WHAT TORQUE REALLY MEANS
POWER TOOLS: WHAT DOES TORQUE REALLY MEAN?
Cordless tools have come of age. Now, newer technology allows cordless tools to perform on or near par with their corded counterparts. You might want to take another look at performance standards to make sure you’re getting the cordless tool you really need to complete your jobs effectively and quickly.
A NEW WAY TO LOOK AT POWER
The key to drill performance is being able to deliver the required torque at the highest speed. A common misconception is: the higher the torque rating, the faster the drill will complete an application. That’s not necessarily true.
Torque is the force the drill produces to turn an object, not how fast an object will turn. In recent years torque ratings have been steadily increasing to levels beyond what is actually needed to complete applications. A new way to measure the performance of a drill is to combine speed and torque, a measurement called Power.
PERFORMANCE RATINGS
TRADITIONAL METHOD FOR TORQUE RATING
NEW MEASUREMENT METHOD FOR POWER RATING
THE POWER RATING
A drill’s Power Rating has been used for many years as a tool to design products. It is not until now that it will be used as new way of evaluating a drill’s performance level, and is a direct indication of how fast it will complete an application.
The drill’s Power Rating is measured by its Units Watts Out (UWO), the point where the drill’s speed and torque output are the highest. The higher a drill’s Power Rating, or UWO, the faster it will perform on the jobsite.
REMEMBER
Torque ≠ time to complete applications Power = Speed & Torque output under load Max Watts Out (MWO) = Power of the motor Unit Watts Out (UWO) = Power of the total drill.
This article is from the July issue of Grainger’s On the Job® newsletter.