The impregnated diamond casing shoe is the most commonly used as it has the widest range of application and is generally the most efficient tool for advancing casing through overburden layers. Dimatec manufactures two types of impregnated diamond casing shoes that may be used with all sizes of standard casing tubes.

In addition to casing shoes, Dimatec also manufactures impregnated diamond rod shoes. In terms of design, rod shoes are very similar to casing shoes and differ only in their thread connections. Rod shoes are used where wireline drill rods are used as casing tubes.

The basic construction of these casing shoes and rod shoes features a sintered powdered metal crown that is fused to a steel tool body or shank. The powdered metal crown is composed of two layers: the “matrix” layer which cuts the overburden and the “backing” layer which connects the matrix layer to the steel tool body and serves to support the gauge diameter protection hard materials.

D-Series Casing Shoes / D-Series Rod Shoes

This economical impregnated diamond casing shoe / rod shoe is available for use with all standard casing tube sizes and a limited number of wireline drill rod sizes. The Dimatec ‘D-Series’ casing shoe is intended for use in applications where the casing tubes are to be permanently left in the drill hole.

Dimatec ‘D-Series’ casing shoes and rod shoes are supplied with a:

• Flat-Face (Style ‘F’) crown profile.
  
• Regular (Style ‘W’) waterway configuration.
• 0.12 inch (3 mm) diamond impregnation depth.

The matrix layer on all sizes of Dimatec ‘D-Series’ impregnated diamond casing shoes contains a mixture of mesh-size synthetic and natural diamond crystals that are uniformly distributed and embedded in a powdered metal bond.

Unlike the matrix layer, the backing layer does not contain diamond crystals distributed throughout its volume. The backing layer is also composed of a powdered metal bond material and has good wear resistance properties. The exposed outside and inside gauge diameter surfaces of this layer are set with a combination of natural mined ‘kicker’ grade diamond and tungsten-carbide wear pads. These gauge setting materials assist in maintaining the critical gauge diameters throughout the life of the shoe.

Super Duty Casing Shoes / Super Duty Rod Shoes

Dimatec ‘Super Duty’ impregnated diamond casing shoes and rod shoes are available for use with all standard DCDMA casing tube sizes and a limited number of wireline drill rod sizes. The Dimatec ‘Super Duty’ casing shoe is manufactured with a more aggressive matrix layer than the ‘D-Series’ type and is intended for use in thick overburden layers that may contain boulders.

Dimatec ‘Super Duty’ casing shoes and rod shoes are supplied with a:

• Modified V-Ring (Style ‘VC’) crown profile.
• Regular (Style ‘W’) waterway configuration.
• 0.24 inch (6mm) diamond impregnation depth.

The matrix layer on all sizes of Dimatec ‘Super Duty’ impregnated diamond casing shoes contains mesh-size synthetic diamond crystals that are uniformly distributed and embedded in a powdered metal bond.

Unlike the matrix layer, the backing layer does not contain diamond crystals distributed throughout its volume. The backing layer is also composed of a powdered metal bond material and has good wear resistance properties. The exposed outside and inside gauge diameter surfaces of this layer are set with a combination of natural mined ‘kicker’ grade diamond and tungsten-carbide wear pads. This gauge setting is considerably more dense than the setting on a comparably sized ‘D-Series’ casing shoe. These gauge setting materials assist in maintaining the critical gauge diameters throughout the life of the shoe.

Optional setting is also available where the natural mined ‘kicker’ grade diamond is replaced with synthetic materials and is intended for use on drilling projects where potential contamination by natural diamond crystals is objectionable.

Although hard-metal strips that are used to armor coat the steel tool body are normally not provided on Dimatec ‘Super Duty’ casing shoes and rod shoes, this option is available at an additional cost and is recommended when drilling through extremely abrasive and unconsolidated conditions.