Solutions & Case Studies
Torque Tube Stop
Industry: Oil & Gas
Situation: A large oil drilling company was looking for a better way to manufacture their Torque Tube Stop, a device used to protect progressive cavity pumps in the field. The device rests on hinges and is used to stop the downhole tube from spinning, so that in the case of a power outage, the tube does not backspin and destroy the pump drive. They had previously fabricated the Torque Tube Stop with cutting torches, which left each component a slightly different size. Because of this, each piece had to be resized manually through maching and grinding to make up for the imprecision of torch cutting. Our customer decided the process was too slow and the cost was too high, and contacted Precision Hydrojet for a solution to the problem.
Challenges:
- To manufacture Torque Tube Stops with high precision and quality, in a timely manner, while lowering production costs substantially.
- To design and construct customized jigs for our waterjet cutting table, in order to turn several parts at once..
- To design a CNC cutting program that allowed all parts to be cut from a specific reference point (the hinge pin hole).
- To translate a flat cutting pattern onto a tubular surface.
- To eliminate post-cut maching and grinding from the process.
Solution: Precision Hydrojet analyzed the design and quantity requirements of the Torque Tube Stopper and determined that it would be necessary to manufacturer at least three at a time to meet our customer’s demands. To do so we designed and built custom jigs for the waterjet cutting table as well as a specialized CNC program that assured the final product would meet all tolerance requirements. We eliminated the need for machining and grinding by cutting the components precisely. By doing so, we reduced the manufacturing lead time and significantly reduced our customer’s costs.
Results:
- The Torque Tube Stop was prototyped successfully and production units are being manufactured and deployed in the field on a regular basis.
Contact Precision Hydrojet to see how we can save you time and money with our custom solutions.