Drilling and milling tool with resilient endmill for swarf control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drilling technologies for removing obstacles in petroleum well tubing, such as valves, often result in the creation of large swarf particles that can damage equipment and disrupt well operations, and lack proper support for the drill bit, leading to inefficient and potentially damaging drilling processes.
Innovation Solution
A drilling assembly comprising a drill bit and a resiliently displaceable cutting assembly with an endmill featuring a central through hole complementary to the drill bit, supported by a spline drive system, which allows for controlled weight transfer and efficient cutting of swarf into smaller fragments, preventing damage and ensuring centralized drilling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a drill bit is used to remove obstacles in well tubing, then drilling is a fast operation, but large swarf particles are created that can damage equipment and disrupt well operations
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting assembly is divided into multiple cutting elements arranged in a circular pattern, which segment the cutting action into smaller portions. This segmentation allows the material to be removed in smaller increments, producing finer swarf particles rather than large chunks, while maintaining efficient cutting speed through the coordinated action of multiple elements
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting assembly features cutting elements with specific local properties optimized for different functions - some elements are designed for aggressive material removal while others are optimized for finishing and producing fine swarf. The cutting elements have varying geometries and material properties at different locations to achieve both high productivity and minimal harmful swarf generation
2Device complexity
If a drill bit without lateral support is used on curved valve surfaces, then the drill bit can be simple in design, but the drill bit slides on the curved surface and the hole is not aligned with the center line of the drilling tool
Solution Approach 1:
A centering mechanism acts as an intermediary between the drill bit and the curved valve surface. This centering element first contacts the curved surface to establish proper alignment and guide the drill bit to the correct position before drilling begins, ensuring the hole is accurately aligned with the tool's center line while keeping the drill bit design relatively simple
Solution Approach 2:
The centering mechanism performs preliminary alignment action before the drilling operation commences. By pre-positioning and centering the drill bit on the curved surface, the system ensures proper hole alignment is established in advance, eliminating the need for complex real-time adjustment mechanisms during drilling
3Productivity
If full weight is applied to the drill bit for efficient drilling, then drilling efficiency is improved, but the drill bit may break off if weight is too large
Solution Approach 1:
The drilling system employs dynamic weight management where the applied weight on the drill bit is continuously adjusted based on real-time conditions. The weight can be increased for efficient material removal when the drill bit is stable, and reduced or redistributed when approaching critical load thresholds, optimizing both productivity and drill bit reliability through adaptive control
Solution Approach 2:
The cutting assembly uses multiple cutting elements that distribute the cutting load, allowing partial weight application to each individual element while maintaining high overall drilling efficiency. This partial action approach prevents any single element from experiencing excessive stress that could lead to breakage, while the collective action of all elements achieves high productivity
4Ease of manufacture
If a hole saw with outer diameter less than tubing internal diameter is used, then the obstacle can be removed, but the passage forms a restriction in the tubing
Solution Approach 1:
The drilling system extracts and removes the obstacle completely through the full bore of the tubing using a drill bit diameter that matches the tubing internal diameter. By taking out the entire obstacle rather than cutting around it, the system maintains the full original passage diameter, eliminating flow restrictions that would result from using a smaller hole saw
Data Source
AI summary
A drilling assembly comprises a drill bit and a cutting assembly. The drilling assembly forms a longitudinal center axis. The drill bit and cutting assembly fastened to a rotatable spline drive assembly. The cutting assembly resiliently displaceable to the drill bit along the center axis such that in a first position the drill bit is surrounded by the cutting assembly, and in a second position a free end portion of the drill bit is projecting beyond the cutting assembly along the center axis. The cutting assembly comprises an endmill. The endmill comprises a central through hole complementary to the outer diameter of the drill bit. A method for cutting swarfs created by drilling, with an endmill, is described.