Digitization of Drill Bit Inspections; User-Centered Design Methods to Automate Robotic Inspections

One unique facet of digital technology is the merging of separate technologies for new workflows and products. Like other industries, energy is also doing this. This project will automate the bit inspection process and this system will reduce labor costs, increase product quality, and improve bit performance. The innovation center is working on various aspects of the project, which aims to join automation technologies with robotic capabilities. Industrial robots are used extensively in traditional high-volume manufacturing applications. The high-mix, low-volume nature of oil and gas manufacturing operations has impeded deployment of automation solutions. Recent advances in sensors, computers, and machine learning now enable integrating robotics and automation technologies into these flexible manufacturing workflows. Driven by digital transformation, an automated inspection system for polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) drill bits has been developed. The system uses high-resolution robotic 3D scanning, 2D imaging, and artificial intelligence to improve inspection efficiency and product quality. In our user-experience- (UX-) focused approach, we streamlined the user interface (UI) research methods to develop the robotic inspection UI and successfully tested the design with end users. This paper introduces the inspection system and improved workflows for the PDC bits, illustrates the innovative UX/UI development process, and targeted evaluation with the end users, which is crucial before deploying the system in production. We also concluded with some recommended improvements to guide future work.