Milwaukee Tools has been on a tear lately, introducing multiple lines of tools and accessories aimed at specific trades. The relevant news for Equipment World readers is that they’ve created a tool category called “Transportation Maintenance.” And every one of these tools is powered by a battery.
The vast majority of powered mechanics tools are pneumatic or corded electric, says Zach Welsh, assistant product manager. What Milwaukee is attempting to do is to wean mechanics off these two platforms—and all the hassles of cords, hoses and compressors—and get them to tap into the convenience of Milwaukee’s cordless battery platforms.
The convenience is a given, and battery-powered tools can now deliver as much power and torque as their corded or compressed-air versions. But battery power also enables Milwaukee to build sophisticated electronic circuitry into these tools that deliver all kinds of benefits not available in other platforms.
“In the transportation maintenance group, anytime we give them a product that is cordless, that they can use day to day in the shop, they jump all over it,” says Welsh. “They take their pneumatic tools and throw them aside never to be touched again.”
Arguably the most interesting tool introduced at Milwaukee Tools’s recent 2019 New Product Symposium was the M12 Fuel Ratcheting Torque Wrench with One-Key—basically a digital torque wrench with a battery powered motor in it. (M12 refers to the battery platform.) While you can get digital torque wrenches from a lot of manufacturers, Milwaukee put this one over the top with several unique features.
With a manual torque wrench you have to first use a conventional socket wrench to thread on the nut or bolt. When it gets snug you remove that wrench and pick up the torque wrench to do the final tightening to spec—a two-step, two-tool process, often with a lot of manual cranking until the bolt is snug. But the battery in the Milwaukee torque wrench has enough power to spin on the loose bolt or nut. When it gets close to the torque setting you want, the rotation stops. Then you use arm power the last click or two until the correct torque is achieved. It’s a one tool, one step process for both operations.
The Milwaukee Ratcheting Torque Wrench alerts you with an audible beep and a light on the tool’s LED display screen when you’ve hit the torque spec you’ve digitally preset on the tool. If you over-torque the fastener, the tool will give you a red warning light.
