METHODS OF FORMING AND METHODS OF REPAIRING EARTH-BORING TOOLS

摘要

A method of forming at least a portion of an earth-boring tool using an electronic representation of at least one geometric feature of at least a component of an earth-boring tool stored in memory accessible by a processor operatively connected to a multi-axis positioning system, a direct metal deposition apparatus, and a material removal apparatus. The processor generates a deposition path for the direct metal deposition apparatus is based at least in part on the electronic representation of the at least one geometric feature of the at least a component of the earth-boring tool. The direct metal deposition tool is operated according to the generated deposition path to deposit metal material on an earth-boring tool component coupled to the multi-axis positioning system to at least partially form the at least one geometric feature of the earth-boring tool. Methods also include methods of repairing earth-boring tools.