it’s a process for some knife blades as well.
But, it’s a localized treatment, and although Milwaukee’s images don’t show the bits by themselves, I don’t see evidence of a tip-only surface-only treatment. Plus, everything I’ve seen about carbizing relates to flat surfaces or edges. The process is bound to be difficult or even impossible on Phillips and Torx tips.
The “carbide matrix” part of the marketing language, and “carbide matrix steel” strongly suggests that there’s something special about the alloy as a whole, which could suggest carburization to introduce more carbon and this carbide precipitate concentration.
Or… a different process entirely.
salmon
“Carbide Steel” doesn’t really mean anything. Steel itself is a mixture of iron and carbon, which forms a mixture of iron carbides and pure iron phases.
Someone want to float the money to get one of these sent off to a metallurgical lab? Otherwise we don’t know anything by just looking at this press release.
Jim
If anyone is actually interested, you could send them to me – I know some people at a metallurgical lab here in Texas.
It’d be fun to take a look.
Stuart
Correct.
A insightful metallurgical sturdy would require a considerable amount of time and money. A basic analysis is possible, but would lack depth and context.
Paul
Ya but they are the oldest and financialy affordable, but with all the new laws they could spark a problem wit union workers.. sad but true..
Jim Felt
Except for not deforming screw heads as rapidly after normal useage their expected higher price would have to equal that extended use projection.
Otherwise why pay any premium over their or anyone’s previous “best”?
Or am I missing something?
And I’ve gotten very fond of the present Milwaukee Shockwave driver sets.
Addison
I am a Milwaukee fan boy. I like their impact bits and drivers, except the PH 2. It doesn’t fit screws well so I prefer Makita Gold https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CHSVNEU/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_66rpCbD8B62YR
I look forward to buying and trying the new ones, thanks for the information.
Dave
Also a Milwaukee fanboy, but also not a fan of their #2 Phillips. I’ve got a driving kit with all sorts of bits I don’t use often, but for PH2 or T25 I buy Makita or DeWalt bits by the dozen.
Also, 2800 more uses than existing bits makes me think I’m doing something wrong – I don’t count how many times I use an impact bit, but if I did I doubt I’d be getting more than 500-600 uses out of one, meaning these suckers would be roughly 5x as good as anything I’ve tried to date.
RKA
That’s interesting. I have an old shockwave kit and I always thought the PH2 bits were crummy and I assumed the rest of them were similar, so I rarely use it unless I can’t find the other kits. Didn’t know it was just the PH2 that was junk.
Unfortunately after that kit I never bought another Milwaukee kit. I’ll wait for Stuart to test these new bits before I even think about them.
Adam
No, the whole kit could still suck. If it was the first generation of their impact bits, they were not worth a hoot. They had silver accents, verse red on the newer ones, which are significantly better.
RKA
That’s the one!
Steven
Red man too. And as much as I wanted to like the ph2 bits they just could never even compare to rackatiers ph2 bits which by personal opinion is my favorite. Holds stronger on even low grade screws. I dont burn through bits like most guys and probably hold onto bits longer rhan I should….shiuld of seen my circ saw blade i use ?
Jeremiah
Those Ph2 bits are junk. They grenade far faster than anything else on the market. Addison nailed it with the Makitas.
Almost all my power tools are Milwaukee and a lot of the other stuff but their bits are shit. Hopefully the new ones are superior.
Adam
Haha, I’m makita all the way, I’m talking 36 batteries and probably 50-60 tools, but I really like the Milwaukee bits… even the Phillips which has never given me trouble other than the few I’ve snapped when driving self tapping screws into thick steel. Their cases with the 1/4″ threaded insert are perfect as well. I don’t recall ever using a makita bit, but I’ll pick up a set next time I see one.
Derek
“Carburization” was that auto correct?
Stuart
No. Carburization is the process of heat-treating steel in the presence of carbon.
“Carbidizing” is a different and less well-defined process by which a thin layer of tungsten carbide is deposited over a less hard material to add wear resistance to a specific location. From what I’ve seen, this is more of a treatment for things like knife lockbars by a custom or small-batch knifemaker, rather than an industrial process.
Whether carburizing or carbidizing, the bits look to be the same material throughout, and so any tip-only treatment is unlikely.
The “matrix carbide steel” part in press materials suggests that there’s a greater number of carbide precipitates in a matrix, which would suggest carburization. But, it could also just be clever marketing language.
Carbide precipitates can strengthen steel, but only when small; larger carbide precipitates will lower hardness.
