Radius Rock Bits

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VIEW ALL ROCK BIT SIZES

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. 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

TBR-2750 2-3/4" Rock Bit 2" IF Pin Rigs under 12K Approx Hole Size 3-1/2 - 4"		TRB-3000 3.0” Rock Bit 2” API-IF Pin Rigs 12 to20K Approx Hole Size 4-1/2” – 5”
TRB-3500 3.5” Rock Bit 2-3/8” API-REG Pin Rigs 20K – 40K Approx Hole Size 5-1/2” – 6”		TRB-4500 4.5” Rock Bit 2-7/8” API-REG Pin Rigs 40K – 60K Approx Hole Size 6” – 7"

TRB-6000 6.0” Rock Bit 3-1/2” API-REG Pin Rigs 60K – 100K Approx Hole Size Size 8”-9”		TRB-8500 8.5” Rock Bit 4-1/2” API-REG Pin Rigs 100K – 200K Approx Hole Size 9”- 11”

Bolt on Blade Adapt Jetting Head Available for all size housing and bolt patterns

Meet BRUTUS In 2009 Radius HDD was contracted by a large Canadian Pipeline company to design and build a Rock Bit for their 500K Maxi Rigs. Conditions in certain areas of their project did not require the use of a mud motor system. It was determined that an offset rock bit could offer increased control and steerability as well as greatly minimize the operating cost involved with employing mud motors. The Radius Team when to work developing BRUTUS. By combining features of the standard sized Radius bits and engineering key areas to withstand the excessive load and torque created with this type of drilling, a tool was created that would cut though a variety of conditions, offer improved steering and posesses the durability to survive long, tough bores. TRB-BRUTUS 10" Rock Bit 6-1/2" API REG or IF Crown Diameter: 10" Tail Piece (for tongs) 9" long x 7" Diameter Hole Size 12-14" Teeth Shank 1-3/4" Rigs 200K - 1M

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.