Engineer Reacts to Milwaukee M18 Fuel Surge Impact Driver Internal Design | How's It Made Ep. 13 

I like how you use a grid cut mat, it inadvertently gives an exact scale to everything you break down

The intro was too accurate lolll

Excellent video. It’s refreshing to have an intelligent knowledgeable person break down a tool and explain the components. Also , the absence of annoying music is nice too. Thanks 👍

This is actually my favourite impact drill because it’s respectful, (not as loud as the other impacts) and it’s so buttery smooth to use. I have the 18V and 12V version.

I’ve been using one for about a week now building a bar, it seems to drive screws about the same as my DeWalt but it’s so much quieter and smoother, l also noticed it doesn’t slip off the screw head because of the harsh impacts, as for the rubber on mine it’s perfect and not oily.

Damn dude..,,..Thr more you went over the tool the more im so glad I went with this tool line....though the prices hurt lol

22:25: Remind me to spend extra on machining and buffing when I start making my own brand of tools here in Arizona

as I own tons of impacts drivers/drills from each brand that one might heard of lol, I agree about how the rubber on handles feels (somewhat like slippery, or little oily feeling), also you spot on for Ridgid tools.. I think as well Ridgid tools has the best rubber texture ever, then Makita & Dewalt come after IMO

I own both m12 and m18 tools. I like the grip much more on the m12, but now I understand why it's larger. Beside the battery the driver board has a ton of room in that giant handle. This is an excellent breakdown thankyou for taking the time to do it. I am now subscribed

00:44 -- Damn it! There's no telling how many countless hours of YT that I've fallen asleep to over the years - but it's generally some geeky shit. Glad I found you - Subbed!

Nice video. I have and use this tool, alongside with 4 other impact drivers(2 Makitas, 1 Dewalt and 1 Hikoki) - for more than an year now - and it is very, VERY nice! Smooth, low vibration and quiet. But I can't really understand your point with the smaller base footprint..? It will have the exact footprint of the battery you put on it. The High Output 3Ah battery will have a larger footprint than the traditional 2Ah. Simple as that. I for one use the light and small 2Ah batteries, because I don't need the extra power, as i am a cabinet maker.

Currently an owner of an M12 3/8" drive Speed Ratchet (2567-20), and quite happy with it. Now I'm looking at M18 products, and your video is very helpful.

Milwaukee owes you for extra sales you’ve generated lol. Nice tear down and well explained, keep it up!

Really good video, and impressive stuff from Milwaukee too. Would love to see a side-by-side comparison of the Surge against other hydraulic impact drivers like the Makita Oil Impulse and the Rigid Stealth.

Some observations on your observations. Motor shaft gear diameter - note that this shaft is turning at very high speeds with relatively low torque. The size of the pinion gear required is proportional to the torque. Note that the torque value quoted for this impact wrench is only 450 in-lbs vs. 1,500+ in-lbs for non-hydraulic impact drivers. Probably doesn't need the beefy drive gear. The molded "rubber" grip really needs to be evaluated after being used for awhile. Too grippy and it may collect dirt and dust and become slippery. Not grippy enough and it is rather useless. My M12 tools all seem to be plenty grippy, but I keep them pretty clean. Would be interesting to know how they hold up in dusty or oily environments. These are questions that can't really be answered from the analysis of a new tool, I know. But I felt that you spent too much time commenting on that aspect of the design without even mentioning that it would require both a more comprehensive evaluation as well as a longer term test to evaluate properly.

The oils on the rubber over mold will come right off after the first good use, leaving a dry grippy surface. This model is also 6 years old now and it should be due for a new second generation surge model, the other standard “Fuel Brushless” impacts are already on their 2nd or 3rd generations and even had minor refinements.

We have gone through a few surge impacts. Even though we warrantied a cpl it's still my favorite. Here's what happen, we use the crap out of our impacts. When the surge started getting warm it wouldn't come out of reverse. Once cooled it would function properly. Thankfully milwaukee did warranty the cpl we have sent back so far. Being $170 bare tool we shouldn't have the issues we had. That is the only issue we have experienced though on the jobsite. Overall I still buy them bc its an amazing impact.

Awesome channel. I actually just bought this impact driver as well. So much lighter than my ryobi. Great breakdown!

