We recently posted about the new Makita XGT cordless power tool system, and have also learned that it will launch in the USA alongside Makita’s 18V LXT cordless system in late 2020.
Makita USA hasn’t said anything about cross-platform compatibility (or incompatibility) between the new 40V Max XGT tools, batteries, and chargers, and their 18V system.
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However, Makita Australia provided a graphic that shows there will be a charging adapter, ADP10, which will allow for Makita 18V LXT batteries to be charged on the new XGT 40V Max charger.
The introduction of a charging adaptor has enabled consumers to charge both LXT and XGT batteries when using the XGT charger.
The Makita Australia press release uses similar language regarding how the XGT system will launch alongside the current 18V LXT system:
We are excited to announcement the launch of our new XGT 40V battery system that will coexist with LXT and continue towards our vision of a battery solution for all applications!
The keyword here is coexist.
Makita Australia includes much greater context behind the new XGT platform, with more information and details than Makita USA’s short press release. They describe how XGT is a genuine solution for high demand Industrial applications, and that it is future proof thanks to the charging adapter.
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Makita will continue to develop and release new LXT tools for professional trade applications and the introduction of 40V Max will provide consumers with a genuine solution for high demand Industrial applications.
Makita again emphasizes that the XGT cordless power tools will not replace or stifle their current 18V system. It’ll be interesting to see if the situation changes in the next 5 years, but I don’t think it will. Makita makes some fine 18V-class cordless power tools, including their sub-compact line.
We might eventually see compact or sub-compact 40V Max cordless power tools, given the physical similarities between 18V LXT and 40V Max XGT Li-ion batteries, but there’s not much to start making predictions on.
Makita Australia says that the XGT cordless power tool system will feature Smart Technology.
The XGT range of tools and batteries come with a built-in program, providing digital communication between the battery and tool. Allowing not only for the battery to talk with tool but also the tool to talk to the battery. This Provides Makita XGT a foundation to adapt to even higher technology advances in the future.
The incorporation of tool design, higher output batteries and built in communication program makes XGT the best high demand system on the market, reinforcing the leadership role Makita has when it comes to innovation and technology. Makita XGT is a genuine LONG-TERM SOLUTION!
I don’t quit see what Makita has done to make “XGT the best high demand system on the market.” Are they planning for a tool customization or “communication system” similar to what Milwaukee (One-Key), Dewalt (Tool Connect), and Bosch (Bluetooth-Connected) have all already developed?
Makita Australia also compares their new XGT 40V Max brushless drill and impact wrench to leading 18V LXT models, nothing that the XGT versions are more compact. Spec-wise, the drill and impact wrench are also quite a bit more powerful.
The bases of the new 40V Max cordless drills and impacts look a little bulkier than 18V equivalents. Perhaps this is where the new communication technologies will be housed.
Makita mentions other advantages of their new XGT 40V Max cordless power tools over 18V LXT equivalents. The new Makita XGT reciprocating saw, for instance, is said to be 70% faster than their 18V X2 reciprocating saw. Compared to their 18V brushless angle grinder, the new 40V Max XGT grinders are said to be 40% faster.
It’s worth noting that there appears to be two different XGT cordless circular saws. Makita Japan’s teaser video and Makita Australia’s press release show two very different models.
Makita Australia indicates that there will be two XGT cordless power tool combo kits, at least when the system launches – a 6pc combo kit and a 2pc drill and impact driver combo kit, with both including the 40V Max to 18V LXT charger adapter.
To support their claims of continued 18V LXT investment and a “tremendous roadmap” of new LXT products, Makita Australia showed off some new additions, including a hybrid-powered LED wobble light, rivet guns, and a battery-charging Bluetooth jobsite radio.
Will the new charging adapter really help users who have already bought into Makita’s 18V LXT system? If you’re a Makita 18V cordless power tool user, you already have an 18V charger. If you buy into the XGT 40V Max cordless system, you’ll need the 40V Max charger and the adapter.
It’s good to have options but will using the adapter for charging 18V batteries really be easier than simply using the 18V charger Makita users already have?
Side note – Makita says that the XGT charging system will charge batteries in as little as 28 minutes.
Now for a confusing part:
Makita Australia says: One System. Endless Possibilities.
