US Synthetic Bearings Site


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UVBusinessQ Profile: US Synthetic

Feb 27th, 2013

Valuing human life is a strong foundation in business and in life. US Synthetic, a father-son global enterprise, is based on this culture where employees thrive on learning and experience and use it to bless others around the globe.

In 1978, Bill Pope, a former BYU chemical engineering professor, and his son Louis founded the Orem-based company. US Synthetic is known for manufacturing PCDs (polycrystalline diamond cutters) for oil and gas exploration. But really, the business stretches into much more.

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The Development of Open Water-lubricated PCD Thrust Bearings for Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Machines

Dec 13th, 2012

The Development of Open Water-lubricated Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) Thrust Bearings for Use in Marine Hydrokinetic (MHK) Energy Machines

A polycrystalline diamond (PCD) bearing has been developed that will operate successfully in Marine Hydro-kinetic (MHK) machine applications. PCD bearings represent a new class of bearings that have, heretofore, not been extensively studied. This work makes significant contributions to understanding the performance of these bearings.

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Utah Genius Announces 2012 Winners

Apr 27th, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY, UT, Apr 25, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Utah Genius (www.utahgenius.com), presented by Bateman IP Law Group, KSL and Zions Bank, today announced the winners, including US Synthetic and a number of its employees, of the 2012 Utah Genius Awards at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. The awards serve as the state's prime program for recognizing and paying tribute to the creative people, one being US Synthetic Bearing's General Manger, Craig Cooley, and companies that contribute heavily to the state's growth by securing numerous patents and trademarks.

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Diamond powder bearings promoted to energy sector

Mar 8th, 2011

US Synthetic Bearings, a creator of synthetic diamond bearings for the energy industry, was selected to form part of the technology showcase at the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) Energy Innovation Summit, joining companies such as Dow, Bosch, and Lockheed Martin.

The US Department of Energy has also given US Synthetic Bearings a grant to look at the advantages of diamond bearings in harsh underwater conditions for power generation.

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Diamond Bearing Technology for Deep and Geothermal Drilling

Oct 6th, 2010

Presentation given by US Synthetic Bearings' Director of Engineering, Tim N. Sexton, at the 2010 NMN Symposium in Celle, Germany.

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Laboratory drill rig for PCD bearing and cutter development

Oct 28th, 2009

Correlation of accelerated laboratory testing to actual field performance is essential in successful development of polycrystalline diamond cutters (PDCs) and diamond bearing elements for down-hole applications. A laboratory scale drill rig apparatus for the investigation of diamond bearing and drag bit cutter performance has recently been completed. The laboratory scale test rig is capable of producing rotary speeds from 40 to 1500 rpm, normal forces up to 165 kN, torque up to 1900 Nm, and rates of penetration up to 67 m/hr. Drilling tests to evaluate PCD cutters can be conducted using a controlled normal force or controlled rate of penetration. Test methods have been developed to enable accurate comparisons of PCD inserts to be made, typically in one day or less. PCD bit testing shows that we can clearly differentiate cutting efficiency and wear rates based upon changes in the material properties of the PCD inserts. The test rig can also be utilised to measure wear rates and frictional forces in diamond thrust bearings. Full scale PCD bearing experiments indicated that the bearings were capable of much higher loading than previously thought. Correlation between laboratory results and actual field performance will also be discussed. Article by J. Lund, C. Cooley, J. Gonzalez and T. Sexton.

For the full-text version of this article, please contact us.

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Like a Diamond

Aug 1st, 2009

September 2009 US Synthetic Bearings was featured in the Resource Engineering and Maintenance Magazine

US Synthetic Corporation (a provider of polycrystalline diamond cutters(PDCs) for oil and gas exploration) announced the availability of its radial bearing line that's based on synthetic diamond technology. Compared to tungsten-carbide technology, US Synthetic says its radial and thrust bearings extend bearing life by four to 10 times in the harshest real-world environments.

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US Synthetic Introduces Synthetic Diamond Bearings

Jun 9th, 2009

US Synthetic Bearings was featured on eBearing.com

US Synthetic Bearings (USA, a division of Dover; NYSE: DOV) has launched the industry's first commercially viable lineup of radial bearings, based on synthetic diamond technology. Craig Cooley, US Synthetic Bearings Division General Manager, said: "Our radial bearings offer truly disruptive advances with longer life, reduced size, and increased lateral load-carrying capacity. A single installation can save many thousands of dollars in rig time."

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Using Diamond Bearings in Your Next Design

Jun 3rd, 2009

US Synthetic Bearings was featured in The Design World Audio Podcast

Diamonds are not only "a girl's best friend." Soon they may be engineers' best friend too. US Synthetic Bearing takes advantage of its parent company's expertise with synthetic diamonds and applies that knowledge to radial thrust bearings to create a product that offers long life and low maintenance. Off-highway, oil and gas, and other industries benefit from these rugged bearings.

Design World's Leslie Langnau interviews Craig Cooley, General Manager of US Synthetic Bearings to find out more about Diamond Bearings, how they compare to more traditional bearings

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WEAR Science Journal Article - 2009

Jan 5th, 2009

Down-hole tools used for drilling oil and gas wells are subjected to harsh environments where abrasive fluids, high loads and speeds, and high temperatures can cause tool components, including thrust bearings, to quickly fail. This paper discusses the advantages that polycrystalline diamond can provide when used as a bearing material in down-hole tools. Laboratory test results are presented that can be used to help predict the performance of polycrystalline diamond bearings in these down-hole applications. Results from two types of tests are presented including tests that measure bearing capacity and those that evaluate diamond bearing wear rates. Bearing failures, generated during laboratory testing, are discussed. These failures are very similar to those observed in down-hole drilling tools and indicate that thermal damage to the polycrystalline diamond structure is the main cause of bearing failure. Bearing wear rates measured during laboratory testing show that polycrystalline diamond thrust bearings can provide a long-lasting bearing solution for down-hole drilling tools.

For the full-text version of this article, please contact us.

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