Electrical screwdriver

[Charlie86]

Hi,

I am looking for electric screwdriver for mobile phone repairs. Since es121 is little bit unpractical with gyroscope, am now looking for wowstick. But there is so many models that I am lost. What I am looking for is best torque and rechargeable battery.

A1
1F
F pro
Etc,..

[Benta]

Can someone here decode/deencrypt this post? Thanks.

[drussell]

Can someone here decode/deencrypt this post? Thanks.

I have no clue...   

I understand at least most of those words, in and of themselves.  For the most part, they basically make sense but do not seem to really make a sequence of intelligible sentences when strung together in that particular order...

[Bud]

My guess is es121 and wowstick are names of small electric screwdrivers. Not sure what the gyroscope thing is. 

[rjp]

i seem to remember one of those  fancy electric screwdrivers used the gyro to fake the normal action of a screwdriver.

twist in a direction and it then motors in that direction.

[drussell]

Ahh..  I see now.

Those all look like expensive, useless junk.

"Doesn't have enough torque to undo screws from plastic.  Doesn't charge.  Looks nice on my desk." 

[JS]

ES121 are cousins with the TS100 we all know... and yes, it's a screw driver which has a gyroscope to measure the rotation you give to it and starts rotating in that direction with a torque or speed (don't know which, maybe both) proportional to the amount of rotation you apply to it.

Mobile phones have a lot of screws but they are quite short and doesn't take much force, using a thin, small screw driver makes a lot of sense as it's lighter and you can spin it fast with your fingers. Having a impact driver for someone who deals with much tighter and bigger screws makes a lot more sense than this tiny ones. In the mid point it could be an useful tool, with a controlled torque screw driver for a few N.m capability for general purpose and working in electrical panels where torque is specified for different terminals (usually in the order of 1Nm to a few) and the force applied is quite critical for such applications. Too little the contact heats up and you have a problem, too high and the contact, case and wire deforms too much, and compromises reliability.

JS

[KL27x]

you can spin it fast with your fingers.

+1 A manual jewelers screwdriver is a heck of a lot faster than the 200-380 rpm you can get with one of these electric screwdrivers. Or you can use the long hex bits in a handle to break loose or torque down screws, and take the hex bit out and use it, loose, for all the mindless spinning.

For high volume work, you would want something probably 500+ rpm with an adjustable torque limiter that goes down to nothing. Downside is these hi speed production electric screwdrivers all seem to run off mains, only. These are fantastic, but I have never been tempted to buy one for home use, due to the cord.
Something like ES-207L1. 1000 RPM and slip clutch down to half an inch lb, plus or minus 5%. If I had to open and close laptops, I'd buy this in a heartbeat.

My favorite cordless power screwdriver for electronics is a small cordless drill, 2 cell lithium, 2 speeds, no electronic speed control. It happens to have an auto brake that doesn't stop instantly and a pretty light mass. The inertia carries to a gradual stop, but once stopped it is locked so you can torque the screws, manually, like the Wowstick. But it spins at ~2k rpm for fast screw removal. The torque limiter is insufficient to insert really small screws, but with a tac switch and FET in place of the clunky trigger, it is easy to feather the power in tiny amounts with a light touch on the handle (pressing downward but not holding the handle too tight) to get it to coast into a light stop and finish manually.

I have a more expensive drill with a really good variable speed trigger and instant auto-brake, and it takes much more attention and time to use that to insert tiny screws without overtorquing/stripping.

I've tried Dremel's li ion driver and a cheap electric screwdriver; they're too slow for me.

[coppercone2]

A nice production screw driver is an ingresol rand unit. You set the torque with a special key and it rotates real fast when you push down.