It's not a trigger isolator, it's to make sure the trigger doesn't move at all and takes up the clearance in the stackup.

The intro is top notch, can we also get a milwaukee m12 3/8 stubby impact product review?

Good day sir, stoked iv found your channel!, talk about into the weeds in-depth analysis of the inside of a power tool!! First class!! I was all ready for you to take the oil pulse head to bits aaaaand you didn’t!!! Please can you do it 🙏,at the moment I think I’m the only one crazy enough to totally split down the head of a makita dts 141 oil pulse driver ( it’s on my channel) and it battered my head right in!! So I’d love to see what the inside of the Milwaukee impact looks like and how it performs!! Going off the animation it looks really similar to the makita!, anyway of course iv subbed and looking forward to watching more of your videos , cheers 🤟🤟

I enjoyed your review! I thought it was quite comprehensive.

Great video....thanks mate....From Australia

2 Thumbs up for this Sir, using his knowledge and time to meticulously explain the technology involved in a tool project and production. Very informative and interesting. Please continue investing effort in this channel. Thanks.

Love your intros there so accurate 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Awesome Review so Good i wanted to Subscribe! Like to see more Reviews & hoping Milwaukee builds a Gen 4 Surge with all of whats currently in the Gen 2 or 3 M18 & makes it Even better.! Allen D

Next, let’s hear your opinion about one of Makita’s 18v impact drivers, Maybe the XDT13 or XDT14 These two well known. and thanks for the cool reviews you do!

Can you do the same breakdown of the standard fuel impact?

Reason for smaller gear and plastic motor housing is much lower impact (torque) than a normal impact driver.

Can you please do one of these reviews for the smaller m12 surge

0:45 hit me hard

On the market for one right now....still debating on the reg version which is faster then this or the surge version which is quiter....I might go for the surge if the noise is actually really noticeable in difference. Though if I was in a position of knocking in a hundred or so screws day in and out I would for sure go for the louder but faster fuel original m18.

nice break down ty

Milwaukee sells this tool along-side its standard M18 fuel impact driver as being quieter. An analysis of db's, along with any difference in torque, would be useful.

Excellent detail, grid scale helpful, my father (an engineer) watched this with me and was so pleased) I wanted to see the inside of the hydraulic section and an explanation of how it works. Other than that, SO good!

Great. Could you explain, how each circuit board would run? For example connect the yellow wire to this transitor or something it’ll cause it to reverse

This Hydraulic Impact 2760-20 stops working when it's +5 degrees outside and when it's minus outside, it won't tighten a single screw. The instructions say that you need to warm it up for 10 sec. but this doesn't help. I don't recommend it for those who need to work outside

Cool vid I got one of these and m12 surge they’re fun to use lol

Excellent video: I'm looking for the link to the link you mentioned about how the hydraulic action is put together as I did not see it in video or description. Can you add that please?

Nice informative video, I was hoping to see how the hydraulic part worked. Where are the Milwaukee M18 made? All my M12 tools are made in China.

i just got 1 over the weekend i work in the Rv industry run about 400 lags a day ill let u know when it breaks in a few months lolz

Well it has oil on it because it keeps the tool from rusting.

I want you to show me what makes a big difference between dewalt insides from first they’ve made to the recent 850 they’ve made and show why they’ve made recent changes and what they’ve improved

I'm curious as to whether there is potting sealant on the second and third boards.

Great Job I love the demo

I love these reviews

21:08 i'd say that's actually about average

Could not disagree more about the handle. I have one and the grip is great. Takes time to break it in.

U find plastic were there should be metal which is bad, but because it's Milwaukee that part is wonderful.Maybe that Milwaukee isn't as good as it should be

Can you make a video of the Hercules ultra torque 1/2 inch impact

The footprint is small but the battery extends past the footprint by an inch or so.

How'd you know I was supposed to be going to bed?

The size of the sun gear is a little surprising.

Where is the "hydraulic" coming from? Didn't see any oil

Great review. You get what you pay. 👍

Cool video! 👍 Can you do the m12 surge teardown?

I believe pa66 is also more heat resistant than regular pay.

Where is the link for the internals on the hydraulic part?

