What’s a Brushless Drill, and Do You Need One?

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Cordless drills with brushless motors came on the scene just within the last decade and quickly gained ground on traditional brushed models. Now they make up 30 to 50 percent of the cordless drill market. “They’re also the fastest-growing segment,” says Courtney Pennicooke, Consumer Report’s market analyst for cordless drills.

So should you go for brushless over brushed? Read on to learn about the differences between the two types of drills and the factors to consider before choosing one.

Brushed vs. Brushless

All cordless drills convert electricity into power by using the attracting and repelling actions of magnets to get the shaft spinning. Brushed motors require small metal brushes to work with the magnets to keep the shaft spinning. Brushless models have an electronic circuit board and a sensor to do the same thing. That has several advantages when…