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This 6-1/2” circular saw fits perfectly into the light duty category for circular saws. With the 4.0ah battery, 50 degree bevel, and 4000 rpm saw speed this model delivers performance comparable to many of the heavy duty saws on the market while still keeping a very reasonable price point.
Read morephoto via SmartSite
We have a lot of safety rules in construction and it’s practically impossible to monitor your job site for compliance of every single rule. To complicate matters, many rules are based upon exposure limits, especially when airborne particles are involved. OSHA recently reduced the allowable exposure limit of silica dust, which is found in concrete, stone, and brick, before additional PPE or engineering controls are required. This rule change has caused a lot of grief among construction industry groups, who called the rule technologically infeasible, because what contractor is really set up to measure when 50 micrograms of silica dust per cubic meter of air is actually reached?
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If positioned the right way, paper is known to give some pretty mean paper cuts, so say to the office tethered thrill seekers of the world. Try to cut wood by running a sheet of paper against it, however, and you’ll end up a mangled piece of paper. But, perhaps we’ve been using paper the wrong way all along. Maybe it’s a metaphor for life, put an object or a person in the wrong situation and get poor results, but put them in the right situation and you’ll reap the rewards.
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Remember when all phones did was make calls? Me either. Smartphones are becoming more and more powerful by the day, they’re already cameras, note takers, and thermal imaging cameras, but now they can add x-ray vision sensors to the list.
Read morePhoto courtesy of H Brown Inc
There are some things in life that are promised… such as taxes, death, and buying something used that you will later wish you hadn’t. Whether it is a Craigslist flat screen TV or a used car, it is always smart to be slightly wary about used goods.
Hoisting equipment and construction are no different.
Read morePrincipal Engineer with RePlast blocks made of recycled plastic. Photo via ByFusion
Plastic bottles are probably inside more buildings than we’d care to know about, as I’ve personally (and unfortunately) been on enough job sites to see way too many bottles thrown around the job site, outside of trash containers. A large percentage of the bottles that are lucky enough to make it in a dumpster, end up in a landfill where it takes them an estimated 500 years to fully decompose! In an effort to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in our nation’s landfills, one startup company is hoping to turn recycled plastic into the next green construction material.
Read moreImage courtesy Milwaukee Tool
There’s no denying that cordless, battery powered tools are super convenient to use on any job site. The problem with cordless tools has always been whether or not they can provide the necessary power to complete the tough jobs or last long enough to keep them efficient. We’ve already come a long way with battery technology, as well as deigning tools to use less battery power. The brushless technology that has taken over the tool industry in recent years helped cut down on the friction and heat tools produce, making them less draining to use. Whereas construction technology companies are trying to create a paperless job site, the ultimate goal right now for most tool companies is to create the cordless job site.
Milwaukee Tool has officially announced their intention to release a high demand, M18 9.0 battery pack that can provide up to 2 times the performance of their current high powered, extended capacity 5.0 battery and up to 5 times better performance versus standard lithium ion batteries. That’s less trips to the charger, more power to cut through tough materials, and more speed.
Image courtesy Milwaukee Tool
The nice thing about this battery upgrade is that it’s fully compatible with all 100+ Milwaukee M18 tools, but you get all of the added benefits of the new battery. Available to the public next month (September), the M18 REDLITHIUM HIGH DEMAND 9.0 Battery Pack will retail for $199, which is definitely a step up from the cost of the 5.0 battery, which retails for around $129.
You may also be aware that DeWalt has announced the release of their own high capacity batteries, the 60V/20V FLEXVOLT batteries and a new line of 60V tools. While Milwaukee’s batteries are only 18V, they’ve released a side-by-side comparison of the battery performance, which aims to show that voltage is not the only measure of power. Of course, the source must be considered and the actual performance will need to be tested once the tools are formally released, but it’s an interesting comparison. As far as brand loyalty goes, it seems that both Milwaukee and DeWalt users will end up being the winners because of these batteries.
Image courtesy Milwaukee Tool
Hadrian X brick laying robot via Youtube
There has been lots of robot talk in the past few years in construction, whether it’s trying to give humans the strength of a robot, 3D printing robots, or automated robots that can perform repetitive tasks on the job site. Masonry has been a sought after market for the robotics industry, it seems that there’s a bit of an arms race to the top of the robotic brick laying mountain. The latest competitor in this field is the Hadrian X, developed by Fastbrick Robotics in Perth, Australia.
Read morePhoto Courtesy of Helly Hansen Workwear
Helly Hansen isn’t just an apparel brand – it’s an institution. For 140 years, the company has been designing and manufacturing high quality performance apparel and is amazingly popular within the skiing and sailing industry. We all actually have Helly Hansen to thank for the world’s first supple waterproof fabrics and the world’s first fleece. If anyone could possibly know how to keep people warm and dry, it’s them. Fortunately for all of us in the construction industry, they also put their knowledge and unparalleled style into designs worthy of the jobsite as Helly Hansen Workwear (HHWW). Their goal? To create workwear that not only performs on the toughest jobsite, but also looks like something you’d wear out after work.
Read moreVia Youtube
With the introduction of 3D printers on construction job sites, many are worried that robots will begin taking over the jobs of hardworking tradesmen. It’s more likely, however, that workers will be working WITH robots long before we’re completely replaced. For example, one company that makes exoskeletons to help paraplegics walk is also developing an exoskeleton specifically for constructions workers that will allow them to lift 50 pound pieces of equipment with one finger. Now, a former NASA and General Motors (GM) partnership has turned into an expedition into the blue collar fields.
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Last summer, Hilti announced that they had developed their first exoskeleton designed for construction tradespeople in a partnership with Ottobuck, a prosthetics, orthotics, and exoskeleton provider. Earlier this month, Hilti officially released the exoskeleton, announced more details, and published its retail price on their website.