METHODS OF MANUFACTURING SUPERHARD BEARING ELEMENTS
In an embodiment, a bearing assembly includes superhard bearing elements distributed circumferentially about an axis. At least one of the superhard bearing elements may include a first arcuate end portion, a second arcuate end portion, a first substantially planar face, a second substantially planar face, and a bearing surface. The first and second arcuate end portions may be generally opposite each other. The first substantially planar face may extend between the first and second arcuate end portions. The second substantially planar face may be generally opposite the first substantially planar face. The first substantially planar face may have a length greater than a length of the second substantially planar face. The bearing surface may extend between the first arcuate end portion, the second arcuate end portion, the first substantially planar face, and the second substantially planar face. The bearing assembly includes a support ring that carries the superhard bearing elements.
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This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/183,686 filed on 15 Jul. 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein, in its entirety, by this reference.
BACKGROUNDSubterranean drilling systems that employ downhole drilling motors are commonly used for drilling boreholes in the earth for oil and gas exploration. Subterranean drilling systems typically include a housing enclosing a downhole drilling motor operably connected to an output shaft. One or more thrust-bearing apparatuses may also be operably coupled to the downhole drilling motor for carrying thrust loads generated during drilling operations. A rotary drill bit may also be connected to the output shaft and be configured to engage a subterranean formation and drill a borehole.
Each bearing apparatus may include a stator that does not rotate and a rotor that is attached to the output shaft and rotates with the output shaft. The stator and rotor may each include a plurality of superhard bearing elements or inserts. Each superhard bearing element may be fabricated from a polycrystalline diamond compact (“PDC”) that provides a bearing surface that bears against other bearing surfaces during use.
In a conventional PDC bearing apparatus, a bearing assembly may include a support ring that may be configured to accept a number of superhard bearing elements. The superhard bearing elements may be made from a polycrystalline diamond layer formed on a cemented tungsten carbide substrate. These superhard bearing elements are commonly manufactured by machining cylindrical PDCs. The manufacture of superhard bearing elements from PDCs traditionally requires complex and repetitive cutting and/or grinding, making the manufacturing process expensive and time consuming. Moreover, common manufacturing processes produce a single superhard bearing element per PDC, wasting a significant portion of the PDC and ultimately increasing the cost of superhard bearing elements for users.
Therefore, manufacturers and users of bearing apparatuses continue to seek improved bearing apparatus designs and manufacturing techniques.
SUMMARYEmbodiments of the invention relate to bearing assemblies and apparatuses that include superhard bearing elements having geometries tailored for streamlined manufacturing and efficient positioning thereof in the bearing assemblies and apparatuses. The disclosed bearing assemblies and apparatuses may be used in a variety of applications such as drilling equipment, machining equipment, bearing apparatuses, and other articles.
In an embodiment, a bearing assembly includes a plurality of superhard bearing elements distributed circumferentially about an axis. At least one of the superhard bearing elements may include a first arcuate end portion, a second arcuate end portion, a first substantially planar face, a second substantially planar face, and a bearing surface. The second arcuate end portion may be generally opposite the first arcuate end potion. The first substantially planar face may extend between the first arcuate end portion and the second arcuate end portion. The second substantially planar face may be generally opposite the first substantially planar face. The first substantially planar face may have a length greater than a length of the second substantially planar face. The bearing surface may extend between the first arcuate end portion, the second arcuate end portion, the first substantially planar face, and the second substantially planar face. The bearing assembly further includes a support ring that carries the plurality of superhard bearing elements.
In an embodiment, a bearing apparatus may include a first bearing assembly including a first plurality of superhard bearing elements and a support ring that carries the first plurality of superhard bearing elements. At least one of the first plurality of superhard bearing elements may have a first arcuate end portion, a second arcuate end portion, a first substantially planar face, a second substantially planar face, and a first bearing surface. The second arcuate end portion may be generally opposite the first arcuate end portion. The first substantially planar face may extend between the first arcuate end portion and the second arcuate end portion. The second substantially planar face may be generally opposite the first substantially planar face. The first substantially planar face may have a length greater than a length of the second substantially planar face. The first bearing surface may extend between the first arcuate end portion, the second arcuate end portion, the first substantially planar face, and the second substantially planar face. The bearing apparatus may also include a second bearing assembly including a second plurality of superhard bearing elements generally opposed to the first plurality of superhard bearing elements of the first bearing assembly. The second bearing assembly may also include a second support ring that carries the second plurality of superhard bearing elements.
