The Development Status of PDC Bit

The quality and type of PDC cutters has changed dramatically over the past few years. If you compare the teeth of the 1980s with today's teeth, the difference is considerable. Today's cutters have much better quality performance due to changes in mixing and manufacturing processes, making the drill bit more resistant to erosion and impact. Engineers also optimized the interface between the tungsten carbide substrate and synthetic diamond to improve the toughness of the cutting teeth. Innovations in the layered diamond process have also been used to improve the abrasion resistance and thermal stability of the product. In addition to the development of materials and manufacturing processes, PDC products have also achieved major breakthroughs in tooth design technology and tooth placement. Now, PDC products can be used in areas where they could not be used before, such as harder, more abrasive and more variable formations. This expansion into new areas has had a major impact on the balance between diamond (fixed cutter) and roller cone bits. Initially, PDC bit could only be used in soft shale formations because hard interlayers would damage the bits. However, due to the emergence of new technologies and structural changes, PDC bits can now be used to drill hard interlayers and long sections of hard rock formations. PDC bits are increasingly being used, especially as the quality of PDC teeth continues to improve. Due to improvements in bit design and teeth, the orientability of PDC bits has also increased, further diminishing the advantages of roller cone bits in motor drilling in the past. Currently, PDC bits are crowding out the market for roller cone bits in drilling applications in many formations every day. PDC bit is mainly composed of bit body, cutting teeth, nozzle, gauge surface and joints. According to the different materials of the drill bit body, the drill bit is correspondingly divided into a matrix drill bit and a steel body drill bit. The drill bit body of the matrix drill bit is made of cast tungsten carbide powder and tungsten carbide powder of different particle sizes and impregnated metal with different ratios into the designed mold and sintered by pressureless impregnation at high temperature. The drill body of the steel body drill is machined from alloy steel blanks. After the drill body is sintered or processed, the cutting teeth are welded on it, loaded into the nozzle, and then welded with the joint to become the drill.