Updated 8/21/20 - At Milwaukee PIPELINE, it was announced that both the Power Supply and Tower Light are expected to release in early 2021.
Updated 5/29/20 - Milwaukee has announced official release dates for many of the new light equipment in their new MX Fuel lineup. The original article was published in October of 2019, which should help explain some of the timelines mentioned below.
Back in June of 2019, Milwaukee hosted its annual New Product Symposium (NPS), a media event featuring hundreds of new products that they planned to release throughout the year and Construction Junkie was in attendance. Just when we thought we were done seeing all of the new tools after several hours of presentations and hands-on time, Milwaukee threw a curveball at us.
After being told to shut down any live streams, we were sworn to secrecy for what they were about to show us until today. So today, I’m happy to say I’m finally able to tell you about what they revealed almost 5 months ago: a new line of products called MX Fuel.
Milwaukee MX Fuel
To be clear, this is a brand new battery system that is separate from the M12 and M18 lineups. The M12 lineup has traditionally been used as an ergonomic means to replace hand tools and the M18 lineup has pushed boundaries with the power it has been able to produce with only 18-volts, including a table saws, chainsaw, and a Super Sawzall.
The MX Fuel line isn’t going to be replacing the M18 line, it’s extending the reach of what cordless tools can accomplish and is targeting light equipment. The light equipment category has been mostly filled with gas powered and corded tools for decades and there are not many battery operated options available.
Let’s get to the details…
The MX Batteries
Milwaukee MX CP and XC Batteries and Charger
The battery pack has been a bit of a question mark since the launch event, but we’ve been able to gather some more information about them in the past few days. There will be two batteries: the compact CP battery pack, weighing in at 5.9 pounds, and a larger XC pack, weighing in at 10.6 pounds, both –unsurprisingly- much larger in size and weight than anything Milwaukee has previously offered.
The battery will operate at 72V, but, as Milwaukee tells us, voltage only tells part of the story:
“While the construction industry has traditionally used voltage to communicate the power and capability of cordless power tool platforms, voltage alone is not a good indicator of capability when it comes to light equipment. For example, most would agree that a fork lift has more “power” than a hand held power tool, but what many people do not realize is that most battery-powered forklifts operate at 48V while there are some handheld power tools at much higher voltages,“ Milwaukee told me after asking for additional information.
The New Equipment
At the launch event, Milwaukee announced 6 new products to kick off their new MX line. As we’ve seen with recent developments of battery powered outdoor power equipment, battery powered tools offer a lot of benefits over gas powered equipment, including emissions reductions for safer use indoor and a lot less noise. The biggest drawback, however, is run-time and we do not have a lot of information yet on many of the new products below.
MX Fuel 14” Cut-Off Saw (MXF314-1XC)
Since there is no gas to mess with, this saw features an instant start, no emissions, less vibration, and more quiet operation than fuel powered saws. Some runtime specs that Milwaukee told us at NPS (with 2 XC batteries) include 106’ of corrugated decking, 10 cuts of 8” cast iron pipe, 25 cuts of CMU block, and 9 cuts of 8” ductile iron. These numbers, they say, are comparable to a tank of gas on a comparable gas powered saw. There is also a cart with water tank storage for concrete floor slab cutting.
New information 5/29/20: With its recent release, Milwaukee has released additional details about the new cut-off saw, including its cut depth of 5”, RPMS of 5350, and its weight of 32 pounds with XC battery.
Release date: Available now
Price: $1,999 kitted with XC406 battery and charger (additional saw cart (3100) is also available for $999)
MX Fuel Breaker (MXF368-1XC)
Milwaukee tells us that the Breaker, which weighs in at 63.9 pounds, will be able to break over 2 tons of concrete on a single charge (equivalent of a trench that is 40 feet long, 12 inches wide, and 6 inches deep. They are also touting that it will be the lightest in its class with the lowest vibration.
New information 5/29/20: the new breaker exerts 50 ft/;bs of Impact Energy and 4.9M/s2 of measured vibration, which is up to 70% less vibration than corded breakers in its class.
Release date: Available now
Price: $2,499 kitted with XC406 battery, charger, cart, and 3 chisels
MX Fuel Handheld Core Drill (MXF301-1CP)
Not only can the new handheld core drill core up to 6” diameter cores in reinforced concrete, it also includes a patented clutch design and AUTOSTOP Technology to keep the tool from binding up and preventing injury to the user.
New information 5/29/20: The new handheld core drill comes enabled with Milwaukee ONE-KEY for location tracking and alerts and inventory management.
Release date: Available now
Price: $2,649 kitted with CP203 battery, charger, and carrying case ($3,999 if kitted with stand)
MX Fuel 3600W/1800W Power Supply
If you don’t have to do much work with concrete, this may be the piece of equipment that gets you excited. A few different applications and runtimes that they talked about at NPS included:
55” LCD TV for 7+hours
605 crosscuts of 2x4 SPF with a corded circular saw
600 3” framing nails with a corded compressor
30 threaded ends of ¾” black pipe
Power to run a jobsite microwave
Release date: early 2021
Price: TBD
MX Fuel ROCKET Tower Light/Charger
There’s no doubt that Milwaukee absolutely dominates the lighting category with their M18 lineup, but this new tower light take their lighting to a whole new level. At its highest, it extends up to 10’ high, provides 27,000 lumens, and can withstand winds of up to 45 miles per hour with its adjustable outriggers.
Release date: early 2021
Price: $2,999 kitted with battery
MX Fuel Sewer Drum Machine w/ POWERTREDZ
Drum machines are a must for most plumbers that work in maintenance, but they’re big and heavy, which can make them difficult to maneuver up and down stairs without a helper. The new MX Fuel Sewer Drum Machine features what Milwaukee calls POWERTREDZ, which uses the MX battery to power what look like small, rubber excavator tracks, assisting the user on stairs and on the back of their truck. Milwaukee also says it has the power to clear roots up to 200 feet out.
Release date: now
Price: $3,499 kitted with CP battery and charger
These are just the first 6 tools Milwaukee will release on the MX platform…what other gas powered tools would you like to see on the MX line? Tell us in the comments below!
Last summer, Hilti announced that they had developed their first exoskeleton designed for construction tradespeople in a partnership with Ottobuck, a prosthetics, orthotics, and exoskeleton provider. Earlier this month, Hilti officially released the exoskeleton, announced more details, and published its retail price on their website.