Halliburton, Inc. is well known for their presence in the crude oil drilling and recovery business. One of its most important operating units is engaged in manufacturing products related to crude oil drilling. Large drill bits (from 2-3/8” to 30”) are one of these products.

Close Tolerances and Harsh Conditions
These drill bits must be manufactured to close tolerances, from +/-.001” to +/- .0001”. In addition, many parts must be measured in harsh, wet and difficult conditions. “Frequently, we have to check parts with coolant dripping on the gages,” said Alex Morris, Senior Gage Calibration Technician at Halliburton.

“We use a variety of gage types and brands in our shop. We were routinely confronting situations where our calipers and micrometers were simply not performing well”, continued Mr. Morris. “The tools were not holding the tolerances we require, and the coolants often gummed up the tools so that we could not use them to measure parts. We were constantly replacing micrometers and calipers, typically eight or nine per month.”

Solution – Starrett
Because of its long-established reputation for precision measuring tools with unmatched accuracy, reliability and quality, Halliburton contacted The L.S. Starrett Company to help solve their problem.

First, Halliburton tested Starrett Electronic Calipers. One test was to literally drop the gages in coolant. Mr. Morris said the calipers stood up just fine and repeated great after being submerged. After testing several tools Starrett 797 Series Electronic Calipers were selected.

IP65 Protection
The 797 offers IP65 level protection which is ideal for harsh manufacturing environments. They maintain their accuracy while resisting coolant and shop contaminants including water, dust, dirt and metal chips.

According to IEC 529 (The international standard for degrees of protection provided by equipment enclosures.), IP65 stands for a “6” protection against ingress of dust and particles and a “5” protection against water jets projected by a nozzle from any direction for a duration of three minutes.

“When the old calipers were replaced with Starrett 797 Calipers, the operators could not believe how much better they performed,” said Mr. Morris. “They exclaimed how easy the Starrett calipers were to use and how they were able to successfully check their parts with coolant dripping on the gage.”

Coolant Resistant Micrometers
Halliburton also needed of micrometers that could maintain accuracy under harsh, wet conditions for close-tolerance measuring of parts 1” and under.   They Halliburton chose Starrett 795 Series Electronic Micrometers. These tools provide an IP67 level of protection. IP67 provides an even higher level of protection than IP65 against coolant.

“When the old micrometers were replaced, I received a lot of the same type of feedback from the operators as for the Starrett Caliper,” said Mr. Morris.  “They said the new micrometers held their tolerances better and would consistently repeat”.

Saving Gages, Improving Gage R&R
“In all, the Starrett tools have improved our Gage R&R (Repeatability & Reproducibility) by 50%,” Mr. Morris continued.  “The Starrett gages hold up great on the shop floor – I can’t say enough good about them.  Based on my extensive calibration experience, these gages are an extremely reliable solution. ”

Mr. Morris reports that the Starrett hand gages for calipers and OD micrometers have saved Halliburton $3,000 - $8,000 dollars over a six month period.