Concentric NMR Antenna Packing for Repeatable Downhole Manufacturing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of manufacturing NMR tools, particularly NMR antennas, requires numerous manual steps, leading to variance in strength, compactness, and scalability, necessitating tedious calibrations due to technician skill diversity and manufacturing process intricacies.
Innovation Solution
An automated machining process forms NMR antennas in concentric layers about a mandrel, including a magnetic shielding layer and multiple antennas, to standardize the manufacturing process and reduce variance, enabling repeatable and efficient production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If manual manufacturing steps are used for NMR antennas, then technician skill diversity allows flexibility in construction, but manufacturing precision and reliability deteriorate due to variance in strength and compactness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical assembly processes with an automated machining system that uses computer-controlled tools to form antennas directly within a support structure. This substitution eliminates human skill variability while maintaining manufacturing flexibility through programmable control, directly resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and manufacturing precision.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual assembly processes are used for NMR tools, then adaptability in construction methods is maintained, but productivity deteriorates due to numerous manual steps and tedious calibrations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate manufacturing steps into a single integrated automated machining process. The system performs material removal, antenna formation, and structural integration in one continuous operation, eliminating the need for numerous manual assembly steps and subsequent calibration procedures, thereby significantly improving productivity while maintaining adaptability through programmable control.
3Manufacturing precision
If automated machining process is used to form antennas in concentric layers, then manufacturing precision and reliability are improved through standardization, but device complexity increases due to the automated system requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The automated machining system is designed with multi-functionality to perform multiple operations (material removal, antenna formation, structural integration) using a single integrated platform. This universality reduces the need for multiple specialized devices and complex coordination systems, thereby achieving high manufacturing precision while limiting the increase in overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the subject technology relate to systems and methods for packing nuclear magnetic resonance (“NMR”) antennas for an NMR sensor. Specifically, a magnetic shielding layer of the NMR sensor can be formed in a first concentric layer about a mandrel of a downhole tool. A first antenna of a plurality of antennas of the NMR sensor can be formed in a second concentric layer on top of the first concentric layer through an automated machining process. Further, a second antenna of the plurality of the antennas of the NMR sensor can be formed in a third concentric layer on top of the second concentric layer through the automated machining process.