But none of this sheds any light on anything; it’s impossible to guess what Milwaukee has done to make these bits longer-lasting. All we can do is reasonably guess what they did not do, and I’d say that includes tip-only carburization or carbidization.
Derek
This is why I love this site! I am always learning interesting things I would never get anywhere else.
Albert
While I like Milwaukee in general, I wish i never bought their black screwdriver and drill bit set. The square drive bit seems oversized and easily slips out of deck screws. I went back to my cheap non-impact rated EasyPower bits and they are night and day better.
Julian Tracy
I’ll say this about the current crop of Milwaukee but sets, (at least those available at Home Depot) – the assortments and the case construction and layouts put Makita and Dewalt to shame. Excellent space utilization, tilting bit rows that aren’t impossible to get bits out of and an actual useful assortments of bit types and sizes.
Here’s what’s funny, and really stupid at the same time though: the bit cases have a
1/4” -20 tripod-type threaded hole on them, but get this – their M12 work light with the uber awkward spring clamp doesn’t have a tripod mounting threaded hole on it.
Robin
I just recently bought into the Milwaukee bit sets for that reason. The quality of the finish on their shockwave bits has increased dramatically too, since I last used them.
TonyT
And it looks like with a little work you could customize the cases since they have rows of mounting holes for the bit holders
Travis
The threaded hole on the Milwaukee bit cases was/is for a magnet which is now discontinued. You can get any magnet with a hole in it to mount though.
Brian M
Felo has a lifetime warranty on their bits, you can warranty through KCTool. In Felo’s warranty it covers breakage but not wear, so mushrooming is not covered, chipping is covered.
Corey
I quit using shockwave forever ago because every bit seemed to snap before I could get a full days use out of them. DeWalts flextorq was about the same, and maxfit tended to last longer but would inevitably cam out badly and without warning. I’ve had a nice little Makita gold index for a couple years, but it stays with the home tools so I’ve never really put a hurt on them (purchased for the case that has a snap lid compartment that fits 1/4″ and smaller drill bits), but I’ve had a set of Makita impact x for coming up on a year now at work and they’re pretty great. Bought it for the case again, it’s got a tube for 6″ bits and extensions, but it’s also supposed to be made of machined d2 steel as I recall. I’ll probably try these when they’re available, if the price isn’t too crazy. I’m adverse to Milwaukee’s usual sensational marketing, but bit sets are the definition of disposable tool cost so why wouldn’t anyone play the field?
FlyFisher
Oh yeah! Me-o-my, the “optimized torsion zone”.
Milwaukee’s last touted, over-priced bit-set turned out to be the WORST bits ever. Fool me once, shame on you. Not happening again.
The What?
I wonder if Milwaukee actually counted the amount screws each of the individual competitor’s bits fastened. There’s a lot of different brands besides dewalt, makita, and Bosch that make philips, square, and torx bits. Not to mention fastener manufacturers that include bits in their boxes of screws. What materials did they do the testing on and what size screws did they use? There’s several competitors, so which competitor did Milwaukee surpass by 2800? How many batteries did it take to drive those 2800 additional screws. Just about all bits are made of sintered metal, so is Milwaukee claiming that these made are from an actual machined steel alloy, or did they just add a very small amount of powdered carbide to the mix and claim that they’re made from an alloy and decided that “2800 more screws” is a good number to make up for advertising purposes? Which type of bits drove 2800 more screws than the competitors? Did each of the 3 different types of bits drive 2800 more screws per bit? Or is it 933 more screws per bit to get to 2800?
Stuart
1) Stop changing your name. Pick one and stick with it.
2) Those are good questions, but answers that most brands won’t answer, at least not in a shareable way. They don’t “make up” numbers; most big brands’ legal teams must approve marketing messages such as “can drive up to 2800 more screws than other premium bits.”
3) Why would you think the bits are sintered? Some bits are machined or have machined tips, but I believe most are forged.
Altan
The cheap screwdriver bits are mostly forged and expensive one are mostly (fully or partially) machined/ground/milled, I have seen forged screwdrivers to be a little bit bent in some cases, I personally don’t like forged tool accessories.
I would try one of these new Milwaukee carbide impact bits first then I would comment. I think they would not worn out but they can break.
Nathan
well I have a few issues with all of them – but recently for philips #2’s I’ve been using Dewalt flextorq bits – they have that yellow collar and the mag holder thingy. Works the best i’ve used so far. but even at that I do throw one away nearly every project or 2. and I wish there was a #1 philips that was similar. The torx 25 of the same style – I have 5 of them and still using the first one. it’s been fantastic but that’s mostly the torx head.