800$ or so new, but you can get em on ebay cheaper. Corded though. By cheaper I mean 20-60$.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EL1007B-Ingersoll-Rand-700RPM-24VDC-Electric-Torque-Screwdriver-Used/252782446681?epid=2254656839&hash=item3adb020859:g:3nIAAOSw3v5YrZlL

real weak one but you need a 24vdc psu for it

The secret to using this shit is to put a power strip on the ceiling next to a hook. If you can step on a sturdy table or chair to plug it in its not so bad to use one. I hate corded tools too.. The one I have is mains powered with brushes but that one runs on a controller. It's not terrible if you have the controller on a work bench next to the soldering iron controller. Slides right into a drawer. For some reason plugging it into a control box with dials on it irritates me much less then plugging it into the mains.


If I used it more often I would make a special reel for it, since it has a disconnect feature (screw thread cord)


As far as miniature non torque controlled ones,
I actually really liked the 20$ unit i bought from Lowes. My wiha tips fit into it, but I broke a gear (metal actually) playing games with it (it should be more then good enough for most screws, but its slow, but I still prefer it to turning something I find the motion uncomfortable.) By playing games I mean twisting it back and forth while its on holding on it really tight.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/General-Tools-Instruments-Assorted-Multi-Bit-Screwdriver/3138079?cm_mmc=SCE_PLA-_-ToolsAndHardware-_-SpecialtyHandTools-_-3138079:General_Tools_&_Instruments&CAWELAID=&kpid=3138079&CAGPSPN=pla&store_code=1584&k_clickID=9f2d23c1-7bb8-4621-90b8-92e14960f20a&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrti4w_id3QIV0QOGCh2lfgUDEAQYASABEgKvPvD_BwE

You can actually modify it for higher speed if you want:


Obviously don't use it for big screws on the back of a PC like he probably did.

Yea, but for 20$ I was actually impressed. You can mong out and stare at things while you work.

Does anyone know if the higher end ones like Wowstick have a planetary gear mechanism?

Hehe, for mobile electronics you should polish up the work with a torque adjustable screwdriver anyway.

In general though, especially with torque adjustable things, if its possible, you should just the most simple robust thing (normal screw driver) to break away screws, so I can live with the cheapness. I like to use my adjustable torque wrenches to tighten screws fully, so I am happy with the cheapest motor thing possible to do the job, unless its a production tool like the ingresol rand thing. The clutch is probably monstrously overbuilt. I don't know if I would like to use a ES121 120$ pen to break tight screws even if it has a planetary gear system inside of it.

I think the biggest danger to these things is trying to untighten screws that are being pressed on by shitty deformed panels that are kinda snapped into place (like a bent PC case) or fighting locktite.

Have the owners of these more expensive micro screw drivers found them to be reliable?

[KL27x]

^That's the electric screwdriver I had. Black and yellow plastics with an up/down switch. I didn't break it. I just lost it and didn't bother trying to find it.

Re:Ingersol Rand

You set the torque with a special key

This is really important. The problem with the twist dial ones is the user will inadvertently move them during use. And most people paid by the hour will not notice, ever. It takes someone who cares about the thousands of dollars in damage per hour to point that out to them. For unvetted workers, the dial must be taped!

The secret to using this is to put a power strip on the ceiling next to a hook.

Steel framed hangers with the elastic/retract action is how my buddy employs these on an assembly line. But he's also got one at every work cubicle in a holster. And he has some cool screw sorting machines that after you have set it up, you (theoretically) just dump the screws in it and turn it on, and they get put into a little row, head up, for picking up with a magnetic bit.

 

[coppercone2]

^That's the electric screwdriver I had. Black and yellow plastics with an up/down switch. I didn't break it. I just lost it and didn't bother trying to find it.

Re:Ingersol Rand

You set the torque with a special key

This is really important. The problem with the twist dial ones is the user will inadvertently move them during use. And most people paid by the hour will not notice, ever. It takes someone who cares about the thousands of dollars in damage per hour to point that out to them. For unvetted workers, the dial must be taped!

The secret to using this is to put a power strip on the ceiling next to a hook.

