An SDS Drill is a type of rotary power drill designed specifically for heavy-duty applications and drilling into materials such as concrete, brick and mortar. An SDS stands for Slotted Drive System and use specialist drill bits with slots in which enable the bit to move foward and baward within the chuck.Rotary hammer drills can combine rotation with a hammer action, which allows you to chisel at tough surface materials. Hammer drills have a work mode selection s which allows the user to choose between:

• Rotary Mode - Most drill users will be familiar with this mode where the chuck rotates the drill bit and the bit bites into the material. To be used only on soft or light materials. You can use standard drill bits in this mode with an SDS+ drill chuck adaptor.
• Rotary with Hammer Mode - This is as above; however, the piston inside the drill will drive forward, in turn driving the drill bit forward. This is the most common mode used when using an SDS+ drill as it achieves the desired goal.
• Hammer Only Mode - This is also known as ‘rotary stop’ or ‘chisel’ mode. The rotary motion of the drill is switched off and the hammer action only is applied. The piston inside moves back and forth driving the drill bit (usually a chisel or point SDS+ bit) back and forth, driving it in turn into the material.

Where SDS drills are used?

SDS drills are employed in many industries, including:

• Demolition
• Construction
• Plumbing
• Electrical
• Carpentry

What type of SDS Hammer drills are available?

There are three main types of SDS Hammer Drills:

• Compact Hammers - These are the most commonly used of the SDS range and use the SDS Plus bits
• Midsize Hammers - Suitable for heavier-duty applications and do not operate in a rotary only mode. These use the SDS-Max bits.
• Demolition Hammers - For demolition work and heavy-duty use and do not operate in rotary only mode.

What's the difference between SDS Hammer and Hammer drills?

SDS Rotary Hammer Drills are similar to Hammer Drills in that they also pound the drill bit in and out while it's spinning. They use a piston mechanism instead of a special clutch enabling them to deliver a much more powerful hammer blow than traditional Hammer Drills - they are able to drill larger holes much faster.