Nova has put a new twist on the drill press with its 18” DVR model, featuring a Digital Variable Reluctance “smart” motor. Developed by DVR Technology Developments in affiliation with Teknatool/Nova, it will be available in January 2016.

Joel Latimer, president of DVR Technology, says the company has been working to perfect this motor and its application in a variety of industries for more than a decade. Now the woodworking industry can enjoy a drill press featuring computer-based control.

“The heart of this machine is its motor with a variable speed range of 50 up to 5,500 rpm to tackle a wide range of materials. It’s a true variable-speed motor, so you can have a lot of torque at a very low rpm,” Latimer says.

He says the 1-3/4-hp direct drive motor has no belts, pulleys, brushes, permanent magnets or electrical connections to any moving parts. There is no current flow in the rotor, providing less wear and longer life than an AC or DC motor.

“Another feature is our soft-start feature, which starts the drill automatically with a pull of the handle. It also stops when you retract the drill,” says Latimer says.

The drill press also features an LCD control screen with a picture menu. From it, the user can select a drill bit, specify the material for drilling and the correct speed is calculated.

“When you first go into the menu it has a picture of all of the different drill bits available. It’s basically got an onboard library that will spit out a recommended RPM for that drill piece. This can help save your drill bits without you having to refer to a reference manual.”

For safety, the machine has a tilt sensor that activates the electronic brake. It will also recognize a loosely clamped workpiece and stop the motor.

Nova’s 18” DVR drill press sells for $1,499.

For more, visit www.dvrsmartmotor.com and www.teknatool.com.

This article originally appeared in the December 2015 issue.