Bleeping PDC.

[Foghat]

HI,
Yesterday I had to split a large stone I was working on, and needed to drill 6, 4" deep holes into the rock, and then use wedges and feathers. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to try out my PDC 18 drill on Impact, the way it says.

After a couple of tries on the first hole, it would go for a minute or so and then just stop. Because I had hearing protection on, it took me a minute to notice it was 'bleeping'.  I tried it again and just after getting started it again stopped. I heard a series of 2 bleeps, then pause, then 2 bleeps.  I thought it was the battery but when I pushed the button 3 solid green lights came on.
I looked through the spartan manual, and saw nothing about the two bleeps.
I had it on gear 4, and set to hammer. No joy.
First time a festool failed me.
I got out my tried and true heavy duty Milwaukee hammer drill and it did the job well.

So, what do the two bleeps mean, and why did it stop. The catalog says it will "plow through concrete"....well....it certainly didn't dent the stone (it was limestone by the way) and didn't plow through anything. Good thing I had a back up drill.

If this is operator error, please let me know, because I baby my festools, and follow the manuals, and watch the videos, and worship  St. Sedge.  [big grin]
What's up?
Thanks.
For other uses, I find this drill great. And my go to drill is the C 15 which I love: super versatile.

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi!

Diameter of the drill bit?

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Maestronus]

The beeping usually means that it hits maximum torque. From the manual:

7.3    Adjusting the torque [1-8]
Fastening
Select the correct torque setting:
Position 1 = low torque
Position 12 = high torque
An acoustic signal sounds when the preset tor­ que is reached and the machine then switches off. You must release and press the ON/OFF switch [1-4] again to start the machine.

Drilling
Mark is aligned with drill symbol = maximum torque.

Did you set the torque dial to drilling mode? If it still beeps in drilling mode you should switch to a lower gear to get a higher maximum torque. Drilling speed will slow down a bit.

A high quality drill bit is also very crucial. But of course impact drilling will never beat a true hammer drill, which is the proper tool for this job.

 

[rst]

The day after I first tried and a rotary drill I sold all my hammer drills.  The fact that they are cordless, can chisel are also great.  The only hammerdrill I now own is a 12v Milwaukee and my two rotarys, 1 1/8" and 2" are also Milwaukee.

 

[Foghat]

Maestronus, Thanks for the tips, and thanks for all the replies, I appreciate it.
To answer, yes, it is a high quality drill bit, I got it from a place where tradesman in the field go, and it's a 3/4" from Germany.
I think it was the torque setting as you surmised, but it was all the way over to the right by 12 and the drill symbol.  I had the other settings up for the gears and hammer, gear 4 and hammer. Should the torque have been to the left on lowest? I thought this would need high torque. I set it they way it suggests in the manual.
I did get it to go again with the trigger after the beeping.

Festool, I did try to call twice today, but it said it was closed, even though during business hours, in Canada.

the Milwaukee is a true hammer drill and it got the job done. I'll try the PDC again, as I have more holes coming up, I'm sure.
Thanks for the tips everyone.

 

[AlexThePalex]

The torque setting is for screwing only, not for drilling. It only applies if you set the drill in its screw setting.

The PDC can drill in concrete, but it is not really powerfull as it is a percussion drill and not a rotary hammer drill. It is best used with masonry and not concrete. Limestone and all other kinds of natural stone is one step further, it is very hard and better done with a reall hammer drill.

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi!

Highest torque: Gear 1, torque setting: drill symbol.

But thats not the real issue here.

The PDC is rated for drilling in brick/masonry and (light/ not reinforced) concrete up to 10mm in diameter.

You tried the equivalent of a 19mm (3/4" = 19,05mm) drill bit (which is almost double the permitted/suggested diameter) in natural stone that is nothing like "light concrete".

I guess the drill bit had a recessed shaft, otherwise it wouldn't have fit the 13mm chuck of the PDC.

So using the rotary hammer (which can also be had from Festool: BHC 18) was the right choice.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Gregor]

So using the rotary hammer (which can also be had from Festool: BHC 18) was the right choice.

