Any recommendations for powered micro screwdrivers?

[manzini]

+1 the bosch

from small brass screws (with care, little excesive) dozens of rack m6 screws, 4x1U reorganizing some racks it's a jam session.
Concrete wall screws 4mm x 60mm ? never mind:  last summer a small workshop surrounded by shelves and after child's home Furnitures (tendinitis assured)

The battery are like the first day after 4 years.

for very small jobs or brass, nylon, plastic, try to buy some appropriate tips that will not break the head screws by excessive force.

[peter.mitchell]

I have one of those little Boschs as well,  battery lasts forever,  no torque clutch though ,  it lives on my bench,  great for teardowns! :-)

+1 the bosch

from small brass screws (with care, little excesive) dozens of rack m6 screws, 4x1U reorganizing some racks it's a jam session.
Concrete wall screws 4mm x 60mm ? never mind:  last summer a small workshop surrounded by shelves and after child's home Furnitures (tendinitis assured)

The battery are like the first day after 4 years.

for very small jobs or brass, nylon, plastic, try to buy some appropriate tips that will not break the head screws by excessive force.

Would you agree with my comments about it going a bit too slow? For a long threaded screw often I feel it is tedious, sure its much faster than by hand, but still slower than it should be.
Heck, i'd sacrifice some of it's torque for speed, when i first got it i was very very very amazed by it's torque, first thing i did was try to hold the bit in it still with my hand (because if i can hold it with my hand, i can screw with a screwdriver tighter) and i was unable to do so.

[manzini]

Yes ! I agree with you, excuse me for omitting this, It might be important to evaluate.

I have a "big" screwdriver can screw 60mm (2,5"?) in less than a second, but the usability of this small this means that I always use this.

my little mad-zone, about 200 4x60mm concrete walls screws, with the big tool, surely could have ended an hour before but ... the tendonitis can also come by holding and managing a weight tool.

I think it's a good recommendation, of course with your warning, if for example 60mm in +/-5 secs. is an acceptable term.

I think he has the strength to not break anything and help a lot for teardown, bench operation and casual (patiente) walls & large.

[mikeselectricstuff]

I really think there's a market for something like this - more like a "power assisted" manual driver than fully powered unit : 

Similar shape/size  to a traditional medium-sized screwdriver - for smaller stuff, this is easier to "aim" than a pistol grip form factor.

You grip it and it locks the shaft, like a normal screwdriver. For tightening you need to grip anyway so why not use this force to avoid the need for a mechanical clutch.

An alternative may be a ring at the end that's pulled up/down to engage - must be able to do it without changing how you hold it.

You press a button (or maybe a ring at the end and the shaft spins fairly rapidly, but with only enough torque to do/undo a machine screw. e.g. fast enough to fully spin a 12mm M3 screw in under half a second.
Torque cutout, probably using motor current. The high speed also dictates that you want the rotating mass to be fairly small to avoid over-torquing.

As power won't need to be very high, battery should be smaller than 18650 to reduce size/weight- maybe AA sort of size.
Maybe an oval handle with battery/motor either side of shaft and a single gear to couple to the shaft

Replaceable shafts preferable to using a bit holder near the end, to improve stability and maximise access (e.g. down recessed holes)  If there is a bit holder, it would be the smaller 4mm type, preferably with some sort of locking mechanism.
Maybe a set of long shafts for standard sizes, and a 4mm bit holder for less common stuff.

Almost tempted to try designing something myself....

[London Lad]

This is an interesting concept but I prefer your design

http://www.dewalt.com/8vmax-gyroscopic-technology-screwdriver ;-)

[Kjelt]

post removed, brand was already posted earlier.

[peter.mitchell]

It'd be nice if you could get the bosch in a "pencil-grip" with a pwm-controlled speed, and to control it's direction + speed, it worked like a segway - lean forward, it goes forward, lean back it goes back, but instead of lean, it's apply pressure.

I just read the dewalt link above - bugger, they basically made what i just described...

[iRad]

I've been using the Milwaukee battery powered screwdriver on my bench for more than thirty years. First iteration (circa 1983) battery was a bit weak, but so were most NiCd batteries of that time. Still the batteries lasted a year or so each if properly charged and cared for. I still have my 1983 version of this tool and it still works, but the last battery died years ago and it was a better deal just to replace the whole thing with a newer version with better batteries. The latest version of this driver with Lithium-Ion batteries is hard to beat. It's fast and the clutch system works great. For most screws, it does all the work for you. For tight or stubborn screws, the shaft automatically locks and you use your own wrist to start and finish torqueing screws. Weight is only about a pound and about one inch wide, you never get tired of holding and using it. The kit with two batteries is in my opinion the smart buy. This tool is not the go-to construction or machinist driver, but certainly a welcome addition to most work benches. http://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-tools/cordless/2101-22

Single battery kit on eBay... http://www.ebay.com/itm/390706838886
Two battery kit on eBay... http://www.ebay.com/itm/291072953197

[Kjelt]

I've been using the Milwaukee battery powered screwdriver on my bench for more than thirty years.

I am going to check this one out, looks very good and Milwaukee is a very good brand, I own the handheld larger screwdriver for big screws.

[Kjelt]

Just returned from the store, Milwaukee does not sell those in this country, it is not listed in their catalogue 
The store showed me another brand (think it was Makita) but that did not have torque adjustment or multi speed.
I walked out with a Panasonic for €200.- very nice machine, tonight going to test it

[GiskardReventlov]

This is an interesting concept but I prefer your design

That link to an intelligent screwdriver.  No thanks. I can guarantee that it's not intelligent enough and will quickly just be in the way and become annoying.

