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Jul 07, 2023

Electric screwdriver is safe for live circuits

Panasonic has introduced an insulated electric screwdriver for use on live

Panasonic has introduced an insulated electric screwdriver for use on live circuits.

Called EYED11SA "the typical red and yellow design has been established to easily identify tools that are particularly insulated and the right choice for working on machinery or devices that cannot be easily or entirely separated from electric circuits", according to the company.

It is 145mm long and designed for single-handed operation, weighing 220g and with the forward-reverse buttons, and the electric-manual driving switch, placed to be reached easily. Sealing is to IP56 against dust and water.

Power comes from an internal Li-ion battery, which is charged via a USB-C socket. After 45 minutes of charging, said Panasonic, the battery has enough power for ~600 M3 x 5mm metal screws.

It comes with six 75mm long insulated bits: PZ1, PZ2, PH1, PH2, flat 4×0.8mm and flat 6×1.2mm.

"EYED11SA comes with an extensively tested double housing structure," said Panasonic, and "the switch itself is rubber protected, and the insulation is designed with the necessary distance. Its electronic control unit is designed for reliably being safe against discharge impacts. The bit comes with a durable insulation material".

Tested to IEC60900 equivalence

Replacement bits for the electric driver, and the matching all-manual handle, are tested to the IEC60900 insulation standard – at third-party lab VDE.

Why not the electric handle?

Because IEC60900 cannot be applied to electric tools, Panasonic explained to Electronics Weekly.

"EYED11SA does not have approval of IEC60900/VDE1000V insulation because this approval is only applied to manual tools, such as pliers or a manual driver," it said. "However, for securing end-user safety, Panasonic designed the electric tool body to meet the requirement of the most tough IEC60900 testing."

It went on to say that it subjected the electric handle to the tests required by IEC60900 at its own labs, picking immersion in metal balls for electrical leakage testing instead of immersion in water as the driver is IP56 rather than waterproof.

"Thus, we tested this electric tool in metal ball pool, to confirm there is no electric leakage with 10,000V applied for three minutes," explained Panasonic, adding that red-yellow marking is only a de-facto industry norm, and not part of IEC60900.

EYED11SA is also compliant to IEC (EN) 62841, mandatory power tools sold in EU.

Find the EYED11SA product page here