Radius Rock Bits

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The Radius threaded rock bit has several innovative features that offer contractors an even greater advantage in tough bores. There is a Radius bit for all sizes of HDD rigs from 10K to 200K. Standard API threads allow easy connection to both our popular patent pending “Lock & Load” Sonde Housing and existing sonde housings on the market.

A detailed look into a few of the design improvements:

Center Axis Cutting Design As a thread on tool, the Radius bit design follows the centerline of the drill pipe and housing, offering a smooth cutting action with greater control. Older offset rock bits operated with violent shaking and vibration. This proved to be quite damaging to the tool, drill pipe and the HDD rig.	Reinforced secondary crown Some older bit designs have a problem with cutting teeth tearing out or expanding the tooth pocket when engaged in hard rock, especially after a moderate amount of body wear. A secondary crown better supports the cutting teeth in tough conditions when tremendous leveraging loads are placed on the shank of the teeth.

More tungsten carbide surface While most HDD tools are manufactured from similar types of alloy metals, the heat-treated base metal is no match for the assault from rocks and abrasive conditions underground. The only true protection a tool has is the carbide material that is applied to the surface of the bit. Since all tools exhibit specific wear patterns, how and where it is applied is equally important. Radius rock bits have a carbide placement pattern that concentrates the carbide material on areas of the tool that need the most protection. The crown and wear pad of the bit are critical to the operation of the tool. Protecting those areas lengthens the life of the tool and maintains the level of control that today’s HDD contractors require. All carbide buttons are meticulously soldered in place which allows larger diameter carbides to be placed in areas where our competitors’ pressed-in buttons simply cannot be applied.	Recessed water ports Other areas of excessive wear are the water ports located on the front face of most other rock bits. Hard cuttings and broken teeth can easily smear the metal to the point of sealing the orifice and restricting flow. Additionally, water ports on the cutting face require machining very close to tooth pockets, carbide buttonholes and even the surface of the bit itself. The slightest amount of wear on the tool (whether from the abrasive conditions of the bore or abrasive material in reclaimed fluids running through the bit) will result in exposing the fluid channel and rendering the bit damaged. In some cases, this can occur long before the other normal cutting areas of the tool show signs of wear. Radius has maintained a common geometry and pulled the water ports to a less vulnerable area in the “shoe.” This provides ports machined directly to the center of the bit and reduces the possibility of clogs and permanent damage.

Rear Wear Pad As part of the unique cutting geometry of the Radius rock bit, the raised rear wear pad offers two primary features. Since the cutting action centers on the axis of the pipe, the raised pad keeps the cutting teeth perpetually “in the cut,” offering greater control and steering than older “chop and flop” style bolt on rock bits. Secondly, the carbide-studded pad further grinds the cuttings to a more “floatable” size resulting in easier spoil removal and a cleaner hole. The pad also keeps the main body of the bit away from the walls to help minimize premature wear.	Knock-out Holes An afterthought to most rock bit manufacturers, the Radius team listened to the contractors who were sick of pounding and knocking the &teeth out of the bit. To designers and manufacturers it seems easy: “Stick a pin in the hole and hammer out the tooth.” In the field, however, contractors know the teeth pockets are filled with debris, the tooth is broken and flared into the pocket and the 5” long knock out hole in most bits is full of debris. Yes, contractors are loud and Radius listens to them. There isn’t a knockout hole on any size Radius bit that is over an inch long, making it much easier to get the worn teeth out and the new ones in. A happy driller is less likely to grab a Radius employee by the throat on the job site.

Radius Rock Bit – Sizes & Specs

TRB-3000 3.0” Rock Bit 2” API-IF Pin Rigs under 20K Approx Hole Size 4-1/2” – 5” Teeth Part # P1002 – Pointed / Frac Tooth Teeth Part # P1003 – Domed / Grind Tooth		TRB-3500 3.5” Rock Bit 2-3/8” API-REG Pin Rigs 20K – 40K Approx Hole Size 5-1/2” – 6” Teeth Part # P1006 – Pointed / Frac Tooth Teeth Part # P1008 – Domed / Grind Tooth

TRB-4500 4.5” Rock Bit 2-7/8” API-REG Pin Rigs 40K – 60K Approx Hole Size 6” – 7” Teeth Part # P1009 – Pointed / Frac Tooth		TRB-6000 6.5” Rock Bit 3-1/2” API-REG Pin Rigs 60K – 100K Approx Hole Size Size 8”-9” Teeth Part # P1004 – Pointed / Frac Tooth

TRB-8500 8.0” Rock Bit 4-1/2” API-REG Pin Rigs 100K – 200K Approx Hole Size 10”- 12” Teeth Part # P1005 – Pointed / Frac Tooth		Blade adapt Available for all size housing and bolt patterns

The BIG Rigs Noticed

The end-load housing is the head of choice among large HDD rig operators. The accessibility to sonde was less of an issue on long bores; trying to dig their transmitters out of the complicated end-load unit was a costly hassle. The Radius team again went to work on a solution. The result was the RADIUS MAXIMUS® line of tooling: oversized bits and housings just for the big HDD rigs. The easy access to the sonde and the protection of the lock and load design are a hit when introduced to the crews. Standard thread and high flow capacity allows the use of motors, hole openers, wire-line sondes and the RADIUS MAXIUMS® rock bit in areas where motors are just not required.