drilled, rather than just containing it in
a controlled area. The benefits of these
solutions are immediate and long-lasting.
“Cordless models have not taken over
the rotary hammer market, but drilling
performance of some cordless SDS-plus
hammer brands is nearly the same as its
corded brother. With the rapidly improving battery amp hours, battery run time is
now increasing in leaps and bounds, even
in heavy-duty applications, with little or
no increase in battery size or weight.
What’s left is price. Battery technology
continues to be expensive.
“However, for personnel who work
mainly on lifts, swing stages or in the
remote corner of large job sites, the continued improvement in battery tools makes
the cost for this tool mobility insignificant
or in some cases, completely irrelevant.
The cost to set up corded power includes
additional equipment, including generators, fuel to power the generators and
power cords,” Burdick said.
Hilti Business Unit Manager Aaron
Brading said rotary hammers provide a
highly efficient way to fasten conduit,
boxes, cable and lighting supports.
“Recently, rotary hammers have
increased in speed while decreasing
in size and weight,” Brading said. “Of
course, this aids in productivity because
work gets accomplished faster, and the
user experiences less fatigue with the
lighter tool.
“One of the most significant changes to
rotary hammers in the last few years has
been the power source. More and more
rotary hammers are moving to battery
power. Rotary hammers are now available
in 12-, 18-, 28- and 36V battery platforms.
We are seeing more sales of cordless rotary
hammers as customers shift to cordless
tools. Rotary hammers do use SDS and
shank drill bits. The bit is locked in place
by ball bearings in the chuck of the tool
that allow the bit to slide up and down as
the hammering mechanism strikes the bit.
The bits have a carbide head for drilling
into concrete,” Brading said.
Another development is manufactur-
ers’ expansion of dust-control systems
for rotary hammers, Brading said. Dust
control is a topic of growing concern in
the construction industry, and manufac-
turers are offering more options to fit
rotary hammers.
When only a few small-diameter
holes are needed, some workers use
the cam-action hammering feature on a
cordless drill/driver because it seems to
be more convenient than stopping work
to get a second tool.
Wayne Hart, communications manager for Makita USA, cited two trends in
rotary hammer features: reduced vibration and dust control.
Regarding vibration, Hart said contractors are learning that reducing
vibration can mean increased accuracy
with smaller rotary hammers.
“For example,” Hart said, “a 1-inch
rotary hammer frequently is used for
overhead drilling, and a rotary hammer with less vibration is strongly
preferred for this type of application to
COOLTOOLS
Hilti TE 6-A36 rotary
hammer with
dust-control system
www.us.hilti.com
Makita LXT cordless
rotary hammer
www.makitatools.com
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