Adding increased functionality to successive generations of devices isn’t just a characteristic of fast-moving markets like smartphones. It’s becoming commonplace in the more traditional power-tool market, which includes handheld devices such as drills, circular saws, and sanders; lawn and garden equipment; and vacuum cleaners.
Just like their colleagues in the consumer space, power-tool designers are continually charged with cramming more electronics into the same or smaller spaces. First came the move to cut the cord by moving to battery-powered devices. The need to conserve battery power led to a switch from brushed to more-efficient brushless DC (BLDC) motors with their more complex control schemes, sensors, and power drivers.
A current-generation handheld tool with a BLDC drive is a packaging marvel (Fig. 1), with every nook and cranny occupied. But the latest power tools are raising the bar yet again. They’re adding wireless connectivity as an available feature, beginning with the professional market and migrating to home and hobby products.
1. A handheld power tool leaves little room for the BLDC controller (it’s in the handle), even before adding BLE functionality. (Source: TI blog: “Demand for higher power density drives innovative power tool solution,” Fig. 2)
Why Wireless?
For the construction professional, wireless connectivity offers features such as authentication, tracking, intelligent inventory management, fault reporting, and information about battery condition or total operating time. If the tool goes out of range and leaves the job site, the battery can shut down.