Oilfield Drilling technology has advanced by leaps and bounds over the course of the past several years.
While companies develop new ways to achieve maximum penetration rates and save on the bottom line, it’s no surprise that drilling tool technology has had to keep pace with the applications presented in today’s dynamic environment.

One such application seems very simplistic on the surface, that being the use of Integral Blade Stabilizers. These drilling tools are primarily used on PDC bit runs to help stabilize the BHA while drilling, and to help keep the bit from straying off course.

The body of the stabilizer is machined from 4140 or 4145 material prior to being “built up” with a hardfacing application that ensures the tool’s integrity when placed downhole. Most stabilizers to date have had Technogena, conventional carbide, or colmonoy product applied with a variety of patterns including tungsten-carbide inserts or wafers that act to increase the wear resistance rating.

James Gallup, president of Creative Carbide Works (CCW) in Leduc, Alberta together with Eutectic Corp. have developed a process over the last two years that is already starting to see a significant increase in the life of the tool downhole.

Where a typical hardfacing shop will apply the formation biting surface to the stabilizer using a trained welder, Creative Carbide Works has perfected the same result using the Castolin SF Lance and a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) process known as RC 6000 and RC 9000, the RC 9000 with its signature diamond shaped insert with RC 6000 powder.

Gallup got a lead that Eutectic & Castolin were developing a similar system at their world headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. After a couple of phone calls, a five-minute videotape was sent to his residence explaining the ins and outs of this process.

“I actually viewed that tape 20 or 30 times in one night,” laughs Gallup. “The main difference between this and the traditional method is that one is put on by a human being and the other by a machine. The human error equation no longer exists.” The initial benefit, explains Gallup, is the time factor. “It’s done considerably faster. Where it takes three to four hours for a human, it only takes one to one and half hours for the CNC to do the same job.” Scott Macmillan of Security DBS says the CNC technique is a winner. “A typical stabilizer normally see five to six runs before it has to be redressed. Using CCW’s process, we are getting more than double that amount of runs before the tool is sent to be redressed.” This comes as a result of the actual time spent preheating and post heating. Because a short amount of time is spent on each blade (12 to 15 minutes with coatings as thin as 0.030 inches and as thick as one quarter-inch), this process offers significantly less stress to the body of the stabilizer. But what effect does such a “quick and dirty” application have on bond strength integrity? Not much, beams Gallup, “We only have a 0.002 dilution rate and the end result is a bond strength of 60,000 psi. Because of the low dilution with the base metal, the coating material is not compromised, and provides optimum wear resistance,” he says. “This surface bonding technology has proven to be superior to other welding processes when higher performance is critical.”

Creative Carbide Work’s customers are beginning to realize the cost savings involved with RC 6000 and RC 9000. “When we first started with this set up, we were at 10 to 20 percent capacity.” Gallup estimates this technique is now “somewhere in the neighborhood of 65 to 70 percent.” It’s a considerable increase, and one that Gallup is pleased to be the exclusive provider of. “We are, to my knowledge, the only ones in North America with this set up,” he says. “It was definitely worth the phone call to Switzerland.’

Thanks to ENERGY Publishing for this article from their February 2000 issue. Written by Manfred Kinlop