In an embodiment, a method of manufacturing a plurality of superhard bearing elements from a blank insert having a longitudinal axis and a lateral dimension including a first end point, a midpoint, and a second end point, may include making a first cut substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank insert at a predetermined distance from the midpoint of the lateral dimension between the first end point of the lateral dimension and the midpoint of the lateral dimension. A second cut may be made to produce a first superhard bearing element from the blank insert. The second cut may be substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank substantially at the midpoint of the lateral dimension. A third cut may be made to produce a second superhard bearing element from the blank insert. The third cut may be substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank insert at the predetermined distance from the midpoint of the lateral dimension between the midpoint of the lateral dimension and the second end point of the lateral dimension.
Features from any of the disclosed embodiments may be used in combination with one another, without limitation. In addition, other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art through consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
The drawings illustrate several embodiments of the invention, wherein identical reference numerals refer to identical elements or features in different views or embodiments shown in the drawings.
Embodiments of the invention relate to bearing assemblies and apparatuses that include superhard bearing elements having geometries tailored for streamlined manufacturing and efficient positioning thereof in the bearing assemblies and apparatuses. The disclosed bearing assemblies and apparatuses may be used in a variety of applications such as drilling equipment, machining equipment, bearing apparatuses, and other articles.
The thrust-bearing assembly 100 further includes a plurality of superhard bearing elements 108 that are generally non-cylindrical in shape. The superhard bearing elements 108 are illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiment, the superhard bearing elements 108 have a width which is substantially less than a length of the superhard bearing elements 108, although it will be appreciated that these dimensions are illustrative only and not limiting to the present disclosure. In fact, in other embodiments, the superhard bearing elements 108 may have widths substantially equivalent to their lengths or widths substantially greater than their lengths and a variety of other dimensions.
Referring to
According to an embodiment, the first substantially planar face 112 and the second substantially planar face 114 may extend between the first end portion 116 and the second portion 118. In the illustrated embodiment, the first substantially planar face 112 and the second substantially planar face 114 form generally rectangular planes. The generally rectangular plane of the first substantially planar face is illustrated being larger than the generally rectangular plane of the second substantially planar face 114. However, in other embodiments, the first substantially planar face 112 may be smaller than the second substantially planar face 114. In the illustrated embodiment, the first substantially planar face 112 and the second substantially planar face 114 are substantially parallel. In other embodiments, however, the first substantially planar face 112 and the second substantially planar face 114 may be angled relative to each other. For example, the first substantially planar face 112 and the second substantially planar face 114 may be angled relative to each other such that the superhard bearing elements 108 have a wedge-like shape.
In the illustrated embodiment, the first end portion 116 and the second end portion 118 have a substantially constant curvature, thereby forming opposing arcuate ends on the superhard bearing elements 108. In other embodiments, however, the first end portion 116 and the second end portion 118 may have straight edges, non-continuous edges, or other edge configurations. For example, the first end portion 116 and the second end portion 118 may take the form of any portion of a circle, oval, square, rectangle, rhombus, triangle, or virtually any other simple, complex, regular, irregular, symmetrical, or non-symmetrical geometric shape. Moreover, the first end portion 116 and the second end portion 118 may be mirror images and have the same size and configuration, although this feature is not necessary. For example, where the first substantially planar face 112 and the second substantially planar face 114 are angled relative to each other, the first end portion 116 may have a size larger than a size of the second end portion 118 or vice versa.
The bearing surface 120 of each superhard bearing element 108 may be substantially planar and generally lie in a common plane (
Referring to
In other embodiments, a retention ring (not shown) may be configured to secure the superhard bearing elements 108 between the support ring and the retention ring as disclosed in co-pending application U.S. application Ser. No. 12/761,535 filed 16 Apr. 2010, which is incorporated herein, in its entirety, by this reference.
The shaft 206 may, for example, be operably coupled to an apparatus capable of rotating the shaft 206 in a direction R (or in an opposite direction) about a rotation axis 210, such as a downhole motor. For example, the shaft 206 may extend through and may be secured to the rotor 202 by press-fitting or threadly coupling the shaft 206 of the rotor 202, or another suitable technique. The stator 204 may not be connected to the shaft 206 and, therefore, may remain stationary while the rotor 202 rotates. The respective bearing surfaces 120 of the superhard bearing elements 108 of the rotor 202 may be oriented to generally oppose and contact respective bearing surfaces 120 of the superhard bearing elements 108 of the stator 204.
Any of the embodiments of thrust-bearing apparatuses disclosed herein may be used in a subterranean drilling system.
