Impact driver what is

Also, when working with pressure-treated lumber, hardwood, or heavy steel, the driver has the torque needed to get through the material with ease.

The answer is in the power needed for the job. The more twisting force, or torque, the driver has, the better it will accommodate the larger jobs.

Measured in inch-pounds, a inch-pounds rated impact driver has more power behind it than an inch-pound rated driver. Impact drivers run on cordless battery packs. The higher the voltage, the longer the battery life and the more power your driver will have. Finally, consider the weight of the driver. Disclosure: BobVila. You agree that BobVila.

All rights reserved. Expert advice from Bob Vila, the most trusted name in home improvement, home remodeling, home repair, and DIY. What Is an Impact Driver? For the passionate DIYer, an impact driver can make projects involving many large fasteners—such as securing beams into a pergola—a lot easier. More From Bob Vila. This video clip, from the premium professional brand Festool, illustrate the mechanism very well.

The drill maintains constant turning torque using gears. Now imagine punching the brick wall I said imagine — this is how the impact driver works. Check out this video of a Festool PDC drill to see how the mechanism works. The method by which torque is delivered is what separates the two tools, and ultimately highlights their advantages and disadvantages. Impact drivers deliver the highest torque when operated at their fastest speed, as this allows the biggest impact of the hammer against the anvil.

Drills, on the other hand, have the highest turning force when in the lowest and slowest gear. Optimised drilling speeds are often compromised with impact drivers too. I was recently speaking to a customer who commented…. Because impact drivers deliver their torque in bursts, lasting a fraction of a second, there is no equivalent force being transmitted back to the user — making them much safer to hold with just one hand.

More recently, impact drivers are being equipped with different speed settings to give the user more control in screwdriving applications. Milwaukee impact drivers also have a very clever feature, which is a special setting for self-drilling screws. Drills are ideal for drilling and boring applications, as the constant turning force will achieve a smoother, more accurate and cleaner hole.

Precise screwdriving applications are also best suited to a conventional drill, as rotational speeds are more easily controlled, torque is maintained at slower speeds, and you receive feedback from the machine — more on that later. Unlike an impact driver, if a drill is turning a fastener using 30Nm of torque, an equal force is being transferred back to the operator. Well, not quite.

However, torque figures on specification sheets can be confusing depending on how the torque is measured. A great example of this is hard and soft torque. Maybe the best way to describe this is to imagine driving a woodscrew into timber. As the screw is driven deeper, more and more torque is required, gradually increasing until the head reaches the material — this is referred to as soft torque.

Now consider driving a threaded bolt into a pre-tapped steel plate; once the thread is engaged there is very little resistance encountered as the bolt passes freely through the threads. The torque at that instant increases dramatically, giving a very high reading — this is considered hard torque.

The difference is: drills can maintain the torque level throughout the entire turning process. Many people are often surprised to see a powerful drilling machine continue to drive in a large construction screw, when an impact driver with a much higher torque specification, has long given up.

The principle of a metal anvil being struck repeatedly by spinning hammers is bound to generate noise — and this is one of the drawbacks of an impact driver. The noise from the drill comes from the motor and gearbox combined, and although you can hear it, the sound levels are certainly more bearable. Whilst we would always recommend wearing ear protection in any drilling or driving application, drills are certainly quieter than impact drivers.

The exception is when impact or percussion drilling in masonry, with a combi drill. More recently, a handful of power tool manufacturers have launched tools that look just like an impact driver, but much quieter in use. Pulse tools have been around for some time but were only traditionally found in pneumatic machines — often used on assembly lines. The wave then pushes two paddles around a sealed chamber, a quarter turn each time. This combo kit is an incredible value and really is contractor duty.

But if you need more capacity, this one from Milwaukee Tools is also a great pick. Pro Tip: Consider buying a factory-reconditioned tool at a steep discount. Sometimes these are essentially brand new tools that have no more than a few minutes or a few hours of run time. They have to be cycled through the factory reconditioning process because they are no longer considered a new product.

Professionals and homeowners alike find themselves using impact drivers instead of cordless drills, especially with the advent of bit sets with hex-shank accessories that are specifically designed to withstand the stresses that these drivers impose on a bit.

Impact drivers are high-torque tools primarily used for driving screws and tightening nuts an operation known as nut setting. You either pull up on the chuck sleeve to insert a bit or you just slip the bit into the chuck. These tools are lighter and smaller than drill drivers, and although they are not as versatile, they will perform many of the same functions.

Since their torque output is higher than a typical drill driver, they get through work more quickly. Purchasing power: Like cordless drills, great deals are to be had on some of our favorite impact drivers if you know where to look.

This DeWalt is one. This helps explain its popularity with electricians and HVAC contractors. I know several that use it. If extreme compactness is important to you, then this stubby version might be the answer to your drilling and driving problems. Bosch calls this hybrid tool "The Freak. What it is: A drill powered by a volt motor and a conventional 3-jaw chuck. These drills are traditional products and are often used for heavy-duty applications in drilling holes in wood, concrete, and steel.

Since they are not equipped with a clutch, they are not designed to tighten or drive fasteners. They excel at hole drilling.