Milwaukee’s newest M18 Sawzall will use One-Key to optimize the tool for the material being cut.
When linked to the One-Key app, the user will be given the option to manually select a ramp-up speed and a maximum strokes per minute. The app will also give users the ability to choose the material they are cutting from a list provided by Milwaukee, then select the thickness of the material. The app will then make a recommendation for which blade the user should use, and dial in the ramp-up and speed accordingly. It wall also have all of the great One-Key tracking ability, which can act as a theft deterrent and help you find lost tools.
The tool will have 4 different profiles for how it can be used, and the pressure switch is still in effect. The One-Key system effectively gives the user the option to govern the motor of the saw to avoid cutting speeds to fast to be appropriate for what is being cut. Once a profile has been created and saved, the tool can be disconnected from the app used without the presence of a One-Key device. The tool will retail at slightly more than a FUEL Sawzall without One-Key, and should be on shelves in the Fall of 2016.
The FUEL Sawzall was a great addition to Milwaukee’s M18 cordless line, and with the added intelligence of One-Key will aid the user when making repeated cuts in material that would require the trigger to be feathered or used at less than full speed. Sawzall blades are expensive, and this saw would not have to pay for itself vs. a standard FUEL Sawzall.
For instance, when cutting a hard material like Stainless Steel, they typical practice is to start to cut, burn up a blade, put on a new blade, and continue in that fashion until the cut has been made. With Milwaukee’s One-Key Sawzall, the app can be used to specify that the tool will be cutting stainless, and even the thickness of the stainless being cut. The app will then recommend the proper TPI for the material and thickness being cut, and increase the ramp up speed while decreasing the maximum strokes per minute of the tool. This allows the tool to cut the stainless without the blade burning up. There is a marked change in performance when using the One-Key settings versus “stock” Sawzall settings, both in the ease of the cut and the health of the blade after the cut has been made. The variable speed trigger on the Sawzall can allow for a user to dial back the speed when making a cut, but not with the precision afforded by an intelligent, One-Key enabled tool. One-Key also makes it possible to automatically stop the blade after a single cut has been made, limiting the possibility of collateral damage when cutting in close quarters.
The most impressive part that I noticed is that the One-Key app comes pre-loaded with the settings necessary for cutting different materials. It is possible to optimize a One-Key hammer drill with the exact torque necessary to drive a fastener until it is flush with the surface of the workpiece. However, this can only be dialed in through trial and error. There is no specific setting for a 2” deck screw into pine built into the One-Key app in regards to the Hammer Drill. But there is a setting for 3/4” stainless cutting with the Sawzall, and this could help a lot of people in a lot of different lines of work.
The 2721-20 One-Key Sawzall is scheduled to be on shelves before the Holiday season, so more of a Christmas gift than Father’s Day.