A first one of the thrust-bearing assemblies 202 of the thrust-bearing apparatus 2001 may be configured as a rotor that may be attached to the output shaft 306 and rotates with the output shaft 306 and a second one of the thrust-bearing assemblies 204 of the thrust-bearing apparatus 2001 may be configured as a stator that does not rotate. The on-bottom thrust generated when the drill bit 308 engages the bottom of the borehole may be carried, at least in part, by the first thrust-bearing apparatus 2001. A first one of the thrust-bearing assemblies 202 of the thrust-bearing apparatus 2002 may be configured as a rotor that may be attached to the output shaft 306 and rotates with the output shaft 306 and a second one of the thrust-bearing assemblies 204 of the thrust-bearing apparatus 2002 may be configured as a stator that does not rotate. Fluid flow through the power section of the downhole drilling motor 304 may cause what is commonly referred to as “off-bottom thrust,” which may be carried, at least in part, by the second thrust-bearing apparatus 2002.
In operation, drilling fluid may be circulated through the downhole drilling motor 304 to generate torque and effect rotation of the output shaft 306 and the rotary drill bit 308 attached thereto so that a borehole may be drilled. A portion of the drilling fluid may also be used to lubricate opposing bearing surfaces of the bearing surfaces 120 of the thrust-bearing assemblies.
As shown in
Referring now to
Referring to
Referring now to
Referring now to
In other embodiments, the illustrated methods of manufacture may include grinding or machining a peripherally-extending edge chamfer that extends along at least a portion of the bearing surface of the superhard bearing elements prior to or after the formation of the individual superhard bearing elements from the cylindrical insert. In other embodiments, the creation of the peripherally-extending edge chamfer may be omitted. Moreover, while the superhard bearing elements are illustrated as being cut from a cylindrical insert, cutting the superhard bearing elements from a cubed insert, a rectangular insert, an oval-shaped insert, a triangular insert, or other shaped insert may be performed. In addition, while the straight wire EDM cuts are described as being substantially parallel to each other, in other embodiments the cuts may be made non-parallel or angled relative to each other. Further, other embodiments of the illustrated methods may also include making a straight wire EDM cuts substantially parallel to the top generally circular face 404 of the cylindrical insert 404 to vary the height of the cylindrical insert 404. However, this cut may be omitted in other embodiments. Also, while the EDM cuts are illustrated in sequential order from left to right, the EDM cuts may be made in any sequence and may be made from any direction suitable to produce the superhard bearing elements (e.g. first cut, fourth cut, second cut, fifth cut, and then third cut). Finally, while the straight wire EDM cuts are described being made substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis Y of the cylindrical insert 400, the straight wire EDM cuts may be made substantially perpendicular or at any other angle relative to the longitudinal axis Y of the cylindrical insert 400.
Additionally, instead of employing straight wire EDM, other machining techniques may be employed in the methods described with respect to
The concepts used in the thrust-bearing assemblies and apparatuses described above may also be employed in radial bearing assemblies and apparatuses.
The radial bearing apparatus 700 may be employed in a variety of mechanical applications including motors, turbines, or any other device capable of rotating a shaft. For example, so-called “roller cone” rotary drill bits may benefit from a radial bearing apparatus disclosed herein. More specifically, the inner race 702 may be mounted or affixed to a spindle or a roller cone and the outer race 704 may be affixed to an inner bore formed within a cone and that such the outer race 704 and the inner race 702 may be assembled to form a radial bearing apparatus.
While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments are contemplated. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting. Additionally, the words “including,” “having,” and variants thereof (e.g., “includes” and “has”) as used herein, including the claims, shall have the same meaning as the word “comprising” and variants thereof (e.g., “comprise” and “comprises”).
Claims
1. A method of manufacturing at least one of a plurality of superhard bearing elements from a blank insert having a longitudinal axis and a lateral dimension including a first end point, a midpoint, and a second endpoint, the method comprising:
- making a first cut substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank insert at a predetermined distance from the midpoint of the lateral dimension between the first end point of the lateral dimension and the midpoint of the lateral dimension; and
- making a second cut to produce a first superhard bearing element from the blank insert, the second cut being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising making a third cut to produce a second superhard bearing element from the blank insert, the third cut being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank insert at the predetermined distance from the midpoint of the lateral dimension between the midpoint of the lateral dimension and the second end point of the lateral dimension.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein at least the first cut and the second cut are substantially parallel, and wherein the second cut is made substantially at the midpoint of the lateral dimension.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the blank insert includes a cylindrical blank insert and the lateral dimension defines a diameter of the cylindrical blank insert.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein at least one of the first cut, the second cut, or third cut is made via electro-discharge machining or laser machining.
