In the power tool industry much is talked about the "balance" of a power tool. Generally, in my experience, this is used as a put-down for a competing product. But what is meant by the term "balance" in this context?
My interpretation involves how the power tool feels in the hand of the user. For example, many corded power drills, to my way of thinking, have very little "balance". The motor, gearbox and chuck are on top and the handle is usually towards the back of the power tool and far away from the drill bit and chuck end. To me this arrangement is inherently unbalanced and so is difficult to use one-handed.
A cordless power drill often has to include a comparatively heavy battery. In most cases the battery is attached to the bottom of the handle which in turn is usually below the motor and gearbox which are in the head of the power tool. Often, for "balance" the handle is attached somewhere between the back and the front of the power tool and not at the back.
During the development of KwikPro I found that moving the motor from the top of the power tool into the handle had no effect on "balance". The three heaviest parts of a cordless power tool are usually the battery, the gearbox and the motor, normally in that order. Moving the motor to inside the handle made the motor "balance-neutral" leaving the gearbox and battery happily counterbalancing each other when in the user's hand.
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