A tricone bit is a drill bit with a head that is divided into three main parts and can be used in a wide range of rock formations.
The tricone bit consists of three rotating cones working inside each other and each with its own row of cutting teeth and bearing to make it spin.
We offer tricones in a variety of sizes. Please contact us if you have questions.
BEARING TYPES
Open Bearing – standard open roller bearings are bearings without a seal. As such these bearings are subject to outside debris which can enter through the cone. Open bearing bits are lower in price and are ideal when drilling shorter distances. If drilling deep, an open bearing bit could cost more time as they will likely need to be pulled up every couple hundred feet to clean the debris out of the cones.
Sealed Bearing – have some of the features of the non-sealed open bearings. How they are different is that the bearings are sealed with an O’Ring Seal. A lubrication and compensator system prevents leakage into the bearing system and stops the possibility of debris blocking the bearing as well as grease leakage.
Sealed Journal Bearings – have very good durability and wear resistance. Instead of rollers inside the cones there is a floating bushing. The bushing is usually made out of special material that is highly resistant to heat and surface damage.
Air Blast Bearings – are equipped on Air Circulation Bits. The air passages supply air to the bearings for the cooling and lubricating of the bearing, and for cleaning of the bearing from the drilling debris.
CUTTING STRUCTURE
A Milled-Tooth Bit is a type of a rolling cutter bit that has tooth cutters made up of steel which have been assembled as the parts of a bit cone. The teeth of each bit will be different based on the rock formation.
A Tungsten Carbide Insert Bit (TCI) is a roller cone that has Tungsten Carbide Inserts welded into the cone.
See our IADC Chart for more information about the rock formations each bit is best suited for.
TRICONE CUTTERS
Tricone cutters are single leg roller cones that are usually used with vertical hole openers, HDD reamers, core barrels, foundational drilling, and many other applications
Cutting types are offered as tooth bit or tungsten carbide inserts (TCI)