Cone OffSet

Journal Angle
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The degree of cone offset (or skew angle) is defined as the horizontal distance between the axis of the bit and a vertical plane t
A drill bit with zero offset has the centre lines of the three cones meeting at the centre of the drillbit, see Figure 9.3. Skew angl
A cone with zero offset has a true rolling action as the cone moves in a circle centred at the cone apex and bit centre.
If the cone is offset from the bit centre, then when the drillbit is rotated from surface, the cone attempts to rotate around its o
The cone is forced by the much bigger drillstring to rotate about the centreline of the bit and drillstring and this results in the c
This slipping produces tearing and gouging actions which are beneficial in drilling soft rocks as it removes a larger volume of ro
The amount of offset is directly related to the strength of rock being drilled.
Soft rocks require a higher offset to produce greater scraping and gouging actions.
Hard rocks require less offset as rock breakage is dependent on crushing and chipping actions rather than gouging
Cone offset increases ROP but also increases tooth wear, especially in the gauge area, and increases the risk of tooth breakage

Drilling Engineering workbook Baker

Cone offset, is caused by the journal centerline not intersecting the bit centerline (or bit center of rotation).
The distance that the journal centerline misses the bit centerline (measured perpendicular to the journal centerline at the cent
The skew point is an arbitrary point along the journal centerline and is the angle formed by the offset, the centerline of the jou
As with the journal angle, the offset will be different in each type of formation.
In soft formation bits, the maximum offset (3° skew angle) is used to increase the gouging, scraping action.
Medium formation bits add a limited offset (2° skew angle) to develop cutter action.
While hard formation bits have no offset, to minimize gouging and scraping.
 Drilling Training course Aramco
The drilling action of a rolling cutter bit depends to some extent on the offset of the cones.
the offset of the bit is a measure of how much the cones are moved so that their axes do not intersect at a common point in th
Offsetting causes the cones to slip as they rotate and scrape the hole bottom much like a drag bit.
This action tends to increase penetration rate in soft formations. In hard formations where the rock must be fractured or broke
In addition scraping against a hard formation is very abrasive and can wear the teeth down quickly. For these reasons hard form
Cone offset angle is expressed as the angle the cone axis would have to be rotated, to make it pass through the center line of t
Cone offset angles vary from 4° for bits used in soft formations to zero for bits used for extremely hard formations.
Milled tooth bits used for soft formations have offset cones and long, widely spaced teeth.
The scraping action provided by the offset cones removes the drilled material.
Tooth wear is a problem in soft formation bits because of the scraping action of the offset cones.
Rolling cutter bits designed with small or zero offset angle for drilling hard formations employ the crushing mechanism for rock
Penetration rate is highest when using bits with long teeth and large cone offset angle.
Australian_Drilling_Industry_Training
Roller cones are made to skid by arranging the cones so that they must twist on the bottom rather than rotate. The centre lines
Drillers operating light machines will find that an oilfield-type bit, with a large offset between the axis of the cones, may requir
Some cone offset to produce chipping is desirable. Offset angles of 3 to 4 degrees (i.e. when used in soft formation bits) are red
Hard rock cannot be torn or cut – it must be fractured. Any twisting or tearing action in the bit will result in broken teeth and h
Hard formations must be drilled with bits having a true rolling action (i.e. zero cone offset).
Drilling Engineering Dipl & Prasel
The “offset” of the cones of rolling cutter bits determine to some extend the drilling action.
the offset of the bit declare how much the axis of the cones are out of being centered.
This offset causes the cones to stop periodically rotating and scrap the hole similar to the cutting action of a drag bit.
an increased offset increases the wear of the drill bit, common values for offsets are 4◦, for use in soft formations to zero degre
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of the bit and a vertical plane through the axis of the journal.
llbit, see Figure 9.3. Skew angle is an angular measure of cone offset.
e apex and bit centre.
attempts to rotate around its own circle which is not centred at the bit centre.
llstring and this results in the cone slipping as it is rotating.
removes a larger volume of rock.

ther than gouging

ases the risk of tooth breakage.

ok Baker

e journal centerline at the center of rotation) is the offset.

offset, the centerline of the journal, and a line from the bit center to the skew point.
 amco

ersect at a common point in the center of the hole.

ock must be fractured or broken, scraping contributes little to rock removal.

kly. For these reasons hard formation bits are designed with little or no cone offset.
ass through the center line of the hole.
y hard formations.

e crushing mechanism for rock removal

_Training
er than rotate. The centre lines of the cones are offset.
e axis of the cones, may require more bit weight than can be applied efficiently by a light machine.
d in soft formation bits) are reduced to 1 to 2 degrees in medium formation bits.
will result in broken teeth and high wear.

