There is something of a love affair between power tools and good design, a relationship that even links them to the arts and even culinary arts. In the essence of tools lies a functional role to build and create, making them a big priority for designers. Beautiful tools can be seen in many industrial design school projects and having many human factors involved to make a good hand-held power tool.

Design process sketches by Zach Hastings of a handheld vacuum to fit within a line of power-tools.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND POWER TOOLS

TEAMS Design is the first design studio that comes to mind when one thinks about industrial design studios and their strong relation to power tools. Although not all design studios have a power tool in their portfolio, many do and TEAMS is quite famous for designing products like the Bosch IXO. TEAMS began collaborating with Bosch in 1956, when founder Hans Erich Slany introduced the radical concept of plastic tool housing - replacing heavy, conductive steel - to Robert Bosch. Since that groundbreaking decision, TEAMS has designed hundreds of power tools for Bosch, Bosch subsidiaries, and other power tool manufacturers.

The Bosch PFS 65 fine spray system enables surfaces both inside and outside of the home to be improved with comfort and ease. In addition to paint, the handy device with a practical shoulder strap can also accurately spray varnishes, lacquers, oils, and numerous other spraying materials. With a length of 13.7 cm, the GDR 10,8-LI (right)cordless impact driver is one of the smallest on the market, offering a wide range of applications with its well-thought-out construction.

The Isio 2 shrub shear is a garden tool, which makes it easy to create little green works of art and well-trimmed lawn edges. Morevoer its ergonomics have been optimized and it is both compact and handy.

FOCUSING ON COMFORT AND ERGONOMICS

The best industrial design studios and brands’ internal studios are always looking for new ways to innovate and make our lives a little easier. Every year we see the release of new and improved tools that offer new solutions, combining features or solving old issues (like how to reach crevices to sand or paint or simply designing them to avoid fatigue).

Tools like Skil 2536 Li-Ion “ion Twist”screwdriver are versatile, light and inexpensive. When people have to do small screwdriving jobs, they can have all kinds of problems. Power tools are often bulky and difficult to hold and working spaces can be extremely tight. Under these conditions, visibility can also be limited because of poor lighting conditions. These problems are addressed with Skil 2536 Li-Ion “ion Twist” which was designed and manufactured by Skil Europe.

Sanding plaster is messy and the next you have to do it you have to think of the Vario-Giraffe wall and ceiling sander by German brand FLEX. It features an ergonomic design with many different handling possibilities for fatigue-free working. Its engine placement ensures a perfect balance and its dust extraction from between the brush ring and the sanding pad and through the 10-hole extraction ports prevents premature clogging of the abrasive and promotes a healthy, dust-free working environment.

Innovative “Alligator Lopper LP1000” clamping jaws by Black and Decker grab and cut in one easy motion. Their scissor action makes cutting branches effortless. As a plus they feature a quite interesting use of graphics to give the lopper a ‘face’ or couple of ‘faces’.

DESIGN DETAILING REFINED AESTHETIC

Sometimes design collaborations go a step further this time the luxury product realm. Stuttgart based Metabo collaborated with Porsche Design to create the carbon fiber and aluminum reinforced P7911 Multihammer, the P7911 is lighter than its competitors and its patented handle placement allows better control of the tool.

FUN AND USEFUL POWER TOOL USES AND ADDONS

On alternative uses for power tools Man vs. Tool encourages using power tools when cooking and they also add a couple of optimal power tool recipes, like Cream Cheese Frosting and Honey Mustard Vinaigrette.

At Carolina Cupcakery in Chesapeake, Virginia the kitchen is stocked with all of the baking essentials - cake pans, fresh ingredients and of course, power drills. After burning several hand-held mixers they decided to try a power drill, and now the power tools are their trademark.

Mud Mixers & Mashers come in different shapes and materials to mix cast components, epoxy resins or beat eggs, like this selection from Bon Tool.

Bosch IXO Vino Cordless Lithium-Ion Screwdriver with Corkscrew Attachment.

You can even use powertools for high speed pencil sharpening! It seriously has never been more fun, and no pencil within reach stands a chance! The C.H. Hanson Pro-Sharp Finishing Pencil Carpenter is apparently the “world’s first chuckable drill powered pencil sharpener”.

POWER TOOLS TO CLEAN UP

And on the cleaning side of power tools ~ the The Dyson Digital Slim vacuum cleaner is the perfect handheld that also has a long reach wand attachment. It has a motorised floor tool for hard floors and carpets. Detach the wand to use as a handheld for spot cleaning, upholstery and inside the car. A perfect pairing to suck up the messes left by the other tools!