Qualified Remodeler Magazine

OCT 2015

Qualified Remodeler helps independent remodeling firms to survive, become more professional and more profitable by providing must-have business information, namely best business practices, new product information and timely design ideas.

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NEXT IN THE PIPELINE While cordless may never fully take over the woodworking and fnishing tool market, im - provements are leading cordless to give cord- ed tools a run for their money. "Te cordless portion of the market has grown, is growing and will continue to go that way," Stevens from Bosch Power Tools says. "Te corded tool is never going to go away entirely, but the cordless is now seen as more of a mainstream, core part of someone's tool portfolio." Talk with manufacturers revolved around brushless motors and batteries when it came to how cordless tools can and will be im- proved. Festool's Bush comments, "Cordless tools will continue to lead the way with the advent of technologies like brushless motors and high-capacity batteries. Battery density will continue to improve as well." Te com- pany's entire 18-volt lineup of tools includes brushless motors and large-capacity batteries. Similarly, Beck from DeWalt provides de- tail about why brushless motors could be a game changer in the cordless tool market. "If we make a new product cordless, we make sure we're not giving user tradeofs. A beneft of brushless motors, in addition to improving run time, you can get better power density, allowing the same power out of a smaller mo- tor so you can actually take weight out of a product as well," he says. "With some of the products that remodelers use — like a table saw or miter saw — any way to make that more portable or take weight out is huge." DeWalt recently launched its 20V Cordless Miter Saw, which was designed with remod- elers and fooring installers in mind. To further help cordless tools become more viable, the technology behind batteries has become a key focus area. Developers at Bosch Power Tools have been creating higher amp hour batteries to provide users more run time before needing a charge. Te company also recently presented an innovative solution for when the battery does need a charge. "One thing we're very much involved with here at Bosch, in terms of a new dimension of cordless, is wireless charging. For example, if you have a battery on the bottom of a drill driver, when you're not using it you can set it down on the charger between uses and it continues to charge. You don't have to take the battery of the tool and put it into a charger; it can actually be charging while it's still on into the hands of users early in the process to make sure there isn't some perspective we have missed or checking to make sure we're on the right track." Research and engineering teams from Festool also visit customers and jobsites regularly. Bush says this helps the company identify how tools are being used and see the challenges. Tose insights provide the basis for improving the company's tool technology. One such takeaway for Festool has been mak- ing its cordless lineup reach its full potential. "Tere is no ignoring the freedom of move- ment that cordless tools provide, whether in the shop or in the feld. However, cordless tools have had a reputation of providing com- promised performance whether due to lack of power or run time," he says. "For Festool, we didn't want to just make cordless versions of our tools; we wanted to create tools that pros expect and need." the user plays with it. When we do our frst engineering build, the user plays with it. When we do our manufacturing build, the user plays with it," he says. "If it takes me two years to create a new reciprocating saw, the user has seen that tool in various stages at least three times. All along we're making changes or corrections based on their feedback." Bosch Power Tools also checks in regular- ly with the end user when developing tools. Stevens explains how many users may operate a product could shift the tool on the compa- ny's priority list. "Tere are a lot of dimensions to prioritizing new product development, but we always try to talk and listen to our users and ft what they're seeking. We also try to anticipate what they're going to seek so some- times we start tool development ahead of user wants," he says. "We certainly have a lot of people in-house that are tool users themselves, but we put just about anything we develop RYOBI includes an adjustable exact line laser alignment system for its 12-in. Sliding Compound Miter Saw to align the cut line with the blade. Miter stops are located at common crown moulding angles: 0, 15, 22.5, 31.6 and 45 degrees left and right. Circle 7 on inquiry card 44 October 2015 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com PRODUCT TRENDS: Power Tools

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