Panasonic 7443 Auto Drill and Driver Power to Your Elbow
Independent Review by Peter Brett
In my mind I have a particular view of a Panasonic drill user. Usually not the much-maligned “hairy builder”, but a user who tends to value sophistication and reliability in his power tools. A loyal user who will tend to stick with the brand when the time comes to replace a tool. In that sense, Panasonic has been a bit of a Cinderella brand, mostly left out of the limelight. But from my experience, whenever I have tried one of the Panasonic products, I have come away thinking that they are very good tools that need a wider audience. The secret seems to
me to be that Panasonic drills have the advantage of the massive electronics know-how from the parent company. This means that the battery packs and charging technologies provide solid, reliable performance and the motor electronics provide a good user experience. The new 14.4v
Panasonic 7443 Auto Drill and Driver is a fine example of what I mean. I think it should be the flagship of the current Panasonic range because it is just the smartest little drill driver I have used for a long while. A cursory look at the tool will indicate that it
looks like many other quality cordless drill drivers on the market because it follows the familiar layout of many other drills. However, once you pick it up and examine it a bit more closely, there are some finer features to appreciate. It is hard not to notice that someone has taken particular care to design a drill that has an ergonomically shaped handle that is genuinely comfortable to hold. The rubber overmould is grippy without being cloying or over the top, with fine ribbing and dotting in key places. The overmoulding continues to the base of the drill and up and over the top, right around the speed selector switch. This provides a good basis for protection against knocks and falls and conforms with the Tough Tool concept that Panasonic has included in the range. This concept extends from motors to battery packs and electronics and moisture protection. Since most users or potential buyers won’t actually see any visible evidence of the Tough Tool concept apart from the overmould, it needs to be pointed out. The Panasonic is remarkably compact at about 20
cm from chuck to tail. The chuck is keyless and plastic-sleeved with a 13mm capacity. There are 18 torque options selected by twisting the collar, with a drill option too. The grey ABS plastic body is very well
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put together and shows no sign of flexing in normal use. The normal slider switch for selecting high and low speed is situated on the top of the motor housing, but here is one of the things that sets this Panasonic apart. The slider switch has three positions
illuminates a small area around the likely working area.
With Panasonic’s electronic knowhow we can
expect sophisticated things, and indeed we get them. The battery packs are 14.4v Li-ion that are rated at 4.2Ah so they will last a good long time in use. Full charge on the “smart” charger will take an hour, but a usable charge can be achieved in fifty minutes. The specifications
also indicate that this little drill has great torque – it has a maximum drilling capacity in wood of 35mm, making the use of the current crop of big twist drills and holesaws a reality. In metal too, a maximum diameter of 13mm is possible. As I mentioned
earlier, the key feature of the 7443 Auto Drill is the “Auto” switch. It has been over three years in development and has endured a long regime of testing in which it has actually proved to be more reliable than non- Auto drills. The way the “Auto”
made works is this:- Should I start drilling a nice
not the normal two. The low speed provides a speed range of 60-400 rpm and high speed is a very respectable drilling speed of 160-1,400 rpm. But, should you select “auto” mode the electronics take over and monitor the torque required for the job in hand. But more of this later…. The battery lithium ion battery pack has a good
fat 12 gauge 150mm long screw into a hard piece of timber it very soon starts to become more difficult as friction and depth start to come Into play. What the Auto mode does is to assume control for the user and with a stutter or even a stop, the electronics take over and start delivering maximum torque at an optimum speed. The first time I did this when I was testing the 7443 I found it a bit unnerving because it is not what I expected in the middle of driving a screw, but I got used to letting the Auto mode take over. All I had to do then was pull the trigger and keep the screw on course. Interestingly, when reversing the screw out of the hole, the auto mode also controls the torque to twist the screw out of the hole, with the speed getting quicker and quicker the further the screw is unscrewed. By the time you add in the
electronic brake, the reversible belt hook on the base, a light weight of only 1.85 Kg, a spare battery and charger in a nicely made plastic case, you have a very serviceable package
indeed.
flat base so that the drill will stand well when put down. I was also impressed with the system used to hold the battery pack to the drill. It has two catches that hold the pack on but they release easily because there is none of that tedious sliding action that many other battery packs suffer with. On the rubberized base there is a tiny push switch to switch on the bright LED light that is aimed at the chuck end and
In the short time I had to use the Panasonic 7443
I grew to like it very much. This had a lot to do with the way it handled and the comfortable grips and easy controls. To be honest, for the way in which I use my cordless drills, I would probably leave the Panasonic in “auto” mode most of the time and just enjoy the great feeling of using another quality cordless tool.
Reply No. 218
www.toolbusiness.co.uk
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