Challenge

Leverage high-end, nonlinear structural simulation technology to reduce reliance on costly, time-consuming physical testing and develop innovative downhole drilling products more quickly and cost-effectively.

Solution

Add 3DEXPERIENCE Simulation to its SOLIDWORKS® implementation to conduct nonlinear structural and complex contact analyses in the cloud to advance and accelerate new product development.

Results

Saved tens of thousands of dollars in testing costs
Cut months of time and extra labor from
development process
Realized close correlation between simulation and
testing results
Freed up computing resources for other functions
Saved money spent on unnecessary mold iterations

InFocus Energy Services, Inc. is in the business of facing problems as hard as rock. Primarily an R&D-based company for downhole products for the oil and gas industry, the company licenses its technology and products to strategic partners.

Testing is everything, especially in the unpredictable environments of downhole drilling. Not surprisingly, one of InFocus’ primary business challenges is reducing its reliance on slow and expensive physical testing.

Technology Matters

“SOLIDWORKS® is the core of our engineering group,” says Founder/Director Allan Pearson. “It’s the basis for everything we do: modeling, simulation, flow analysis, and renderings. We rarely have to rely on other products.”

When InFocus discovered that it needed more simulation power, it turned to 3DEXPERIENCE Simulation, which leverages the robust SIMULIA® Abaqus solver on the 3DEXPERIENCE® platform. What’s more, the product works smoothly with SOLIDWORKS.

InFocus utilized 3DEXPERIENCE Simulation on the bearing section of the company’s RE|FLEX Premium HP/HT drilling motor. The motor’s bearing section is a proprietary design that was developed to convert extreme loading parameters, including torque of over 30,000 foot-pounds, into efficient drilling action.

Optimizing Designs for Success

3DEXPERIENCE Simulation predicted the failure—with precise correlation to actual test results—of the company’s initial concept design of the drive system that used traditional ball bearings (it failed because the load crushed the bearings and the faces that load the bearings), and helped the company develop a better, more innovative design.

“With 3DEXPERIENCE Simulation we were able to evaluate a range of geometric and material options, a process that helped us quickly optimize the tapered, barrel-shaped design of the bearings, and also decide the best high-strength steel for the design,” Kjellbotn recalls.

Analyzing its options in a digital environment saved InFocus the time and expense of having to physically test all the possibilities. “This allowed us to optimize critical internal components for cyclic fatigue-loading [bending stress], a common cause of twist-offs downhole, and confirmed a higher torque rating and increased durability for our product,” says Kjellbotn.

With 3DEXPERIENCE Simulation, we are only limited by our imagination.

Peter Kjellbotn

Mechanical Engineer/Simulation Specialist

Accelerating Innovation

The faster and more affordable development process made possible using 3DEXPERIENCE Simulation to develop the bearing section of the RE|FLEX Premium drilling motor is precisely what InFocus needs to introduce industry innovations in a timely, consistent fashion.

“All of those [physical] tests on a high-strength drive shaft—at a cost of thousands of dollars per test—would have blown both the schedule and budget,” says Kjellbotn. “We saved tens of thousands of dollars and months of time and extra labor costs by using 3DEXPERIENCE Simulation. It helped us condense a process that would usually take months into just a few weeks.”

InFocus prides itself on creating innovative new products, continually pushing limits, and succeeding where others fail. Kjellbotn adds: “With 3DEXPERIENCE Simulation we are only limited by our imagination.”

For more questions about what 3DEXPERIENCE Simulation can do for your company, contact your local reseller.

Download Customer Story

InFocus Energy Services