HiddenLayer5

HiddenLayer5, 1 year ago (edited 1 year ago)

I wonder how easy it is to DIY something like that. Like would it be as easy as picking up an off the shelf power supply with the right voltage and current and 3D printing an attachment that fits into the battery slot with a DC jack on the side (or even just gutting a dead battery pack and taking out the batteries and control electronics, soldering a DC jack straight onto the main contacts, and drilling a hole for it to poke through)? Or do modern power tools actually need to authenticate the battery with some kind of tool DRM?

HiddenLayer5, 1 year ago (edited 1 year ago)

I think the main issue for the companies is that power adapters have a nearly unlimited lifespan in comparison to lithium batteries, so it would be less profitable for them to sell you a direct attached power adapter than a bunch of batteries and a charger where you have to keep crawling back to them when the batteries inevitably give out in three years.

It would be trivial to design a blank battery attachment with a DC jack, and just have it hooked up to what is essentially a beefed up laptop charger. There are plenty of applications where a corded tool is perfectly adequate and even superior to cordless tools, so the fact that none of the manufacturers have it as an option hints that it was a business decision as opposed to merely an oversight.