Research & Development

GTD have built collaborative links with a number of technical and research partners ; including Shannon ABC, Limerick Institute of Technology and MSSI, University of Limerick, leveraging Enterprise Ireland’s network of Technology Centres.

In 2015, GTD was awarded an Enterprise Ireland Innovation Partnership with Limerick Institute of Technology titled “Development and optimisation of a valid novel leaching process for the purpose of removing the binder element Cobalt from the working face of a Polycrystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) cutter in order to improve on the thermal resistance of the drill bit and reduce costs.” The project was valued at €140,000, which funded a team of researchers, in collaboration with GTD, to characterise and analyse the microstructure of PDC cutters, enabling us to pinpoint material composition and develop high quality abrasion and impact resistant products.

GTD has access to the most sophisticated and extensive range of research/diagnostic equipment, including, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscope (EDS) and X-Ray Diffraction and Fluorescence (XRD/XRF) testing.

Quality Control

Manufacturing premium synthetic diamond products requires the direct use of high quality raw materials that are inherent in the final product. GTD has strict Quality Management System in place utilising Lean and Six Sigma best practice. All sourced and manufactured components are carefully linked to defined series of specifications.

All our products go through 100% inspection. Quality Control tools and methods that GTD use are listed below

  1. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF)
  2. Elemental/Microstructure Analysis
  3. Dimensional Inspection Reports (CMM)
  4. Steel MTRs
  5. Ultrasonic
  6. Dye Penetrant
  7. SEM/EDS

CO-ORDINATED MEASUREMENT MACHINE

To support increased demand for Poly-crystalline Diamond Compact (PDC) Bearings and to ensure customers continue to receive high performance downhole diamond bearing products, GTD have added Mitutoyo CMM. This provides high-precision measurement capabilities for an increasingly complex range of PDC bearings, guaranteeing high performance and durability in the field. The ability to generate Dimensional inspection Reports that are fully verified and traceable to international standards adds an additional layer to an already extensive suite of quality assurance tools

The Mitutoyo CMM compliments the existing use by GTD of X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) to verify steel body race material specification and condition, as well as braze alloy specification. Ultrasonic and dye-penetrant crack detection are further used to ensure joint integrity and diamond insert qualification. Metrology, coupled with advanced high temperature brazing techniques, precision CNC machining, as well as extensive PDC cutter processing knowledge makes GTD the ideal PDC Bearings supply partner.

PDC CUTTER FEEDBACK LOOP

Lab tests are important initial indicators; true test for a PDC cutter is in a real drilling environment. To enable GTD to constantly evolve and improve cutter technology, a PDC Cutter Feedback Loop has been developed. A collaborative relationship is vital to allow GTD to deploy the newest PDC cutters to the field.