New BMWs have intelligent braking to prevent you from rear-ending "things". But those "things" include bugs that splat on the sensor. Ooops.  Maybe in the fine print the BMW manual states "No bugs were harmed in the making of this vehicle."

Hopefully that screwdriver has a "Disable  gyro" button.

BTW this the same gyro in the other post?

[London Lad]

This is an interesting concept but I prefer your design

That link to an intelligent screwdriver.  No thanks. I can guarantee that it's not intelligent enough and will quickly just be in the way and become annoying.

New BMWs have intelligent braking to prevent you from rear-ending "things". But those "things" include bugs that splat on the sensor. Ooops.  Maybe in the fine print the BMW manual states "No bugs were harmed in the making of this vehicle."

Hopefully that screwdriver has a "Disable  gyro" button.

BTW this the same gyro in the other post?

I tried one this afternoon, its actually quite good. Not much advantage to the fact that you control the start up and speed by turning your wrist but the fact that you can instantly move between forward and reverse without using a switch is very intuitive and useful.

[mikeselectricstuff]

I suspect the gyro think would get confused if you are holding the thing being screwed in your other hand & moving about  a bit!

[GiskardReventlov]

but the fact that you can instantly move between forward and reverse without using a switch is very intuitive and useful.

I don't doubt that.  It's that one time that it switches direction when you didn't intend to do that. Strange angle or using it upside down, etc. Then I look for the disable switch and if it's not there I stop using it by nature.

I'm trying to think of some other "intelligent" hardware that is poorly implemented.  The BMW issue is stark.

[London Lad]

I suspect the gyro think would get confused if you are holding the thing being screwed in your other hand & moving about  a bit!

You pull a trigger to set the neutral position and start the gyro, this can be in any plane or at any angle, then rotate clock or anti clock to run the motor in forward or reverse. 0 to full speed is about a 45 degree twist. It works very well but I didn't buy one. Still too big for bench work IMHO.

If you want emergency stop just release the trigger.

I still just want this with an internal Li-ion batt :-)

[esprits4s]

I own the Wiha from the original post.  It's fine with a nice set of tips.  Not particularly strong, which is good for inserting screws and not so good for removing them.  I like having a small kit with a very nice assortment of bits.  The driver itself is okay; although, not really up to Wiha standards.  The switch in particular gives little confidence that it will last.  I bought this because of elbow tendinitis and because I'm a fan, in general, of Wiha tools.

I also purchased a cheap Black & Decker lithium ion driver (LI2000: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-Li2000-Rechargeable-Screwdriver/dp/B005LTNLDS/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top). I find myself using this far more than the Wiha on my bench.  It cost $20, the batteries last a really long time, and it has enough torque to remove any electronics screws.  You do have to be careful when using it to insert screws though due to the torque.

I don't regret buying the Wiha, but I'm not sure I would make the same purchase over again.  I also agree there is a need for something a little more robust than the Wiha with better control than the LI2000 (or the other general purpose drivers suggested here).

I'm not sure that I see the need for any of the higher price models suggested in this thread outside of a production environment where you need accurate torque control or extremely high speeds for quick and repeatable assembly.

[Kjelt]

Short experience with the Panasonic:

Pro's:
-lays good in the hand in both physical settings
-The torque stop is great, I was used of the rattler noise in my bigger screwdrivers but this one just plain stops, it cuts the power to the motor when the torque is reached, it has the experience of a pro factory screwdriver.
-When it stops you can directly use the screwdriver manually to fasten even more if required.
-Fast! in the high setting 600rpm , more then fast enough for me 
-excellent batteries (Panasonic quality)

Con's:
-Torque has wide setting but even setting 1 (least torque) is already quite sturdy so I would rather have had a 0,1 - 4 then the 1-20 there is now but OK it is workable.
-inserting screws back in the plastick holes needs a short manual cc rotation till you feel the start of the thread, this is much easier with a handscrewdriver then with this large thing.
-no drillholder included

[iRad]

Short experience with the Panasonic:

What is the model number of your Panasonic driver? From your description of the operation, sounds very much like the Milwaukee driver.

[Kjelt]

The model is EY7410 LA2S

[scientist]

top speed could do with being about 2x faster.

Don't act as if you can't fix that!

[iRad]

The model is EY7410 LA2S

Looks like the Panasonic and Milwaukee drivers are made by the same company with only minor differences to differentiate them. I prefer the black and white color scheme over the red Milwaukee driver, but I cannot find the Panasonic driver in any local stores to check out. It is of course available on eBay, but at a premium price over the Milwaukee driver. That fact alone makes me like the Milwaukee a whole lot better, and I can live with the color. Torque is listed as a little bit higher on the Milwaukee driver, and I bet that is mostly due to its higher voltage battery.

[mikeselectricstuff]

top speed could do with being about 2x faster.

Don't act as if you can't fix that!

Have thought about it but don't use it enough to bother

[Refrigerator]

Some people hack old servo motors to use as mini screwdrivers.

[Psi]

I've been looking for something similar for a while. Mainly something small i can take out to the field when flying RC planes/quads for removing/inserting long 3 or 4mm machine screws.

Ideally i would have it run from a RC lipo.  That way i wouldn't need to worry about keeping the internal battery charged. And it would allow for a smaller unit.

[Kjelt]

Torque is listed as a little bit higher on the Milwaukee driver, and I bet that is mostly due to its higher voltage battery.

If the Milwaukee also uses LiIon batteries the 4V is just marketing, since a single LiIon cell is and always will be around 3,6V   
If they do that with the battery voltage what's stopping them from doing the same with the torque