How can you extend your Drilling Bit life?

It is always important to care for and maintain tooling and equipment. Drilling contractors and mining companies rely on the tools that they use to get the highest possible meter per bit and the lowest cost per meter for every project.

When purchasing hammer bits, for example, choosing a high-quality product like our ODEX line that is specifically engineered and designed for the project-specific ground conditions is only the first step to achieving more meters per bit. Ensuring bits are properly used and maintained is critical to realizing a high return on investment.

If the bits and hammer get to a point that it’s over-drilled, the meters reached in a day and the rate of penetration deteriorates, and this sacrifices the life of all the drill string components that is a major contributor to hole deviation, increases wear and tear on drill rig components and results in higher operational costs.

Button bit wear patterns vary depending on the type of ground and the drilling parameters. Let’s consider some of them:

• Harder ground conditions and drilling with excessive rotation creates wear that tends to be greater on the bit circumference.

• Body wash often occurs when drilling in non-abrasive materials.

• Premature button bit insert failures are substantially reduced when over drilling is eliminated and correct sharpening procedures are performed.