Professional Electrician looks at some of the tools and accessories on show at the Bosch Innovation Day
Bosch Professional Power Tools recently played host to an audience of end users at Colchester Community Stadium. Some of the manufacturer’s own experts were on hand to explain the latest technologies, whilst tradespeople themselves could get to grips with advances in machines and accessories.
Bosch Professional pitches its Expert range as problem solving accessories, and many of the products in this premium brand have been designed around what’s currently in vogue in home improvement.
The HEX-9 HardCeramic bit is, for example, an answer to the recent trend for hard tiles – including porcelain. An asymmetric drill tip ensures the bit catches the material as soon as you start drilling – without any wandering – which makes for greater accuracy, less chance of damage to the worksurface, and a hole exactly where you want it.
In addition, a durable blue carbide tip offers up to ten times the longevity of a standard drill bit. It’s more resistant to heating up, so no cooling or lubricant is required, and the increased efficiency means less dust.
Not only that, if you’re drilling holes close to each other through porcelain with a standard bit then you risk compromising the integrity of the tile, but not so with the HEX-9 HardCeramic bit, where there’s a much-reduced chance of the whole thing cracking. As we discovered at the Innovation Day demonstration, starting slowly – and in a low gear – the bit will positively sail through a material which at times can seem impenetrable to the mere mortals currently available in the drill bit market.
Make your calculations in cost per hole, in fact – as well as reduced damage to tiles – and it becomes a very economical proposition.
Elsewhere in the Expert range the Bosch MultiConstruction bit for drill drivers and impact drill drivers can be used on a wide range of materials, many of which are handily depicted on the packaging. As an accessory this multi-tasker is all about precision, with the same high performance carbide material at the tip and patented Bosch Centering Geometry to ensure accurate drilling, and a clean hole from start to finish.
Where this power tool expert has really taken a further leap forward is with its wood drilling spade bit design. One look at the business end of the Expert SelfCut Speed and you’ll notice the difference. Thanks to Bosch Tip Technology, a self-feeding thread drives itself into the material with significantly increased speed – and less effort for the end user.
Available from 10-32mm sizes, the manufacturer boasts that it’s up to three times faster than a standard bit, whilst a wave-shaped spade configuration aids material removal whilst drilling.
As a manufacturer Bosch is striving for the perfect combination of precision in its accessories and power in its tools.
If it’s muscle you’re after then the coming together of the company’s BITURBO Brushless motor and ProCORE 18V Battery in tools like the GSR 18V-150C Drill Driver – and GSB 18V-150C Combi – are eloquent demonstrations of what that can achieve in practice. Indeed, with a 12Ah ProCORE 18V power source, delivering 150Nm of torque, the latter has the distinction of being the most powerful tool of its kind available today – and that’s with a battery that can easily complete a full day’s work on a single charge.
All that force requires a good-sized and robust side-handle and, with the ability to cut with a 150mm hole saw, that’s complemented by KickBack Control, which will shut down the machine if the tool binds up in the material. The GSR unit is equipped with both drill and screwdriving functions, whilst the GSB combi adds a hammer setting to those two.
In either case, the power of these deceptively small machines is prodigious.
At the innovation day the GSR was set up with a 26mm auger bit which was drilling through an old oak beam, a feat it comfortably achieved in the second of the two available speed settings. Try that with an inferior product and at the very least the tool will give up the ghost – worst case scenario and you’re looking at a burn-out gear box.
The Electronic Angle Detection on both machines is equipped with two presets at 45 and 60° and allows for screwing and drilling into an included surface at a specific angle. There’s a further custom option that is accessible via the Bosch app on a mobile app, and where any angle that’s required can be set.
On other tools in the Bosch range – such as the GKS 18V-68 GC Professional Cordless Circular Saw – BITURBO Brushless can provide up to 1,800 watts of power, which is equivalent or exceeds mains powered units.
Inside, an incredibly strong magnetic armature, and larger coil windings allows the motor to take full advantage of the power in the ProCORE battery, and that makes matching their corded counterparts a feature of this technology.
The ProCORE Battery Range is available in 4.0Ah, 8.0Ah and 12.0Ah and has its own 16amp dedicated charger. Crucially, however, the current generation of Bosch batteries remains compatible with all the chargers and 18V Li-ion tools the manufacturer has produced since 2008.
At the same time, it’s equally possible to use a Bosch Coolpack battery on any BITURBO machine – without, of course, the full power that the latest platform provides. In summary, not only are ProCORE batteries delivering additional power and run times, they’re more compact and, thanks to superior heat dissipation in use, will last longer.
For further information on the products mentioned in this feature, click here
