GAIA Cornell Daily Log

GAIA Open Source Cordless Drill 20V brushless cordless drill — open hardware design Specifications Product Ecology Workbench, Power Supply, Battery System, CNC Torch Table License OSHWA and OSI compliant. CC-BY-SA-4.0 International, GPLv3, DIN SPEC 3105. Motor Module 20V brushless DC motor; supports variable speed via PWM trigger Gearbox Module 2-speed planetary gearbox; 3/8" keyless chuck Key Specification 18V Li-ion, 400 in-lbs torque, 0–1500 / 0–400 RPM dual speed Construction 3D-printed housing (PETG/PLA); off-the-shelf motor, gearbox, and trigger components Productivity Replaces a $80–150 commercial drill; fabricable in a village workshop with basic tools Completion Status Prototype assembled Mar 2026; motor bench-tested Jun 2026. See Genealogy and Status of Completion. Do you want more of this? Get Involved

Sun May 3, 2026

Meeting Summary

• EOY Social

TODO

• Niko- Camp out the printers

Sun Apr 26, 2026

Meeting Summary

• Created final CAD model for the housing. Printed sizing tests for motor gearbox construction

TODO

• Build construction to keep the motor and gearbox together outside of the housing
• Find printing time.

Sun Apr 19, 2026

Meeting Summary

• Printed first draft of the entire housing. The PCB we have is too big for the current design and the wires get really crossed.

TODO

• Decide on how to screw housing together
• Printing time has been contentious so keep an eye on possible times to print.

Sun Apr 12, 2026

Meeting Summary

• Printed first draft of the trigger housing, sizing needs work. Assembled all electrical parts, drill is now running.

TODO

• Build housing

Mar 28 - Apr 5 2026

Break

Sun Mar 22, 2026

Meeting Summary

• CAD practice for those who need it. Worked on creating design for directional switch. Worked on housing.

Completed Tasks

• Printed first draft of directional switch

TODO

• Continue printing

Sun Mar 15, 2026

Meeting Summary

Jumping in hard on design work. Split into teams to work on different design aspects. The electrical team worked on battery needs and wiring. Mechanical team split into teams working on direction control switch, motor/gearbox housing, and handle/pcb housing.

Completed Tasks

• Ordered remaining electrical parts

TODO

• Continue design work
• Make rapid prototypes (Print! Print! Print!)

Related Pages

• Drill Initial Design Research

Sun Mar 8, 2026

Meeting Summary

Motor components arrived and were tested on the lab bench.

Completed Tasks

• Research battery and energy constraints

TODO

• Purchase battery and an initial adapter for rapid prototyping
• Design and build a proper adapter later

Related Pages

• Drill Battery Research

Sun Mar 1, 2026

Meeting Summary

First meeting with the full team. We researched design constraints and began assembling a **bill of materials** for the prototype.

Completed Tasks

Purchases for:

• Motor ✓
• Trigger ✓
• Gearbox ✓
• Chuck ✓

TODO

• Find and purchase initial parts for testing
• Break into more concrete subteams:
  • Mechanical
  • Electrical
  • CAD

Related Pages

• Initial Part Research
• Drill Bill of Materials