The drill rod is a crucial component in the rock drilling process, acting as a link between the drill bit and the rock drilling machine. Its quality directly affects the reliability and safety of the connection. In actual use, because of the harsh stress conditions of the drill rod, its production process involves many factors, such as materials, technology, and equipment. Therefore, controlling its quality is a complex and critical task.
Quality requirements of drill rod
The quality requirements of the drill rod include the following aspects:
Appearance: The surface of the drill rod should be smooth and free of cracks, pores, slag inclusions, and other defects to ensure the stability and safety of the connection.
Strength: the drill rod should have certain tensile, compressive, and bending resistance to withstand the load of the connection part.
Toughness: the drill rod should have a certain degree of toughness to resist external forces such as impact and vibration and avoid breakage and damage.
Quality inspection of drill rod
To guarantee the conformance of the quality of the drill rod with the required standards, a range of quality checks is imperative. These tests include:
Appearance inspection: check the surface quality of the drill rod through visual or non-destructive testing and other tools to ensure that it has no defects.
Strength testing: test whether the strength performance of the drill rod meets the design requirements through tensile testing, impact testing, and other means.
Toughness testing: test whether the toughness performance of the drill rod meets the requirements through bending tests, fatigue tests, and other means.
Quality control of drill rod
Adequately regulating the quality of the drill rod necessitates a rigorous approach to quality control. It requires implementing specific measures, as outlined below.
Stable, high-quality raw materials
Select high-quality materials (23CrNi3Mo steel) as raw materials and conduct strict quality inspections to ensure they meet the requirements. In response to differentiated drill rods under special working conditions and customer requirements, we cooperate with steel manufacturers to develop raw materials with excellent performance.
Adoption of advanced production technology
Adopt advanced production technology in the industry and continue to optimize and improve. Throughout the production process, a rigorous control of various process parameters is maintained to guarantee the stability of process conditions, thereby upholding the uniformity of product quality.
Adoption of advanced machining and heat treatment equipment
Adoption of advanced machining equipment can ensure more precise manufacturing tolerances and precise threads, making the drill rod higher quality and more durable. The advanced heat treatment equipment makes the drill rod highly wear-resistant, with high bending resistance, and reduces the chance of rod breakage.
Adopting advanced quality inspection equipment and establishing a perfect inspection system
Advanced quality inspection equipment can accurately detect thread angle and size, steel chemical composition, and metallographic organization to guarantee the quality of the products. We have established a complete quality inspection system and strictly test the quality of drill rods to ensure they meet the design requirements and customers’ needs.
Perfect quality control system
Improve the quality control system, including market research, product design and development, raw material purchase, processing and assembly, factory inspection and after-sales service, etc.
Optimize production process
Optimize the production process to ensure that the operations of each process comply with specifications and standards and reduce the impact of human factors on product quality.
Strengthen staff training
Regularly conduct skill training and assessment for employees to improve their skill level and quality awareness and ensure that employees can consciously abide by operating procedures and quality control standards during the production process.
Establishment of quality files
Establish a quality file for the drill rod to record its production process, test results, and other information for traceability and management.
Continuous improvement
Based on customer feedback and market information, product quality and production processes are continuously improved to meet customer needs and market development trends.
Use and maintenance: the key to extending the service life of the drill rods
Quality control of drill rods is not limited to production and testing; proper use and maintenance are equally vital. During use, adhere to correct operating procedures to prevent improper actions such as overloading and impact, minimizing damage to the drill rod. At the same time, regular inspection and maintenance of the drill rod can effectively extend the service life of the drill rod. In addition, training and guidance for operators is also essential. Improving their operating skills and safety awareness will help reduce quality problems caused by human factors.
The future development trend of drill rod quality control
With the advancement of science and technology and the continuous development of the engineering field, the quality control of drill rods will face new challenges and opportunities. In the future, drill rod quality control will pay more attention to intelligent, automated, and green development.
Intelligent quality control
With the assistance of big data, artificial intelligence, and other technological tools, real-time monitoring and data analysis of the production process of drill rods can be realized, enabling prompt identification and resolution of potential quality issues. Additionally, intelligent prediction and early warning systems can help prevent quality risks in advance, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of quality control measures.
Automated production
By introducing advanced equipment such as automated production lines and robots, we can realize automated production of drill rods and reduce the impact of human factors on product quality. Automated production can enhance production efficiency, reduce production costs, and bolster the competitiveness of enterprises.
Green production
In the production process of drill rods, we pay attention to environmental protection and energy saving, adopting environmentally friendly materials and green production processes to reduce energy consumption and emissions. At the same time, we will strengthen waste processing and recycling to achieve resource recycling and sustainable development.
Conclusion
The quality control of the drill rod is a critical link to ensure the reliability of the connection. To meet the quality requirements of the drill rod, we should carry out strict quality control in the production process. Various methods can effectively enhance the quality and reliability of drill rods. With the continuous development of science and technology and changes in market demand, the quality control of drill rods will face more challenges and opportunities. Therefore, we need to continue to explore and innovate to promote the sustainable development of the drill rod industry.
