8月27日，IADC先进钻井技术委员会在Transocean位于休斯顿的办公室举办了一场“星火汇”（Spark Tank）活动。活动汇聚了积极进取、雄心勃勃的技术创业者，他们以类似电视节目《创智赢家》（Shark Tank）的形式，向钻井承包商、运营商和服务公司代表组成的小组推介产品和创意。在演示过程中，小组成员可以提出问题，并针对每款产品提供技术和业务方面的反馈。

德克萨斯农工大学的贾斯汀·琼斯（Justin Jones）做了一个这样的演讲，他介绍了一个通过3D打印金属来设计PDC钻头的项目。琼斯先生是农工大学石油工程专业的硕士生，他介绍了如何用塑料或不锈钢3D打印出原型钻头，并用实验室规模的钻机进行测试，以验证其液压性能。他表示，这些测试的结果将支持进一步的研究和开发。在接受Spark Tank DC的采访时，琼斯先生探讨了该项目的起源以及3D打印PDC钻头能够为行业带来的价值。

On 27 August, the IADC Advanced Rig Technology Committee held a Spark Tank at Transocean’s Houston office. The event brought together active and aspiring technology entrepreneurs to pitch products and ideas to a panel of drilling contractors, operators and service company representatives in a format similar to the TV show Shark Tank. The presentations allowed the panel to ask questions and provide both technical and business feedback on each product.

One such presentation, from Justin Jones of Texas A&M University, covered a project for creating PDC bit designs through 3D printing of metals. Mr Jones, a master’s student in petroleum engineering at A&M, described how prototype bits have been 3D printed in plastic or stainless steel and tested with a laboratory -scale drilling rig to verify hydraulic performance. The findings from these tests, he said, support further research and development. In this interview with DC taken from Spark Tank, Mr Jones discussed the genesis of the project and the value that 3D printing of PDC bits can provide to the industry.