Steel framed hangers with the elastic/retract action is how my buddy employs these on an assembly line. But he's also got one at every work cubicle in a holster. And he has some cool screw sorting machines that after you have set it up, you (theoretically) just dump the screws in it and turn it on, and they get put into a little row, head up, for picking up with a magnetic bit.

I hate leaving tools in the open because when you clean its a complex surface to dust off. At home at least. At work at least you are paid to keep tidy.

There is also something about visual clutter, the test equipment is bad enough with all the dials and displays. I also mod everything to have unpluggable connectors so I can take equipment to dust it off when I finally decide to clean. 

Otherwise I get what you call a 'hardened' shelf. God forbid some kind of insect gets behind there. Talk about 'spider hole'. Ho Chi Minh would be proud of the resistance that can occur.

When I saw myself, holding up a high voltage power supply with one hand like a pizza, so an counter spider ambush can be set up with the other hand, I thought, it's time for a serious change. Then I realized, there is a spider under the high voltage power supply. Game over man, game over!

[KL27x]

I also mod everything to have unpluggable connectors so I can take equipment to dust it off when I finally decide to clean.

I have done this to almost all of my handheld power tools. I have discovered a curious bit of trivia while doing so.

What I decided on, some ten years ago, was to use nonpolar figure 8 IEC connectors, because most power tools anymore are double insulated and don't use a ground plug. And you can fit this socket right into the housing with some grinding of the plastic, here and there, in a way that it can't pull out. Every tool has a molded labrinth or screw clamp to hold the power cord, and there's always room for this socket if you don't mind voiding the warranty.   

The curious thing I found was that even though the cords for this type of socket go up to 18AWG and rated for 10A, the connectors themselves are only rated for 3A, max, to my knowledge. I figure they are rated so low because of possible arcing and carbon buildup in something that may be left plugged in 24/7. For power tools, this isn't too much of a limitation, IMO, but is something to be aware of. I have done this to tools up to 8A and have never had to replace a socket, yet. Nor a cord, for that matter.

[coppercone2]

I have been meaning to get some kind of connector with a latch on it for corded power tools because I don't want a saw to unplug by accident while in use and ruin a cut. Never saw a nongrounded one though.

[KL27x]

Yeah, there's that. I wouldn't do it to a circular saw.

For smaller indoor tools, it has worked fine for me. FWIW, I shoot the connector with a hot air gun and then give it a squeeze with pliers until the cord fits nice and snug. You can get the connection to lift more than 10 lbs, doing this. I've never had the cord fall out while using a tool since learning this trick, even the kinds that make your hands go numb. Another trick is to go one wind of the cord around the wire hanger on the butt end of the tool, if it has one.

To be clear, I am comfortable using underrated connectors and solder joints because these are handheld power tools. Whenever they are plugged in and switched on, I'm defacto present and awake in case of a malfunction. If you work for someone else, you will have to meet their safety requirements, whatever they are.

[sstepane]

Hi,

I am looking for electric screwdriver for mobile phone repairs. Since es121 is little bit unpractical with gyroscope, am now looking for wowstick. But there is so many models that I am lost. What I am looking for is best torque and rechargeable battery.

A1
1F
F pro
Etc,..

Hi there,

I do repair small devices. ES121 without questions. Wowstick is a piece of junk. I have been with ES121 since its release (several months), it replaced ES120 on my desk. When you get used to it - it's a saver for one hand operation at any angle. BTW, there is 3D printed button switch available for it, if you can't stand its activation button.
Get Nanch bits for this screwdriver also - it's a killer combination.

[coppercone2]

Here is a tear down. I am actually pretty impressed by most of it. It is 1.3 inch pounds of force max. or 20oz/foot.

[mzzj]

Here is a tear down. I am actually pretty impressed by most of it. It is 1.3 inch pounds of force max. or 20oz/foot.

Looks pretty nice, if you want compact cordless that one is hard to beat.
I have used 10.8v makita impact A LOT when dissasembling RF boxes,  but it's really a brute for any cellphone sized screws and torque control is tricky at best. (screw bin is probably 2kg of M3...M5 screws)