Electric screwdrivers are neat because they combine batteries, motors, gears and a switch into one extremely compact and powerful package. Let's take one apart and see what's inside! Here's the screwdriver we will be dissecting today:

When you take off the cover you find all of the basic parts of the screwdriver lined up from one end to the other. You will find:

• A rechargeable battery
• A switch
• An electric motor
• A dual planetary gear system (cool!)
• A simple locking mechanism for the chuck
• The chuck itself, which holds the screwdriver

One of the neat things about this particular screwdriver is the way the manufacturer designed it to lower manufacturing costs. There are no screws or connectors inside the case - everything is held in place by indentations and tabs molded into the case itself. When you take the parts out of the case they come apart naturally because there truly is nothing holding them together: