What are the advantages of natural surface mount hole openers

Source：www.sggroup-cn.com.cn Release date： 2025-06-17

The natural surface mounted reamer is a tool used in geological drilling, mineral development, and other fields to expand the diameter of drilling holes. Its core feature is to embed natural diamond particles on the surface of the drill bit substrate, utilizing the high hardness and wear resistance of diamond to achieve efficient reaming. The following provides a detailed analysis of its advantages in terms of technical features, application advantages, and cost-effectiveness:
1、 Performance advantages brought by materials and structures
1. Better wear resistance and lifespan
Diamond inlay characteristics: Natural diamond has a hardness of 10000HV (Vickers hardness), making it the hardest substance in nature. After being inlaid on the surface of the drill bit, it can effectively resist the friction loss of hard and brittle materials such as rocks and ores.
Practical application performance: In hard formations such as granite (hardness 6-7) and quartzite (hardness 7), the service life of natural surface mounted hole openers can reach 5-10 times that of ordinary hard alloy hole openers, reducing the frequency of drilling changes.
Case reference: In gold exploration drilling, the use of natural surface mounted reamer can continuously enlarge holes for 500-800 meters without replacement, while hard alloy reamer can only complete 100-200 meters.
2. Efficient cutting and drilling accuracy
Cutting mechanism: Natural diamond particles are angular in shape, and when embedded, the exposed height is 1/3-1/2 of the particle diameter, forming sharp cutting edges that can produce micro cutting and plowing effects on rocks. The cutting efficiency is 30% -50% higher than that of ordinary drill bits.
Aperture control capability: During the drilling process, the uniform wear characteristics of diamond particles control the aperture deviation within ± 0.5mm (such as when the drilling diameter is 100mm, the actual aperture fluctuation is ≤ 1mm), meeting high-precision requirements such as geological sampling and casing installation.
3. Impact resistance and thermal stability
Structural design: Natural diamond particles are fixed on the drill bit substrate through high-strength matrix (sintered from metal powder), with a matrix hardness of HRC60-65, which can absorb the impact vibration during drilling and avoid diamond detachment (detachment rate<1%).
Thermal stability advantage: Diamond has a thermal conductivity of 2000W/m · K (5 times that of copper), and the heat generated during drilling can be quickly conducted, avoiding local overheating and softening of the drill bit. It is suitable for high-speed rotating conditions (speeds up to 1500-3000 revolutions per minute).
2、 Technical adaptability in application scenarios
1. Adaptability to hard rocks and complex geological formations
Stratum compatibility:
Suitable for rocks with Mohs hardness levels 4-10 (such as granite, basalt, iron ore), especially in hard and brittle formations with quartz content>60%, it has significant advantages (ordinary drill bits are prone to chipping).
In complex formations with developed fractures and alternating soft and hard layers, the high rigidity of natural diamonds can reduce drill bit deflection and lower borehole curvature (curvature rate<0.5 °/100m).
Typical applications: metal mine exploration holes, geological hazard monitoring holes, deep water well drilling and other scenarios.
2. Large diameter drilling and deep hole operations
Diameter expansion capability: The natural surface mounted reamer can process drill holes with a diameter of 50-300mm. Through multi-stage reaming (such as drilling a 50mm hole first and gradually expanding with 100mm and 150mm reamers), large aperture construction can be achieved, with an efficiency twice that of a single reaming.
Advantages of deep hole operation: When drilling holes in deep holes over 500 meters, the wear resistance of diamond can maintain the consistency of the hole diameter, avoiding the "horn mouth" phenomenon caused by drill bit wear (the deep hole error of ordinary drill bits can reach 5-10mm).
3. Environmental protection and low-noise operations
Feasibility of dry drilling: The high wear resistance of natural diamonds allows for operation without coolant conditions (wet drilling requires a large amount of water or cutting fluid), making it suitable for water scarce areas or environmentally demanding scenarios (such as natural reserve exploration).
Noise control: The noise generated during diamond cutting of rocks is 10-15 decibels (about 75-85 decibels) lower than that of hard alloy drill bits, which meets the environmental standards for mining operations.
3、 Economic and comprehensive benefit analysis
1. Reduce homework costs
Reduce downtime: The frequency of replacing drill bits is reduced, and the single hole operation time is shortened by 20% -30%. Taking a 1000 meter deep hole as an example, using a natural surface mounted reamer can reduce drilling changes by 5-8 times and save 10-15 hours of labor.
Cost optimization of consumables: Although the unit price of natural surface mounted hole openers (about 2000-5000 yuan) is higher than that of hard alloy hole openers (500-1000 yuan), the unit cost is lower - in hard rock, the cost per meter of natural diamond hole openers is about 5-8 yuan, while hard alloy hole openers reach 15-20 yuan.
2. Improve drilling efficiency and quality
Drilling speed: In granite formations, the drilling speed can reach 0.8-1.2 meters/hour, which is 0.5 meters/hour faster than ordinary drill bits, especially suitable for exploration projects with tight schedules.
Core integrity: Diamond cut hole walls are smoother (surface roughness Ra<10 μ m), with a core sampling pass rate of over 95% (ordinary drill bits only 80%), providing more accurate samples for geological analysis.

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