Bit Design

1. Bit diameter
2. Shank type

6. Button choice
3. Face shape

5. Wing design 4. Flushing holes

Bit Design 1
 3. Face shape
 Different shape options
- Concave
- Flat
- Convex
- (Drop Center)
 Main criteria for choice
- Ground conditions
- Application
- Customer preference

 Face shape is overrated as a design parameter

Bit Design 2
 Concave face
 Advantages
- Perceived to drill straighter
- Perceived to drill faster

 Disadvantages
- Ineffective use of face buttons
- Most difficult to sharpen
- Most steel wash on gauge
- Least amount of space for design

 Traditional drilling applications

- Soft to medium hard formations
- Dominant face shape outside Europe
Bit Design 3
 Flat face

Advantages
- Easiest to sharpen

Disadvantages
- Big bits not collaring
friendly
- Perceived to cause big
hole deviation in broken
formations

Bit Design 4
 Convex face
 Advantages
- Resistant to steel wash
- Collars well
- May reduce load and wear
on gauge buttons

 Disadvantages
- Perceived to run rough at
normal RPM’s

 Traditional drilling applications

- Hard to very hard formations with spherical buttons
- Soft to medium formations with ballistic buttons
Bit Design 5
 4. Flushing holes
2 air holes
 More face carbides
- Small bits get 4 buttons
in 2nd row

3 air holes
 Less steel wash
- Lower air velocity
- Improved hole cleaning

 Possibly improved penetration rate

- Less re-crushing
Bit Design 6
 5. Wing design
Wing Length
 Total bit length is the same
 Mission bits have small, tapered wings
- Less weight
- Less steel to remove when
resharpening the gauge buttons
 Short wing length
- Reduces steel wash on hammer
- Increases risk of “getting stuck”
 Long wing length
- Increases bit life in unstable ground
(backreaming of collapsed material)

Bit Design 7
 Wear protection buttons
 Beneficial when backreaming is severe
 Effectively saves the steel on the OD
- Prevents gauge buttons from “falling out”
 Is NOT used to “maintain hole diameter”
 Only available with long wing length

Bit Design 8
 Fishing threads
 Used when bit shanking is a concern
- Undersized shank
- Deep holes (exploration, oil & gas)
 When shanking, bit head falls into hole
- Threads used to “save the hole”
 Fishing thread is only an “insurance”
- A feature you hope never to use
 Available for 6 inch bits and larger
- Only with long wing length, with or
without wear protection

Bit Design 9
 Button size
 Largely determined by bit size
- 100 mm bit 14 mm buttons
- 1000 mm bit 24 mm buttons
 Small buttons
- High penetration rate
- Efficient at low pressures
- Quicker to resharpen
 Bit Buttons
- Longer butt6on life
+ Less prone to breakage
+ Longer wear life
- Longer bit runs to resharpening
 Use only as big a button as you need
Bit Design 10
 High hammer pressure

Low hammer pressure

Button size
 Larger buttons increase wear resistance
 Smaller buttons increase penetration rate
 At high air pressure, penetration rate is less sensitive
Bit Design 11
 Button shape
 Spherical buttons
- High strength/toughness Spherical buttons Ballistic button
- Easy to resharpen

 Ballistic buttons
- High penetration rate
- Straighter holes
- Prone to breakage in hard rock,
broken formations, or abusive drilling
- For maximum strength, only available in the
toughest material (DP55)
Bit Design 12
 Button Shape vs. Penetration Rate

0.1 mm
0.5 mm 2 mm

Bit Design 13
Features Benefits

 Button shape
- Spherical - High strength/toughness,
easy to resharpen
- Ballistic - Good penetration rate,
straighter holes
 Carbide grade
- Grade 40 - -
- DP55 - Good strength (toughness)
- DP65 - Good wear resistance
- Diamond - Excellent wear resistance

 Best design is a compromise

 Customer value is the objective for design choices
Bit Design 14