US Synthetic Bearings Site

PCD Technology

Whether you're in the oil field or working heavy equipment, your business likely demands speed, durability, and performance. And there's no place where these things matter more than the tough conditions our customers and their equipment work in.

That's why US Synthetic Bearings has leveraged more than three decades of experience and know-how in working with the hardest substance known to man-diamond. The strength and performance of our diamond bearings are delivering significant results for customers, allowing them to drill faster and work longer with parts that keep running, no matter what challenge they face.

Today, US Synthetic Bearings is a leader in developing and producing reliable, performance-ready bearings that use PCD inserts that meet high standards and match the requirements of the most demanding oil exploration projects and heavy machinery running conditions.

This absolute, no compromises commitment to quality and constant innovation sets US Synthetic Bearings apart from the competition and makes our bearings a superior choice for all kinds of diamond solutions.

So, what's our technology advantage? Our products are engineered diamond tough.

diamond sintering

The extreme hardness, wear resistance, and thermal conductivity of diamond make it an ideal engineering material. Individual diamond crystals cleave easily when struck parallel to certain planes (the process used to facet diamond gemstones takes advantage of these relatively weak planes). As a result, individual diamond crystals do not make good engineering material-unless they are meticulously oriented.

Diamond sintering overcomes the problem of weak planes in diamond gemstones by bonding a mass of small diamond particles onto a larger, coherent structure. Sintered diamond provides greater toughness and durability than single crystals because the individual crystals in a sintered body are randomly oriented. This prevents cracks from propagating along the weak planes where traditional diamond crystals cleave most easily. Sintered diamonds also provide more uniform wear than a single crystal, while maintaining similar thermal conductivity and hardness properties. All of these factors combine to make sintered diamond the preferred material for bearings--especially those that run in abrasive conditions.

At US Synthetic Bearings, the sintering process begins with premium saw-grade diamond crystals. These crystals are sintered together at temperatures of approximately 1400ºC and pressures of around 60 kbar in the presence of a liquid metal catalyst. Typically, the diamond is bonded to a tungsten carbide substrate during the same high-temperature, high-pressure process. This sintered diamond and tungsten carbide composite is known as a polycrystalline diamond insert. All US Synthetic bearings use PCD inserts.

diamond finishing

The extreme hardness of diamond presents obvious machining and finishing challenges. In typical machining situations, the finishing tool is harder than the work piece. With diamond inserts, this isn't possible, since diamond is the hardest known substance. This makes machining diamond analogous to cutting through a wooden beam with a wooden saw. As a result, US Synthetic Bearings uses millions of carats of industrial diamond each year to machine and finish PCDs to their final dimensions. Over the years, we have developed specialized techniques and machines for lapping, grinding, polishing, brazing, and cutting the PCD inserts used in our bearings. These techniques make it possible for us to finish PCDs to exacting specifications, despite the inherent challenges of machining sintered diamond.

For more information on US Synthetic bearings and down hole drilling components, contact us today.