Cleared for takeoff: Drilling Performance

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END USER: Superior Drilling Products, (435) 789-0594, www.superiordrillingproducts.com. CHALLENGE: Without prior experience, program a multitask machine. SOLUTION: Using CAM software with online training resources and local support. SOLUTION PROVIDERS: CNC Software Inc., (800) 228-2877, www.mastercam.com; Remote Machine, (801) 942-2792, www.remotemachinecnc.com

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Superior Drilling Products, Vernal, Utah, repairs drill bits for the oil and gas industry. The 3″- to 24″-dia. bits feature tungsten-carbide bodies tipped with PCD. SDP rebuilds the bodies, replaces the cutting edges and regrinds complex bit contours to customer specifications. Founded in 1993 by Troy Meier and his wife, Annette, SDP pioneers new repair techniques that support the global bit rental market.

SDP also seeks ways to help its customers succeed. One of those customers was struggling to machine a complex, approximately 7″-dia., 14″-long, 4145 steel reamer. The machining operations included turning on a lathe, threading on another machine, contour milling on a machining center and pocketing on yet another machine. The lengthy process was expensive and caused production backlogs.

Courtesy of Superior Drilling Products

CAM programmer Jared Spencer (seated) discusses details of a Mastercam CAM program with David Gale, manufacturing manager.

Meier volunteered to find a way to efficiently produce the reamer and reasoned the operations could be consolidated on a multitask machine. With the guidance of Hartwig Inc. representative Lynn Smith, he acquired an Okuma Multus-B400 7-axis multitask machine. Because the machine mills, drills and turns, it produces parts in one chucking. To program the reamer, SDP bought a seat of Mastercam X5 Mill CAD/CAM software from CNC Software Inc., Tolland, Conn.

Meier’s reasoning, however, involved a leap of faith. SDP’s prior machine tool capability was limited to two lathes outfitted as grinders. In addition, the employees assigned to produce the reamer included the company’s IT manager, whose background was in TV broadcasting, and an inspection staffer who is also an experienced pilot and flight instructor.