Anyway. I will say usually it’s milwaukee’s marketing phrasing that turns me off on their products and this is another example. Also based on some of the description it almost sounds like using an impact driver is killing the bits. Anyway on the hole number of screws thing I’d almost want to see a side by side test done with a driving rig. If they are 2 times the cost I doubt I’d buy any. 10% more – I might try them. But so far I’ve been very happy with the dewalt ones.
what I want to see but I know they won’t make them. at set of hex bits as I find I use them quite a bit. SAE and Metric. I know they aren’t popular in construction and even wood work. But something like the shockwaves or flextorq’s etc etc in hex sizes.
John S
That first picture looks like a weird bit or bit setup. Is that a bit holder connected to a 1 inch bit at the end because it looks like a socket adapter from the impact driver to a female bit holder on both ends and then a 1 inch bit.
Joe framer
Dewalt max fit bits are good for general use…but Wiha makes the best bits, I think, especially like the slimline.. these Milwaukee new bits is just another way to get you to buy there bits…
Timothy Lewis
If these bits are no better than their current bit line, don’t waste your money. The current bit, once the tip starts to wear you have to change bit. I recently bought impact torsion bits from the William Hahn company(wiha). They take a licking and keep on ticking. Tried Dewalt flex volt bits,they stuck too. Don’t buy Boesch bits, they really suck. So do their drill bits.
Dave
Interesting you say that about the Bosch drill bits – I can’t say I’ve used any standard bits (Milwaukee titanium work well for me), but I’ve been so impressed with their Daredevil spade bits I recently picked up a bigger set and gifted my old ones to an apprentice – they’re still going strong with no sharpening after 3+ years…
Lance
I’ve been very happy with German bits by Wiha. I use their longer Terminator bits and they work great. They fit perfectly which makes a huge difference in how long they last, simply because they cam out and spin in the fastener way less often.
I like Milwaukee tools (have lots of M12) but absolutely DESPISE their marketing, and I feel the marketing wank is extra thick here. Seems like they’re assuming their customers are too stupid to know what these words actually mean. Unless of course they’ve patented something, but if that’s the case why wouldn’t they just say that?
Don’t underestimate the attraction of a nice bit storage case, something Milwaukee seems to do rather well. Unfortunately, a nice case does not a quality bit make.
Brian M
Most, if not all, Wiha bits are made in Vietnam. Felo and (I think) Witte are the only German made bits.
chuck c.
I wonder If It’s akin to their utility knife blade metal putting carbide bits into the steel to attempt to have best of both… give for impact and hardness for wear.
chuck c.
My Milwaukee Bit Cases have …(gasp) have other Co. Bits in them Like Dewalt’s drill taps.. love them, construction screw counter sinks ect. Even made one up to hold impact sockets. Cases matter too. just wish they would sell the components like the 2 socket holder sold in some kits…great to set up a small impact set. Luckily I get them cheep at my local swap meet (no bits usually)
Robert
So the Milwaukee “impact” bits that they have had for a while all have a thin round trunk proceeding up to the bit head. This is for the torsion that happens from impacting and twisting screws into wood. However, I have thrown them all away because, while the head and shaft wouldn’t break, they would bend very quickly. Everyone knows a bent screw is nigh impossible to screw in, well, these “impact rated” bits from Milwaukee also make it impossible to screw in a screw because they’re bent.
It would be like if you got a flat tire so you just make a tire out of concrete. Solve one problem to create another. Maybe these bits will have a stronger trunk.
Chuckc
https://youtu.be/87PhPc6DRH4
Lots of charts in the video with details on the carbon matrix and test results.
Larry K
I stopped watching VSG Construction videos on YouTube. They are more like carnival barker vids than any real scientific analysis. Anything Milwaukee comes out with he raves about without much genuine objectivity. Of course, for all this showmanship Vince gets tons of free tools from the big red M.
I have 5 different Milwaukee bit kits and the fitment of their Phillips bits suck. I gotta wonder what screws their engineers used to design the bits
Makita impact gold are fantastic & the magnetic tips cannot be beat. Wiha and Witte are my next tank over Milwaukee any day. I think most tradesman have been conditioned to believe that long lasting bits are just not out there. They Are. Bosch bits have also improved a lot. They also have their new “make your own” bit kit option where you can buy the blank bit box and pick and choose what bits you want to put into it. In all my bit kits there are many I never or very rarely use. Metabo is also a good competitive bit
Richard Pereira
Anyone interested in a really good fitting and tough bit should give the Metabo bits a go. They feel heavier than regular bits and man are they tough!