Current price at HD is 169. A $40 dollar increase in 9 months. (assuming you bought it just prior to posting the review). By this time next year it will be $250 I guess.

I get that you don't like the oily feel but you act like the oils cant be removed with a single wipe of a rag with brake parts cleaner

This same model is $169 now.

Of course the over mold is slick. You haven't used it yet. It's brand new out of the box. Lol. Gotta get it dirty😉

Why do people not sub...

Nylon 66 50 % glass is like pushing concrete through a straw with a cool down of hours.

Where can I find the clip you mention at 21:12?

In a drop test what would internally get damaged?

That retainer. Is that why it doesn't hold screws in lol

As an engineer, what are your thought on the power and capability of the 3/8 m12 fuel stubby along with the m12 fuel impact driver? I don’t own the m12 impact driver but I was considering it for the low cost and potential ease of use with small size and light weight matched up to a compact 2.0 m12 battery for automotive diy work. Thanks

My surge wouldn't sink a deck screw after having it 6 months and I didn't use it that much. looks new. Is the surge made more for light use and sheet metal screws?

The intro called me out.

Awesome review 😊

Please do the new Flexpowertool lineup :):):)

I would spend the extra money if Milwaukee matched the battery and tool warranty from Ridgid.

My surge is stuck on speed 1 and I cannot get it to switch over, any advice?

Wait there's no oil cooling down the metal inside?

Great video like always

I'm really liking your channel. casting, plastic and industrial design are not my expertise, so it's something new and interesting. Though what I think would make your videos better Is to look at more shitty products and say what could be changed about them instead of looking at the best and going "Well there's little to be changed here" at the end of the video.

How do you know all this shit? 😂 Good stuff though boss. Thanks for the info. Well done sir.

I just bought one of these and noticed that when I shake it, it makes a knocking sound. It’s from the chuck sliding back and forth, there’s about 1/16” of play in and out. Any idea if this is normal?

Can you do the Milwaukee chainsaw?

This is great stuff.

This is seriously better than AvE. I’d love to see you do a similar teardown and review of the Kobalt XTR 24-volt drill driver!

So why does everyone still think milwaukee have plastic gears in their tools if you get them from home depot?

Next time can you cut it in half, like others are doing with shoes on RU-vid 🤦‍♂️ JK, Kool video, Thanks for sharing Bro.

Get some Talon grips on there

It bothers me that you knew all the answers to my questions in the first 54 seconds of the video.

Top

Has way more torque

quality that's the wors material in between milwaukee ridgid and ryobi i just return the shitty tool back to home depot

This is the real AVE

I truly think you have a great idea here for some good content and a great channel. Sure, there's LOTS of reviews on tool operation and how they function... But getting into the finer details on why the tool functions well (or not), and the areas that are concerning that can pose potential future issues is awesome. You could even go a step further and show people what part failed if your tool is doing XYZ. Or expose what parts commonly fail in certain tools due to design, materials used, etc... Look at the LockPickingLawyer (he's awesome), he has tons of subscribers talking about freakin' locks. He doesn't beat the locks with a hammer, put blow torches on em or freezes them to test their quality. He shows you how easy, or not as easy locks are to pick based off of their function and design and if the quality of the tool is in fact what they claim or have been known for historically. You're basically doing the same thing with tools. I'd love to see more of these on your channel. Keep up the great work.

I was tricked! I seen a healing bench and thought this was a BOLTR video.

I think you maybe give just a touch (way) too much deference to a corporation not just cutting corners. "We know they're professional grade, so it must be good," sounds like you're coming out of the Milwaukee marketing department. I'm also not sure what the point of a small battery MOUNT footprint is, since you still have to strap a battery to it. I don't think they have especially low profile batteries, does it make a practical difference once that's mounted?

Bad drill just get the old fuel gen

Should the fact that you choose to use RIDGID tools tell me something? I mean, a guy that evaluates power tools from multiple brands on RU-vid, uses specific tools from a specific tool brand? Am i reading too much into this?

Who the fuck cares if your drill is quieter. Makes no sense when you’re in a loud construction environment

You've said a few things in this video that lead me to believe that you are in fact, not a "professional design engineer"

And it's made in china.

team up with AVE

You sound like a Milwaukee fanboy. Engineering seems a bit lacking compared to the Bosch.