'Revolutionary process' patented

摘要

ENCORE BITS LLC, a privately held company providing innovative PDC drill bits for the oil and gas industry, announced it received a patent for a revolutionary process designed to selectively leach PDC cutters. The patented Encore Bits process involves coating the entire PDC cutter with an acid resistant film and removing the film from portions of the cutter where leaching is preferred. The cutter is then bathed in acid to remove the cobalt-catalyzing material. "The leaching process was invented to make the drill bit cutters more resistant to wear, but leaching the entire cutter face made it more susceptible to dynamic loading," said Jim Shamburger, Director of Engineering, Encore Bits.