Comparison Sturm ET4553 vs AeroPro SF5040E

The type of tool is indicated by the power supply method (energy source) used for work, and in some cases, by more specific parameters.

According to the power supply, modern construction staplers and nailers are divided into mechanical, impact (hammer), pneumatic, electric, battery and battery-gas. Also, palm and floor models are distinguished into separate types - they have their own specifics (the former usually use a pneumatic principle of operation, and the latter combine pneumatics and impact action). Here is a more detailed description of these varieties:

— Mechanical. One of the simplest and most popular types of modern staplers. In fact, the vast majority of such tools work with staples; other types of fasteners (see below) are also found, but less frequently. A classic mechanical stapler has the form of a D-shaped frame with a lever for the customer's hand. Such a frame is brought close to the surface being processed, by pressing the lever the customer cocks the spring, and when the lever is fully pressed it is released, forcefully "shooting" the staple and driving it into the material. The main advantages of mechanical staplers are simplicity, low cost, compactness, light wei...ght and complete independence from external energy sources and other equipment. On the other hand, the productivity and impact force of such tools are low, which is why they are well suited only for relatively simple work on a small scale.

— Impact (hammer). A specific type of mechanical staplers (see above), which operates not by compressing a spring, but by striking it with force. Simply put, when working, you need to hit the material with such a stapler, like a hammer. Impact tools are extremely simple, compact and inexpensive even compared to traditional mechanical ones, but this is perhaps their only advantage. Among the disadvantages, it is worth mentioning, first of all, the lower accuracy - in order to hammer in staples with an accuracy of at least half a centimeter, you need to seriously train. In addition, there is not enough space for a swing everywhere, and such tools are usually incompatible with nails or studs. Therefore, this option has not become very widespread.

— Electric. Staplers with an electric motor drive, connected to the network during operation. This design provides good impact force, which facilitates work with hard materials and fasteners such as nails or studs that require significant effort (see "Fastener type"). The productivity of electric staplers is also quite high, while the customer only spends effort on pressing the trigger button. On the other hand, electric tools are much heavier and more expensive than the same mechanical ones, and in the absence of sockets or other power sources, they become useless. And connection to the power supply is carried out through the power cord, which can limit mobility, get tangled underfoot and create other inconveniences.

— Battery-powered. A variation of the electric staplers described above, designed to eliminate one of the most serious drawbacks of such a tool — dependence on sockets. As the name suggests, battery-powered models are equipped with their own batteries and can operate regardless of the presence of power sources nearby. And the absence of a power cord is often a noticeable advantage. At the same time, this option has serious drawbacks. So, with the same operating characteristics, battery-powered staplers are more expensive and heavier than mains-powered ones (while the power tool itself is not particularly light). Battery life is limited, and when the charge is exhausted, the power source will still be needed. Autonomy can be somewhat extended by using replaceable batteries, but this option still does not eliminate the described drawbacks, and is not available in all models.

— Pneumatic. Staplers that operate using compressed air supplied by a compressor. In terms of their advantages (impact force, productivity, low operator fatigue during operation), such models are similar to electric ones, but they also have certain advantages: the tool is more “fast-firing”, lighter and less likely to spark between parts (the latter, in turn, has a positive effect on fire safety). In addition, pneumatic models are often distinguished by high power and are capable of working with very large fasteners. On the other hand, the need to use a compressor creates serious inconveniences: the entire set of working equipment is expensive, bulky and inconvenient to transport from place to place, the compressor also needs to be connected somewhere (or refueled and serviced if it is equipped with an internal combustion engine), and the air hose limits the mobility of the stapler. As a result, the main area of application of pneumatic staplers are furniture factories and other industrial facilities, where the volume of work is large and at the same time there is the possibility of constantly keeping the tool in one place.

— Battery-gas. A rather original type of "nailers", similar in principle to firearms: the fastener (usually nails) is "shot" due to the energy provided by the combustion of a small portion of gas, and the battery is responsible only for creating a spark for ignition. A spark requires relatively little energy, so the batteries in such tools are more compact and lighter than in "purely" battery-powered ones. Also, among the clear advantages of battery-gas models, one can note the high driving force and excellent flow Rate (up to 180 beats/min). And no one has canceled the autonomy and the ability to work independently of external equipment. On the other hand, the design is still quite heavy and bulky, such a tool needs to be "charged" with two types of consumables (energy for the battery and gas), and the price is quite high. As a result, battery-powered gas nailers have not become very widespread; they are used mainly as heavy professional tools – in cases where the advantages described outweigh the disadvantages.