Prasel

g action of a drag bit.

n soft formations to zero degrees for applications in extremely hard formations.
 well engineering and construction H rabiaa
The bit journal is the bearing load-carrying surface.
The journal angle is defined as the angle formed by a line perpendicular to the axis of the journal and the axis of the bit
The magnitude of the journal angle directly affects the size of the cone; the size of the cone decreases as the journal angle incr
The journal angle also determines how much WOB the drill bit can sustain; the larger the angle the greater the WOB.
The smaller the journal angle the greater is the gouging and scraping actions produced by the three cones.
The optimum journal angles for soft and hard roller cone bits are 33 degrees and 36 degrees, respectively.
Drilling Engineering workbook Baker
The journal angle is the angle at which the journal is mounted, relative to a horizontal plane. This mounting moves the cutting
The journal angle also controls the cutter profile or pattern it drills, and it affects the amount of cutter action on the bottom of
Soft Formations: Journal angle (33°) - this allows a cutter profile which accentuates cutter action and permits greater tooth dep
Medium Formations: Journal angle (34° to 36°), to decrease cutter action.
Hard Formations Uses a large journal angle (39°), to minimize cutter action.

Drilling Engineering Dipl & Prasel

Cutting depth of the teeth, small journal-angle causes to high cutting depth that might lead to teeth cleaning problems.
Teeth high and distance of the teeth-rows, small journal-angle leads to larger teeth, common: 39 - 42◦: soft formations, 43 - 45
Inner cone-angle, larger journal-angle means a smaller inner cone-angle, thus the cones can reach closer to the center of the b
Hight of the gauge cutters, larger journal-angle leads to higher gauge cutters.
Available space for bearings, small journal-angle allows stronger bearings construction.
Dimension of the bit-feet, larger journal-angle leads to larger bit-feet but smaller cones. The bit-feet are welded together and c
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l and the axis of the bit

reases as the journal angle increases.
he greater the WOB.

ok Baker
s mounting moves the cutting elements (cones) outside the support members.
cutter action on the bottom of the hole.
and permits greater tooth depth.

Prasel
eeth cleaning problems.
9 - 42◦: soft formations, 43 - 45◦: medium formations, 45 - 50◦: hard formations.
ch closer to the center of the bit which prevents the creation of a “center core”.

feet are welded together and construct the cylindrical bit-body.

 well engineering and construction H rabiaa
The long teeth are designed to drill soft formations with low compressive strength where the rock is more yielding and easily p
Harder rocks have high compressive strength and can not be easily penetrated using typical field WOB values.
Hard rock bits therefore have much shorter (and more) teeth with a larger bearing area.
therefore the short teeth will be less likely to break when they are subjected to drilling loadings.
Viewed from the side most teeth appear like an A without the crosspiece.
There are other design such as the T-,U-, or W-shape which are more durable and are usually found at the gauge area of the bi
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ck is more yielding and easily penetrated.
WOB values.

und at the gauge area of the bit.

 well engineering and construction H rabiaa
a soft rock requires long and a few teeth allowing the WOB to be distributed over fewer teeth.
The teeth are widely spaced to reduce the risk of the bit being balled up when drilling water sensitive clays and shales.
Wider spacing also allows the rows of teeth from one cone to engage into the space of equivalent row of the adjacent cone an
For hard formations, the teeth are made shorter, heavier and more closely spaced to withstand the high compressive loads req
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sitive clays and shales.

nt row of the adjacent cone and thereby help to self clean the cutting structure of any build up of drilled cuttings.
the high compressive loads required to break the rock.
 well engineering and construction H rabiaa
To increase the life of the cutting tooth, hard metal facing (usually tungsten carbide) was initially applied to one side of the too
most toothed bits use Full Coverage Hardfacing, in which the entire tooth is covered with hardmetal.
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applied to one side of the tooth to encourage preferential wear of the tooth.