Milwaukee Tools: The Future is Brushless

This summer I visited Milwaukee’s headquarters in Brookfield, Wisconsin for a preview of upcoming attractions – chief among them a number of new brushless tools that will come out later this year.

Milwaukee calls their brushless motor line Fuel, and they are going from three 18-volt (M18) models to over a dozen tools by the end of the year. A drill/driver (2603) and hammer drill/driver (2604) were introduced in March and an impact driver (2653) in June.

As is usually the case at media events, I had to sign a nondisclosure agreement so I can’t talk about everything I saw. Suffice it to say that in addition to the brushless tools that are already out, a 3/8-inch impact wrench (2654) and 1/2-inch impact wrench (2655) will be added this fall, with more products to follow.

If you’re not familiar with brushless DC motors yet, here are the basics. Instead of having carbon brushes that rub against the commutator bars on the motor’s rotor (the part that spins), brushless motors are electronically commutated from multiple points around the rotor. With no brushes to create friction and heat, the motor is more efficient – which makes for increased power output and longer runtime. It also makes for less maintenance because there are no brushes to wear out and replace.