Baroid Technology, Inc.

William H Sherwood, Jr

Gary M Thigpen

Coy M Fielder

A drag bit having a plurality of blades or ribs on its end face has one or more pockets milled into the top surfaces of said blades. A tungsten carbide button or insert is positioned at the gauge diameter to reduce impact on the gauge diameter cutter in each of the fibs. The tungsten carbide button extends to the borehole gauge diameter to stabilize the bit within the borehole to limit bit whirling. The tungsten carbide button extends just forward of at least the final cutter assembly with respect to the direction of bit rotation to take the impact instead of the cutters. An additional tungsten carbide button or a shaped cutter is used along the blades in line with PDC cutting assemblies for limiting the penetration of the PDC cutting assemblies to thereby limit bit whirling or tilting instabilities. A shaped PDC cutter has a beveled edge with a bevel angle greater than the backrake angle of the PDC cutter so that engagement with the borehole wall is made with the tungsten carbide body rather than the PDC cutting portion to thereby function as a penetration limiter. As the bit wears, the PDC cutting portion begins to engage the formation in the same manner as the other PDC cutting assemblies.

Method and apparatus for improving drill bit stability

A drag bit having a plurality of blades or ribs on its end face has one or more pockets milled into the top surfaces of said blades using a ball-nosed end mill to create a plurality of pockets, each having a spherical or a semi-spherical first end and a second end having a semicircular configuration that intersects with the leading edge face of the rib. A bullet-shaped cutting structure having a spherical first end is brazed into each of the pockets. During the manufacturing process, a pin is brazed into cooperating first and second semicircular receptacles in the spherical end of the cutter and in the semi-spherical end of the pocket, respectively, to prevent the cutter assembly from being pushed up out of the pocket during the drilling operation. In an alternative embodiment, a slot is milled into the top surface of the rib to allow use of a ball-nosed end mill having a reduced diameter shank sized to pass through the slot. In yet another embodiment, a tungsten carbide button or insert is position at the gauge diameter to reduce impact on the gauge diameter cutter in each of the ribs. Cutter assemblies are disclosed having a variety of orifices in the PDC cutter face to function as chip breakers during the drilling operation.

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Spring, TX, United States of America

William H Sherwood, Jr