One system? But everything Makita has been saying is about how XGT 40V Max and LXT 18V will be two separate systems. Having a one-way charging adapter doesn’t make them one system.
And what about Makita 18V X2? They don’t address this at all, except for the comparative mention of how the new XGT reciprocating saw is faster.
If I had to guess, I would think that we might eventually see an 18V 2-port battery adapter that allows 18V batteries to power 40V Max XGT cordless power tools. However, with the 40V Max system being built from the ground up, the technology might not allow for that. Makita talks about how the XGT batteries will talk with XGT tools, and also how the XGT tools will talk to XGT batteries. And also – “This Provides Makita XGT a foundation to adapt to even higher technology advances in the future.” That might not allow for such an 18V 2-port to XGT adapter.
With talk about “Smart Technology,” Makita isn’t showing all their cards just yet.
Here’s a closeup product image that shows the base of an XGT cordless drill and XGT battery. I wonder what that thumbwheel switch is for…
We still have a lot of questions, but hopefully we’ll learn more about the new Makita XGT cordless tool system well before their “late 2020” USA launch.
Read More: Continued Makita XGT Cordless Power Tool News
Updates
On social media, someone asked Makita when there will be 18V LXT batteries with higher capacities and next-gen Li-ion cells (21700).
Makita USA replied:
A higher amp-hour 18V battery will not get to the next level of cordless solutions for higher demand applications.
Does this mean Makita won’t come out with 18V compact 4.0Ah or 8.0Ah LXT battery packs?
Rami
Makita stated on their usa facebook page that it is a standalone system. Somebody also asked on the comments whether it is backwards compatible like flexvolt, and Makita replied that it is a standalone system, so it really does seem like there is no compatibility with the LXT system whatsoever.
Corey Moore
The inclusion of an adapter to charge your old 18v batteries says to me that they’re focus is going to be on getting people into 40v. Maybe Makita is doing so well that they can just launch a new platform to see how it does and plan to hedge their bets on either 40v success or 18v won ground, but it doesn’t seem to make much sense to be marketing a newer platform as being the eventual answer for all applications while still flagshiping 18v in the same capacity. My money says that if 40v is successful, they’re just lying about the future plans for 18v to avoid angry customers dumping, or to maintain sales in 18v until they decide what’s going to be the future of Makita.
Nathan
XGT – Extra Gross Torque?
meh – it makes alot of sense coming into the game at the end.
I mean they can’t do a flexvolt/multi-volt system without paying some royalties to some people. and they know X2 battery pack is only going to go so far. And it’s more efficient to raise the voltage than rely only on higher draw demand.
So being the 4th runner in the higher use cordless power tools this makes alot of sense. It seems reasonably well thought out.
ChrisP
Interesting that the new drill is so much shorter than the 481 (XPH07). Will Makita bring out a long overdue update to the XPH07 based on this drill? Maybe a LXT version will not make 150 Nm but it would still bring them up to date with the competition in the 18V premium class. The XPH07 is a quality drill but has been superseded by MW gen 2 & 3, 996 and the latest from Metabo HPT . Makita have been rolling out impact drivers faster than anyone else but neglected updating their premium 18V drill for way too long.
glenn
The two grinders are only different in that one is a paddle switch and the other is a slide switch. Makita have offered this option with some of their grinders for a while now.
MarylandUSA
So has Milwaukee.
svtrader
Holy shit! Makita’s not F’ing around.
RWS34
So, somebody tell me how 10 lithium-ion cells (doesn’t matter if its 18650 or 21700) is somehow more advantageous/capable if the battery pack is wired to deliver 40 volts (and its really only 36 volts because li-ions are 3.6 volt cells nominally, the 40V rating is just marketing hyperbolie) compared to the exact same 10 li-ion cells wired to provide 18 volts. I don’t care how you want to juggle it, its 10 lithium-ion cells one way of the other. Its a fixed pool of power, weather its 2 groups of 5 joined in parallel, or 1 group of 10 wired in series.