This.

My BHC makes short work of things, since I have that I haven't had the need to pull out my good old HILTI SDS Hammer Drill clone.

 

[yetihunter]

The hammer function on a combination drill is ok for modern brick and low aggregate concrete.  When I had a PDC, it did 3/16” and  1/4” in brick quicker than average due to the 4,000 rpm setting.  3/4” is way beyond my expectations.  Solid rock is way beyond my expectations.  Combine the two and no, that’s not a reasonable expectation.  Lowes is currently running a deal where you get a free battery and charger with a Bosch bare tool and that applies the GBH18V-26D for $200.  I’ve had the similarly powered GBH18v-26 for a couple of years and while it’s mostly appropriate for concrete 3/4” and under, I’m confident that it will do 3/4” in limestone. 
For a comparison, those two Bosch models are 2.6 Joules and the Festool BHC 18 is 1.9 joules.  I’d really love to have the Festool eventually because I mostly drill 3/8” and 1/4” holes and it’s perfect for that.  I set the Bosch to “70%” mode for those holes and...well..that’s 1.9 Joules.  I would not have expectations that the BHC18 would fair well with  3/4” in rock.

Edit:  Sorry, just read the other post where you mentioned already having a Milwaukee rotary hammer.  Yes, use that for those kinds of things.  The PDC will fly through brick and quickrete grade concrete at 3/8” and below. 

 

[Michael Kellough]

Limestone and basalt are both “solid rock” but nowhere near the same hardness.

Visited a Mayan temple restoration in Belize and saw guys cutting fresh blocks of “live limestone” with coarse handsaws. An ordinary drill (without any kind of hammer function) could have cranked a 3/4” bit through that stuff. Apparently the limestone underground is very soft and easily shaped. It hardens up in the sun.

 

[CeeJay]

Rock is not the same as rock. I’m in mining and tunnelling. We did a sewer tunnel in Hong Kong granite which had an unconfined compressive strength of 300 MPA. Did a road tunnel in Sydney sandstone with a UCS of 35 MPA. Eg the granite was almost 10 times stronger than the sandstone. The granite couldn’t be touched without diamond tools (or a 1200 ton TBM). Full sized SDS breakers would just spark. The sandstone could be cut with a hand held hacksaw.

So as usual know what you are working with and pick the right tool for the job.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[six-point socket II]

As interesting as natural stone is, and no matter how different it can be throughout it's "layers" - it's completely irrelevant to the problem the OP experienced here.

I probably should have made that a little clearer in my first post.

And the Centrotec drill/drivers are not ordinary. No matter what chuck you place on them, you still have a 1/4" drive/ connection. And when you put really large drill bits (and it doesn't really matter if it's in diameter or length) in the chuck, you're able to apply more force on the drill/driver than it can handle.

To give another example: I have a Hilti TE 2-M which is also anything but an ordinary rotary hammer, but it has plenty of power and is rated for industrial use. If, for example, I use a 16mm diameter SDS-Plus drill bit of 400mm working length, and it's about 200 to 250mm into concrete/stone, only very little force in any direction but straight forward can get the safety clutch to engage. Because the force "multiplies" over length and/or through thickness.

And the same has happened to the OP. The 19mm drill bit got caught on contact with the limestone, and the force required to spin it was more than the PDC with its 1/4" drive could deliver/handle, so the electronic (safety) clutch engaged.

Speaking of the BHC, it has plenty of power - don't let the numbers fool you. Either Festool is incredibly conservative with its rating of the BHC, or other manufacturers are being extremely over-favorable with their ratings.

Keep in mind that Festool delivers high quality, precision tools for what basically is a limited circle of (professional) users (of certain trades). Festool is not your all-around construction site outfitter, and I doubt they would want to be. A drill/driver like the PDC is not your ordinary corded drill let alone rotary hammer, either.

The labels professional, high quality or "for toughest demands" do not equal "will do any- and everything at all times".

Use the right tool for the job, that's where professionalism and knowledge come into play.

Kind regards,
Oliver