How The Advent of Tri-Cone Bits Revolutionized The Mining Industry

Tri-cone drill bits are one of the most interesting scrap metals on the market today. Not only do these tri-cone bits consist of durable tungsten metal, which consists of cobalt and nickel binders that are used to add anywhere from 3% to 30% weight, they can still be reused for drilling purposes provided they are in good shape.

Tri-cone drill bits revolutionized the drilling and mining industry. Prior to these helpful tools, drilling was done by "hand steeling," which required holding both a chisel and a hammer and repeatedly smacking a rock. Finally, in the 1930s, two engineers manufactured the tai-cone drill bit, which has three cone sections. The patent for this new tool, developed by Ralph Neuhaus, lasted until 1951, and subsequently resulted in many other companies manufacturing their own bits.

The superiority of these new three coned bits truly revolutionized the way mining and drilling was done and changed virtually hundreds of industries afterwards.

When tungsten metal was used for these tri-cone bits, another major benefit of this new tool emerged: heat resistance. Because tungsten has such a high melting point, tungsten bits were able to withstand higher temperatures and drillers were able to drill further into harder foundations. In addition to its heat resistance, tungsten can also operate much faster than other materials, allowing for high speed drilling.

Gone are the days when miners have to turn their chisels and whack away with a hammer to break through hard structure. Because of the invention of the tai-cone drill bit, it's now much easier to drill through soft, medium, and extremely hard rock formations.

Though tungsten carbide bits are extremely strong and can last longer than almost any other drill bit, they still wear down over time and will eventually need to be replaced. It's important to never just throw out these tungsten tri-cone bits, however, because tungsten recycling companies would be more than happy to exchange cash for these strong carbide inserts.

Tricone Bit Benefits in Summary:

• Time-Tested Technology

• Adaptability

• Lower Cost

• Hard Rock Performance

The greatest advantage drillers have by using tricone bits is the factor of time. Time-testing of this technology has greatly benefitted its' overall effectiveness and manufacturing makeup.  The popular demand of roller cone bits over the last century has allowed design manufacturers to optimize every facet of this drill bit.  While newer technology is still in it's infancy of evolution, the tricone has reached a pinnancle of performance. Integrating continual improvements in core materials like Tungsten Carbide Inserts and Sealed Journal Bearings have significantly increased results and dependability and make it still one of the top tools on the drilling market.

Another benefit for drillers using the roller cone bit is the ease of maneuverability. When caught in a difficult situation, drillers have a vast number of options with factors like Torque and Weight On Bit that they would not be afforded when drilling with a PDC bit. Tricone bits are also better suited for jobs facing a variety of hard rock formations. The movement of each of the three rollers serves to break up the rock, making it much more malleable for advancement.

Overall cost is another benefit to using these bits. On jobs where the budget does not allow for the cost of using a PDC, a tricone bit can be the perfect economical decision for the job.

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