KenZ
Nah, it’s a bit better. Electrical losses to with the square of the current, s o even if the VxA=W are the same, with a higher V you have lower A and a more efficient system. And/or are able to use smaller conduct wire which saves money and weight.
andy
Electrical loss is also linear to conductor length. Nearly insignificant inside of a handheld tool.
alex
Insignificant?? How many turns of winding do you think there is in an electrical motor? The winding resistance is not insignificant on high load tools.
andy
Yes. The 40V motor has twice the windings at half the size as a 20V motor wound for equal rpm, giving it 4 times the resistance. But the 20V motor has to draw twice the current to provide the same torque, which is the same 4x resistance penalty. So resistance within windings is equal.
alex
So if the wire is half the size it was, you now have more space to use a smaller gauge wire. And again since you have less wire, it’s much cheaper to do so. Which result in less winding resistance and higher efficiency.
andy
Half the cross sectional area but twice as long, so basically equal.
Joseph Meaux
I am a concrete finisher of 21 yrs I have been using Makita since I started. I have a charger nd drill that’s went out on me. I was wondering if I could get them replaced
Stuart
Possibly, it might depend on when you bought them. Couldn’t hurt for you to contact Makita or a service center and ask.
Jorn
P=IV.
Current/amp draw is probably a limiting factor in a lot of these 18v tools.
By using a higher voltage system the amp requirements drop which means the systems could be capable of more performance as a result.
Stuart
Let’s look at what we know so far. With the new XGT cordless power tool system and 40V Max Li-ion battery packs, Makita’s next-gen tools have higher power ratings than their leading 18V LXT tools. If they could have done that with their LXT system, wouldn’t they have?
Heat is the enemy. Higher current draw means hotter-running batteries and the need for beefier internal components such as power circuits and wiring.
Milwaukee, with their M18 High Output batteries and higher powered tools, has come out with engineering solutions to allow for higher current flow. Dewalt came out with their FlexVolt 60V Max system.
Makita’s 40V Max system is a different approach, with 18V physically-sized batteries.
My feeling is that XGT isn’t just about voltage but about being able to do things that they cannot easily integrate into existing 18V tools or batteries without compromise. It’s a blank slate without having to make compromises or sacrifices for the sake of compatibility.
Adam
With the extra length of the the 21700 cells, and without some kind of adapter, would you be able to fit two 21700 based batteries in an X2 tool?
Lance
Newer x2 tools have the battery slots farther apart to accommodate the wider 21700 based battery packs.
andy
My guess is Makita has some design limitations with their existing 18V line preventing them from doing larger cells or a 15 cell pack. These new 40V max tools will be designed without those limitations. They also might make the contacts big enough to handle huge amperage, and have the possibility for a 20 cell pack in the future, which could outperform DeWalt and Milwaukee who max at 15 cells.
KajunFramer
Planned Obsolescence. I’m a fan of Makita, but they, along with other manufacturers, do it.
CountyCork
no way would they drop 18v entirely, that’s still their bread and butter for a long time.
Nathan
Note the extra wide connectors for the XGT and the terminal placement – I don’t suspect it’s compatible with the other battery terminal placement. Note their nifty adapter for the charger.
Now on that efficiency bit. Brushless motors especially but all motor draw volts and current. Magnetic flux is as more a function of volts or potential. Thus for the same size winding – same size magnets but more volts pushed though you can get more resultant torque, at lower RPM, while drawing less current – thus reducing heat in the system – which also eats at efficiency. When it comes to making useable torque volts wins.
Now without tearing apart an Milwaukee high demand tool I am assuming here that internal to their brushless motor controller – all brushless motors have to have a controller system – they are pulling much more current out of the battery – and internally converting that into higher volts fed to the motor itself. While not a bad option it also leaves them with “similar battery” commonality.
SBD and Hitachi/metabo/hpt? went down the road of a multivolt battery that can either be series or parallel and they chose 2 different max voltages so as to not step on each other. Personally I like the idea of more potential over all – but honestly most tools won’t need it.
Altan
New Planer looks a bit compact, DeWALT should make one like this, DCP580 is quite big.
TPI
If anyone wants to understand how Milwaukee 18 volt brushless tools do so well on the 18 volt platform (as compared to the higher volt competitors like Dewalt) simply look at the cross sections of Milwaukee’s brushless motors. Significantly larger than say Makita or Dewalts 18 volt line. Couple that with bidirectional electronic feedback, (something Makita is only now introducing in the new 40 line) and you can achieve the necessary torque that allows it to perform close to say Dewalts 60 volt or Makita X2 platform while still only using 18 volts. It’s actually quite an efficient use of power at all the right ratios.