— Palm-mounted. A special compact type of pneumatic tool for hammering nails. A palm-mounted nailer is a working attachment with a striker, but without a magazine — essentially, a kind of hand-held pneumatic hammer. When working with such a tool, each nail must be held by hand (or “drowned” in the work surface in advance), and hammering, as a rule, occurs due to a series of blows. In general, such nailers are inferior to traditional ones in terms of convenience and speed of work, but they also have advantages: palm-mounted tools are compact, have a small weight (which significantly reduces fatigue compared to conventional ones), the length of the nail for them is almost unlimited, and the permissible thickness is usually noticeably greater than in classic “nail guns”.

— Floor. A special type of tool designed for driving staples and/or nails when laying floorboards. It has a V-shaped design, the sole of which is placed on the floor during operation. One half of the V is the working part with a handle for holding in the hand, the second is a magazine; and the shape of the sole is selected in such a way that it tightly contacts the side end of the board being fixed and additionally presses this board to the already laid flooring. Floor devices use both pneumatics and impact action, and it looks like this: having set the tool connected to the compressor in the desired position, it is necessary to hit quite hard with the included mallet on a special protrusion on the end of the working part. This serves as a signal for the pneumatic mechanism to be triggered, and the impact energy supplements the energy of the compressed air, due to which floor models are capable of working with very long staples/nails.

Staple models that the tool is compatible with.

Usually, quite specific options are indicated in this paragraph, so finding compatible consumables is not difficult. The specific dimensions of the fasteners should be specified according to the manufacturer's data — different brands use different markings.

Air pressure for which the pneumatic nailer/stapler is designed (see "Type"). It is this pressure that the compressor to which the tool is connected should give out: if the pressure is too low, the efficiency will noticeably drop, and if it is too high, it can lead to breakage and even injury.

The maximum output of a nailer/stapler is the maximum number of strokes it can produce in a minute. Note that in this case, the theoretical maximum is usually indicated — the highest speed of operation achievable under perfect conditions, in fact — the rate of operation of automation, which in many models exceeds 120 beats / min. In fact, this speed is difficult to achieve, because. the performance of the stapler is noticeably limited by the skills of the operator and the features of the functionality: for example, a tool with contact actuation (see below) must be pressed every time, which reduces the speed of work. However, high performance clearly indicates good reliability and suitability for large volumes of work.

The number of fasteners that fit in the stapler magazine.

Note that manufacturers tend to indicate the maximum number of parts in the characteristics — that is, the capacity for the thinnest fasteners allowed by the design of the tool. Accordingly, fewer larger parts will fit in the store; this must be taken into account when choosing. Nevertheless, this parameter makes it possible to evaluate the instrument and compare models similar in class to each other.

Large capacity, on the one hand, allows you to work longer without interruptions to recharge the stapler. On the other hand, volume magazines are usually very bulky and can weigh a lot on their own, not to mention the weight of the fasteners loaded in them. Also, if parts are charged one at a time, recharging can become quite a long and tedious affair. Therefore, it makes sense to specifically look for a tool for 100 parts or more(especially when it comes to thick fasteners) only if the ability to work for a long time without reloading is more important than the disadvantages described above.

The largest width of staples (see Fastener Type) that the stapler can work with.

The width of the bracket is, roughly speaking, the distance between its legs. Different situations and types of work require different sizes of staples, and sometimes the width must be quite large. However, a staple that is too large simply will not fit into the store, not to mention the fact that the stapler can “shoot” it normally. Therefore, this limit cannot be exceeded, and if you plan to work with brackets, you should pay special attention to the maximum width when choosing.

The smallest length of staples (see Fastener Type) that the stapler can work with.

The length in this case means the length of the leg — in other words, the depth to which the staple clogged "to the stop" penetrates into the material. Small staples do not require much power to drive, but the tool may not be designed for fasteners that are too short due to other parameters — for example, the design of the magazine. Therefore, for many models, this limitation is quite relevant, and in powerful professional models, the minimum length can be quite large — more than 20 mm.

The largest length of staples (see Fastener Type) that the stapler can work with.

The length in this case means the length of the leg — in other words, the depth to which the staple clogged "to the stop" penetrates into the material. This means that working with staples of great length requires not only the appropriate design of the magazine and the feed mechanism — the stapler must also be quite powerful in order to provide the effort necessary for effective clogging. And this, in turn, affects the dimensions, weight and price of the tool. In fact, this means that it does not always make sense to specifically look for a model that can work with long staples — you need to evaluate the specifics of the intended work: often the best choice is a relatively “short”, but at the same time inexpensive and compact tool.

In general, a limit of 10 – 15 mm is typical for entry-level staplers, and in professional models this parameter can exceed 50 mm.

The largest thickness of nails (see "Type of fastener") that the stapler can work with.

Thick nails require not only the appropriate size of the magazine and feeder, but also significant effort is required to drive them. Therefore, the larger the maximum allowable nail diameter, the more powerful, heavier and more expensive the tool, usually. Professional pneumatic nailers can be compatible with fasteners of 3.5 mm or more, but for entry-level tools, a thickness of 1.2 — 1.5 mm is often more than enough.