Extreme Coatings Uses Experience Coating Injection Molding Feed Screws To Extend The Life Of Oil And Gas Drilling Equipment

St Petersburg, FL - For the past 15 years, Extreme Coatings, Inc. has had tremendous success using thermal spray carbide coatings to significantly increase the life of the feed screws used in plastic injection molding and extrusion equipment. The same technology and expertise is now being used on downhole mud motor rotors for the oil and gas drilling industry.

For Extreme Coatings, the move was a natural one. The geometry and actions of mud rotors are very similar to those of feed screws, so existing technology and working methods were directly applicable.

Mud motors are a type of displacement pump used in drilling for gas and oil. The most expensive part to replace is the power section, consisting of a rotor and a stator. Historically, stainless steel rotors have been chrome plated. While running Downhole the drilling fluid, or mud, will wear and/or corrode the chrome plating rapidly. When that occurs, the incorrect fit can cause a loss of power to the drill and eventual motor failure. With increased exploration into corrosive environments such as shale formations, the demand for more corrosion- and wear-resistant coatings has grown.

Through new coating development like their CPR (Chrome Plating Replacement) coating and refined polishing techniques, Extreme Coatings is not only repairing the mud rotors, they are making them run better. Extreme Coatings strips away worn chrome plating and replaces it with a more corrosion resistant metal, utilizing high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) thermal spray technology. The materials used in these coatings are harder than chrome, and the method of application and polishing results in a high finish that reduces friction. This can increase the life of a rotor by six to ten times.