OIL PARTS MACHINING
The challenge for job shops and OEMs alike is how to machine larger workpieces faster with reduced or single set- ups and with quicker changeovers for families of parts. And if they can buy machines and equipment that have broader use outside of oil and gas, that’s a bonus, too. Here’s what you might expect to see.
Fracking Pumps: Workpieces as Large as Diesel Engine Blocks According to Vince Trampus, vice president, Heller Machine
Tools (Troy, MI), pumps for the fracking industry start out as big blocks of metal that are very similar to heavy-duty 11 to 16-L diesel engine blocks for the trucking, construction and agricul- ture industries. Heller’s H series horizontal machining cen- ters—and before, that its MCH series HMCs—were developed with the rigidity and power to machine cast iron and CGI diesel engine blocks making Heller the leading supplier of machin-
“The question of how quickly that metal can be removed
is answered by the design of the H series HMCs, which are extremely robust with a gear-driven headstock that delivers full power at low rpms. We have four gear changes to get up to an 8:1 ratio from the motor to the spindle resulting in 60 kW [@2292 N•m of torque] at the tool below 500 rpms,” said Trampus.
“Fracking pump housings [typically made from 4340 alloy steel with a hardness of 300 Brinnell] can be machined in less than 20 hours using our H Series HMCs compared with the 40–60 hours [or longer] in current machining processes on multiple machines,” said Trampus. “Unique to the industry, Heller’s feed out system [U axis] on the H series allows the use of feed out tools required to generate the finish tapered bores. The U axis is an NC-con- trolled axis that enables feed out tools to be loaded auto- matically into the spindle from the magazine vs. the current process of manually loading tools onto the quill spindle of a boring mill. These machine features make Heller’s H series a perfect fit for machining many types of energy business parts.”
Tri-cone PCD oil and gass drill bits with tungsen carbide for drilling holes 6–30" (152–762 mm) in diameter are machined in two operations on multi- tasking machines such as Mazak’s Integrex e-670H that provides process- ing flexibility while reducing shop time by more than a third when compared with processing on conventional machines.
ing centers to these industries. “Frack pumps begin as solid blocks of alloy steel that weigh anywhere from 5000 to 8000 lb [2268–3629 kg] and require removal of over 2000 lb [907 kg] of metal during the machining process,” said Trampus.
56
AdvancedManufacturing.org | February 2015
Additive Manufacturing Poised for the Oilfield The next big thing in the oilfield, according to Dana Scott, general manager at Mazak’s South- west Technology Center, could very well be hybrid multitasking machine tools. Such technology com- bines both additive and subtractive processes into one machining center. “Right now components that go downhole behind the drill bit have wear pads on them, either made from titanium or Inco- nel. The current process is for the OEM to send the components out to have these wear pads or wear rings welded on them.” However, said Scott, a hybrid multitasking machine such as Mazak’s new Integrex i-400AM would allow shops to impart the titanium or Inco- nel pads directly onto the existing components us- ing the additive technology, then finish them with conventional subtractive machining. “This would eliminate the welding process and allow the com- ponent to quickly go right to assembly,” he said. “As with the wear pad components, the demand for fracking tools 3½–6½" [89–165-mm] diameter in varying lengths has also grown dramatically,” said Scott. Unique to fracking are perforating guns and frack guns that fracture
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140