Method of fabricating a bearing

Abstract

The mating halves 7 and 11 of a new type of thrust bearing for a down hole drilling motor 1 are fabricated by a technique which ensures that the composite diamond compact inserts 9 or 13 are coplanar with each other. Composite compacts are utilized having a chamfer on both the diamond table 18 and the substrate 19. These hard inserts are inserted into recesses 17 in steel bearing body rings 8 or 12, said recesses being the same depth as the substrate. The composite compacts are furnace brazed below the degradation temperature of the diamond. During brazing a weight is placed on the compacts to maintain their coplanar relationship. The space between the inserts 15 is maintained at less than half their diameter. This fabrication technique results in a smooth running, low friction thrust bearing for rotating equipment.

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