a look inside Milwaukee m18 fuel drill/driver

[tooljoe]

I just recently got an opportunity to buy an m18 fuel brand new for cheap and I took the deal. At first glance I could tell right away that it is more chunky than any of my dewalt drills. Also, the forward and reverse push button has rough corners and it is not round as the dewalts. This might hurt the fingers after a day of continuous use.

The ergonomics of the gun grip are not even close to dewalts. Dewalts grip is wayyyy better than the m18 fuel.

What I also noticed is that the m18 uses all electronic chuck breaking while dewalt uses a combination of transmission and electronic breaking. Hence, you hear the click click when letting go of the trigger at low speeds.

Another thing that I didn't like was the plastic housing of the planetary gears. For a drill that has a lot of power, the plastic housing just does not make sense.

I also noticed base by eye alone that the electronics get pretty hot due to the emphasis on heat sinking all of those transistors.

Another thing that I noticed is this drill uses a different way of locking in the chuck. Instead of pins like dewalt uses, they use 5 pieces that look like yelly beans that have groves on their back that catch on groves on the outter ring. This is shown in one of the pictures.

I also noticed that the m18 LED light turns off faster than dewalts drills. 10 seconds VS 20 seconds duration.

Anyway, just my opinion and next time I might open up the battery packs to check out what kind of batteries they are using...might also open up the charger.

[tooljoe]

Also noticed that the belt clip attachment tap for the screw are different in both the m18 and dewalt max drills (even the 12v).

on m18 it looks like it is pressed on or molded around the “nut†(for lack of better word) while on dewalt it is neither but rather behind the plastic shell.

Even if the m18 has some sort of lip on the nut, the nut is only 5mm deep. If we subtract the lip from the nut, that leaves 75% (guesstimating best case scenario) out of 5mm of plastic holding the whole weight of the m18.

On dewalts drills, you have a good 5mm of plastic for sure. Also, dewalt actually used a small nut with a plastic washer in the machine threads to prevent the screw from coming loose.

Moreover, dewalt screw has 10mm of threaded area VS m18 only 5mm...one will give out first and drop your drill than the other i.e. early warning to prevent dropping your drill.

The screw threads are different in both drills too. Dewalt machine screws have more thread count than m18. This might not sound like a lot but more threads has a better grip...this is why all of the automotive nuts and bolts are fine thread instead of coarse.

if m18 screw is 5mm long and we subtract the thickness of the clips metal and take in consideration how the “nut†adhere to the shell and also see the thread count, we can see how not a lot of thought was taken to this because less that 5mm of plastic and coarse screw is holding the weight that encounters trim molding bumps and pressure from the torso when being carried and working... so how to trust the rest of the drill, IMO

Little things count

[tooljoe]

After been using the drill for a while I can definitely see that the battery drains faster than my brushless dewalt drills.

This makes sense since Milwaukee drill has a bigger brushless motor that would use up more power to operate than a smaller one...and also why only 10 seconds light on VS 20 secs.

Regarding where this drill shines is maybe on just the power only but for sure will require more frequent charges than dewalts.

Another thing that I noticed is that the electronics “protect†the drill. When it hits a stoppage...the electronics kick in and the drill just quits.

I don't know if that is a good thing or not but that basically cuts all the power to the drill...sort of what a festool drill does.

Another thing that I noticed is that the clutch on the milwaukee is not as sensitive as dewalts....the milwaukee clutch set all the way down, it still has a lot of torque. The lowest clutch setting on the m18 compares to like a number 4-5 setting on a dewalts clutch setting. I can safely say that the dewalt clutch would work fine for cabinet work while the m18 would strip wood.

In all, I would still stick with a dewalt drill over a Milwaukee...just my preference based on experience.

Now if milwaukee had better ergonomics alone and a smaller design, I would find no reason to not use the drill.

[Nagle]

Did you happen to take pictures putting gear box back together?

[missourimike441]

Thanks for the overview, tooljoe.  I have had my eye on a M18 Fuel.  Your input made my decision time a lot more distant !