ANALYSIS OF MATERIALS AND MODERN TECHNOLOGIES FOR PDC DRILL BIT MANUFACTURING

The article presents a review of PDC (polycrystalline diamond composite) drill bit manufacturing technologies and used metals in order to provide surface quality and accuracy as well as to attract a wider range of scientists to find new technologies and improve current ones in the field of oil and gas production. The review deals with studies of mechanical and physical characteristics, properties, structure effects as well as modern PDC drill bit manufacturing technologies, tools and technical means. Authors discuss the main tendencies and analyse differences in the technologies determined by the used metals. A drill bit quality assurance diagram is developed, which depicts drill bit quality as a complex indicator determined by both used metals and drill bit element-manufacturing technologies. The follow technological stages are defined as the drill bit quality assurance stages: workpieces production, rough and semi-rough machining, chemical and thermal treatment, body covering, finishing machining, cutter soldering and drill bit assembling. As stressed, the used metals determine not only drill bit manufacturing technology, but also drill bit design.