After more than five decades of rapid development, the design and manufacturing technologies of polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits have become mature, and they have become dominant tools for rock cutting in global oil and gas drilling engineering. Currently, oil and gas exploration and development have accelerated in China, and difficult tight rock drilling has become one of the biggest challenges faced by deep and ultra-deep drilling engineering. The dependence on PDC bits featuring long service life and efficient rock cutting is increasing day by day. However, the development of PDC bit technologies in China and abroad has slowed down and seems to have reached a bottleneck stage, without any disruptive technological innovation. The existing bit products in China and abroad fail to meet the drilling needs of depths of more than ten thousand meters, so it is urgent to develop new materials and technologies for efficient rock cutting. This article sorts out the research status of key design and manufacturing technologies of PDC bits, summarizes the drawbacks of bits made in China, outlines future development trends, and proposes corresponding suggestions.
