News

New ION+ Armor shaped elements provide superior cutter protection

ReedHycalog’s chisel and conical inserts promote higher ROP

Close up render of ION+ Armor shaped elements

May 05, 2022

ReedHycalog has introduced the ION+ Armor™ shaped, rock failing, diamond elements for fixed cutter drill bits. These elements protect the drill bit’s primary cutting structure during impact events and reduce severe torque fluctuations while drilling interbedded and nodular lithologies.

Our optimized chisel- and conical-shaped elements have significantly thicker diamond layers that provide four times greater impact resistance than a polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) cutter.

Unlike traditional protection bit features, the ION+ Armor elements promote higher rate of penetration (ROP) by pre-fracturing the formation. This allows the adjacent cutters to propagate these fractures and achieve a higher depth of cut more efficiently.

Our drill bit design engineers strategically place the ION+ Armor inserts in secondary cutting positions to enable the primary ION+™ cutters to be aggressive even in applications with hard stringers or conglomerates and aid tool face control.

Find more information about our ION+ ARMOR secondary elements here.