Pick up or look at a Makita 18 volt brushless circular saw at the orange big box store then walk over to Milwaukee’s equivalent 6-1/2” brushless circular saw and you’ll understand what I mean.
Makita’s brushless motors boast high RPM’S giving you initial “feel” of greater power but where the torque curve falls off rather quickly during use. Milwaukee’s beefier windings and advanced electronics maintain that tourque quite a bit longer and so it performs notably better at the same voltage.
I’ve been a Makita devotee for some time despite the pile of 18 volt batteries I’ve had go bad over the years and also despite the fact that they can’t seem to make a cordless drill for real construction work. ( I can’t ever tighten down a chuck in ANY of my Makita drills without rotating the spindle by hand ?? “Click click”??)
I’ve used and enjoyed Milwaukee’s 12 volt line for t he last 5 years without a single battery failure and as I recently picked up a second generation Fuel 18 volt drill, I’m simply blown away at the improved ergonomics and sheer power of the tool.
Makita 40 Volt? Meh? I’m moving in the direction of technical innovation. Planned obsolescence is built into every platform. I’ll die with my bulletproof CORDED industrial Makita tools. As far as cordless goes, I’m going with a company that can provide me with tools that most importantly allow me to get my work done (Don’t shut down on me during moderate work loads) and make getting that work done more enjoyable (Ergonomics)
Makita has lost its way as far as I’m concerned, Coming in this late to the game with an independent 40 volt (36 volt really) platform?
MAYBE that’ll gain some traction. It by not bolstering their 18 volt LXT line with newer higher capacity (21700) cells is a huge mistake in my book and it will be the reason I’ll be moving on with regard to my cordless tools.
Altan
It seems new XGT SDS+ hammer dills will have four modes: chisel, hammer drill, drill and one more?!!! If you check the photos carefully you will see it. Maybe I am wrong. Also it seems they will have speed control option, any idea?! I have not seen SDS+ hammer drills with variable speed controller.
Altan
Here is a video about the new impact driver. It seems the 40V 2.5Ah battery is the same size as 18V 5.0Ah battery, Also the box is water proof I think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWjDgdtPED4
Also here is another video showing the size and weight of Makita 18V batteries
Big Richard
They are the same size because they are both 10 cell batteries using 2500mAh 18650 cells. The XGT just has them wired all wired in series, while the LXT has two parallel sets of 5 cells.
Timmo Meyer
I’m just wondering: does the 40V max 4Ah battery have 21700 cells and does the 40V max 2.5Ah battery INDEED have the same cells as the well-known BL1850(B) 18V LXT battery? In that case, the new 40V 2.5Ah battery has little “plus” over the LXT BL1850() battery – after all, these cells used are the same, and the same number of cells is used (10 of them), every cell is capable of just a certain maximum amount of power – regardless if they are all connected in series (10S configuration, as in the 40V max system) or wired as 2P/5S configuration (in the BL1850(B)).
This may be the reason, the new 40V max drill has the SAME(!) 60Nm of torque as the DDF481 LXT 18V drill…. and NOW to the all-important point: in the Netherlands, these new drills are supplied with two of the 2.5Ah batteries – will the 4.0Ah batteries make the drill develop MORE TORQUE because these batteries can supply more current, and does the “intelligent communication between tool and battery” make this possible?? Or, in other words: is the drill throttled back when you use 2.5Ah batteries with it, and does it only develop its FULL potential with the 4.0Ah batteries?? Until now, NOBODY was ab;e to answer this all-important question… if there’s no difference, then I can as well stick to my DDF481…
Stuart
It looks like the 2.5Ah is built with 18650 cells and the 4.0Ah battery with 21700 cells. Makita hasn’t answered much about the new XGT cordless power tools or batteries yet, and they’re still months away from launching here, and so we won’t know for certain. Still, the larger physical size of the 4Ah battery (from images) suggests it’s equipped with larger form factor cells.
Randy Alan Martyn
I have24- 1.5 3, 5 Makita Batteries for my 18 volt tools and six Chargers ,depending on what I’m doing I can grab a battery that’s light like a 1.5 for a quick jobs or production I will use the 5ah ..so why do we need 40 volt