Dewalt’s 20V MAX Platform: Compact, Convenient, Powerful
A good hammerdrill-driver is one of those tools some of us crafters just can’t do without. And for generally good reason – although a hammerdrill-driver is not necessarily more powerful than a comparable drill-driver, the tool offers a hammering mechanism, and consequently, a kind of performance that just can’t be found in other types of power hand tools. Accordingly, the upcoming release (this September 2011) of Dewalt’s new 20V MAX compact hammerdrilll-driver has crafters of every degree on the look-out.
The DCD785C2 is amazingly compact and weighs just 3.5-lbs. This sleek and lightweight design renders the tool ideal for smaller workspaces and particularly perfect for extended applications. The drill is simple to maneuver and yet still offers the serious power and aggressive force required from a hammerdrill-driver. In fact, the tool boasts a handsome high-speed, two-speed transmission (with max RPMs ranging from 0-600, and 0-2,000) which allows operators to match the appropriate speed to each different application performed. This feature ensures faster, better results with each use and enhances the general precision and productivity of your work.
The tool additionally offers a heavy-duty 1/2” ratcheting chuck with carbide inserts for optimal gripping power, and with 15 different clutch settings for superior versatility, the DCD785C2 truly leaves no stone unturned — so to speak.
To revisit the tool’s overall compactness, though, the thing is designed with a sleek and efficient ergonomic handle. This redesign is specialized to ensure operators are more comfortable on the job and more in control of the tool’s performance.
Despite this exterior refabrication, though, it is perhaps the 20V MAX battery that deserves the most credit for the tool’s overall balance and ergonomics. Like the tool itself, the 20V MAX battery has undergone a serious transformation. Unlike Dewalt’s former stem style (18V) batteries that require insertion into the tool’s handle (which also contributes to their overall bulkiness and imperfect balance), the 20V MAX batteries, instead, slide onto the base of the tool rather than into it. They are sleek, compact (perhaps even shockingly so), and lightweight, and despite technically producing only the same 18V of working power, the batteries offer greater run-time and greater overall longevity.
The compact hammerdrill-driver comes standard with a 1.5-Ah battery, but, where longer run-times are required, the tool is compatible with Dewalt’s 20V MAX 3.0-Ah batteries. Overall, the tool offers some pretty awesome power from a surprisingly compact and terribly efficient package.