6. The method of claim 2, further comprising making a fourth cut to produce a third superhard bearing element from the blank insert, the fourth cut being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank insert at a second predetermined distance from the midpoint between the midpoint of the lateral dimension and the first end point of the lateral dimension.
7. The method of claim 5, further comprising making a fifth cut to produce a fourth superhard bearing element from the blank insert, the fourth cut being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank insert at the second predetermined distance from the midpoint between the midpoint of the lateral dimension and the second end point of the lateral dimension.
8. The method of claim 6 wherein at least two of the superhard bearing elements are substantially identical in size and configuration.
9. The method of claim 6 wherein the first cut, the fourth cut, the second cut, the fifth cut, and the third cut are in sequential order.
10. The method of claim 2 wherein the first cut, the second cut, and the third cut are in sequential order.
11. A method of manufacturing a plurality of superhard bearing elements from a generally cylindrical blank insert having a longitudinal axis and a diameter including a first end point, a midpoint, and a second endpoint, the method comprising:
- making a first cut substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the generally cylindrical blank insert at a predetermined distance from the midpoint of the diameter between the first end point of the diameter and the midpoint of the diameter;
- making a second cut to produce a first superhard bearing element from the generally cylindrical blank insert, the second cut being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the generally cylindrical blank insert; and
- making a third cut to produce a second superhard bearing element from the generally cylindrical blank insert, the third cut being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the generally cylindrical blank insert at the predetermined distance from the midpoint of the diameter between the midpoint of the diameter and the second end point of the diameter.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising making a fourth cut to produce a third superhard bearing element from the generally cylindrical blank insert, the fourth cut being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the blank insert at a second predetermined distance from the midpoint between the midpoint of the diameter and the first end point of the diameter.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising making a fifth cut to produce a fourth superhard bearing element from the generally cylindrical blank insert, the fourth cut being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the generally cylindrical blank insert at the second predetermined distance from the midpoint between the midpoint of the diameter and the second end point of the diameter.
14. The method of claim 11 wherein each of the first cut and the second cut is substantially planar.
15. The method of claim 11 wherein the first and second superhard bearing elements are substantially identical in size and configuration.
16. The method of claim 11 wherein each of the first and second superhard bearing elements includes:
- a first arcuate end portion;
- a second arcuate end portion generally opposite the first end portion;
- a first face extending between the first arcuate end portion and the second arcuate end portion;
- a second face generally opposite the first face, the first face having a length greater than a length of the second face; and
- a bearing surface extending between the first arcuate end portion, the second arcuate end portion, the first face, and the second face.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein each the first arcuate end portion and the second arcuate portion generally define part of a cylindrical surface.
18. The method of claim 11 wherein each of the first face and the second face is substantially planar.
19. The method of claim 11 wherein generally cylindrical blank insert includes a polycrystalline diamond table bonded to a substrate.
20. A method of manufacturing a plurality of superhard bearing elements from a generally cylindrical blank insert having a longitudinal axis and a diameter including a first end point, a midpoint, and a second endpoint, the generally cylindrical blank insert including a polycrystalline diamond table bonded to a substrate, the method comprising:
- making a first cut substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the generally cylindrical blank insert at a predetermined distance from the midpoint of the diameter between the first end point of the diameter and the midpoint of the diameter;
- making a second cut to produce a first superhard bearing element from the generally cylindrical blank insert, the second cut being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the generally cylindrical blank insert; and
- making a third cut to produce a second superhard bearing element from the generally cylindrical blank insert, the third cut being substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the generally cylindrical blank insert at the predetermined distance from the midpoint of the diameter between the midpoint of the diameter and the second end point of the diameter;
- wherein each of the first and second superhard bearing elements includes:
- a first arcuate end portion;
- a second arcuate end portion generally opposite the first end portion;
- a first face extending between the first arcuate end portion and the second arcuate end portion;
- a second face generally opposite the first face, the first face having a length greater than a length of the second face;
- a bearing surface extending between the first arcuate end portion, the second arcuate end portion, the first face, and the second face; and
- wherein each the first arcuate end portion and the second arcuate portion generally define part of a cylindrical surface.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 30, 2014
Publication Date: May 29, 2014
Applicant: US SYNTHETIC CORPORATION (Orem, UT)
Inventors: Craig H. Cooley (Saratoga Springs, UT), Timothy N. Sexton (Genola, UT)
Application Number: 14/168,856
International Classification: B23H 1/00 (20060101); B23K 26/38 (20060101); B26D 3/00 (20060101);