Superabrasive elements having indicia and related apparatus and methods
View Patent ↗A cutting element for use on a rotary drill bit for forming a borehole in a subterranean formation may comprise a body and laser-generated indicia on at least a portion of the body of the cutting element. The laser-generated indicia may be provided on at least a portion of a substrate of the cutting element and/or at least a portion of a layer of superabrasive material of the cutting element. The laser-generated indicia may be used to indicate a product name of the cutting element, the name of a manufacturer of the cutting element, a preferred alignment for the cutting element relative to a drill bit, or any other useful information. Cutting elements and superabrasive inserts having laser-generated indicia may be employed in rotary drill bits. In addition, laser-generated indicia may be used in a method to distinguish between cutting elements having substantially identical external geometric features.
1. A superabrasive element comprising:
a body including a substrate and a layer of superabrasive material disposed on an end surface of the substrate, the substrate comprising a first material and the layer of superabrasive material comprising a second material different than the first material;
laser-generated indicia on at least a portion of an exposed portion of the substrate of the body, wherein the laser-generated indicia is also formed on the layer of superabrasive material and wherein the laser-generated indicia includes a marking selected from the group consisting of letter, numbers, graphical symbols and combinations thereof.
2. The superabrasive element of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises at least one of a carbide material, cobalt, and a refractory material.
3. The superabrasive element of claim 1 , wherein the superabrasive layer comprises at least one of polycrystalline diamond, cubic boron nitride, silicon carbide, and tungsten carbide.
4. The superabrasive element of claim 1 , wherein the laser-generated indicia comprises at least one of:
indicia that indicates at least a product name of the superabrasive element;
indicia that indicates at least a cutter type of the superabrasive element;
or
indicia that indicates a manufacturer of the superabrasive element.
5. The superabrasive element of claim 1 , wherein the body is configured as a cutting element sized and configured for coupling with a body of a subterranean rotary drill bit.
6. The superabrasive element of claim 1 , wherein the laser-generated indicia includes indicia that indicates a preferred alignment of the superabrasive element with another component.
7. A rotary drill bit for drilling a subterranean formation, comprising:
a bit body having a leading face portion configured to engage a subterranean formation and a gage surface;
at least one superabrasive insert coupled to at least one of the leading face portion or the gage surface of the bit body, the superabrasive insert comprising:
a body including a substrate and a layer of superabrasive material disposed on an end surface of the substrate;
laser-generated indicia on at least a portion of an exposed portion of the substrate of the body of the cutting element, wherein the laser-generated indicia is also formed on the layer of superabrasive material and wherein the laser-generated indica includes a marking selected from the group consisting of letters, numbers, graphical symbols and combinations thereof.
8. The rotary drill bit of claim 7 , wherein the laser-generated indicia comprises at least one of:
indicia that indicates at least a product name of the superabrasive insert;
indicia that indicates at least a cutter type of the superabrasive insert;
or
indicia that indicates a manufacturer of the superabrasive insert.
9. The rotary drill bit of claim 7 , wherein the laser-generated indicia includes indicia that indicates a preferred alignment of the superabrasive insert relative to the bit body.
10. A method for using laser-generated indicia to distinguish between superabrasive elements exhibiting the same size and external geometric features, the method comprising:
identifying a first superabrasive element, the first superabrasive element comprising a body having a substrate and a superabrasive material disposed on an end of the substrate, the body also including laser-generated indicia that is on at least a portion of an exposed portion of the substrate of the body and is also formed on the layer of superabrasive material;
identifying a second superabrasive element, the second superabrasive element having the same size and external geometric features as the first superabrasive element;
distinguishing the first superabrasive element from the second superabrasive element based on the laser-generated indicia of the first superabrasive element.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the second superabrasive element further comprises laser-generated indicia on at least a portion of a body of the second superabrasive element and the first superabrasive element is distinguished from the superabrasive cutting element by comparing the laser-generated indicia on the first superabrasive element with the laser-generated indicia on the second superabrasive element.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein identifying a second superabrasive element includes identifying a second superabrasive element comprising a body having a substrate and a layer of superabrasive material disposed on an end surface of the substrate.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the laser-generated indicia of the first superabrasive element comprises at least one of:
indicia that indicates at least a product name;
indicia that indicates at least a cutter type;
or
indicia that indicates a manufacturer.
14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the laser-generated indicia of the first superabrasive element comprises indicia that indicate a preferred alignment relative to a drill bit.