API 5CT DRIFT REQUIREMENTS / DATA 1

[DGonzales]

My company holds certifications for API Q1, Spec 7-1 & Spec 5CT. in regards to Spec 5CT, we have a customer that wants us to manufacture and certify several API drifts.

Review of API Spec 5CT does not reveal all the pertinent information required to produce/maintain these drifts (at least not as far as I could see; Ref Section 8.10 and Table E.28)

API has not been helpful with this yet because they turned our questions over to an API committee that could take up to 12 months to answer - we will have lost the job by then.

Examples of questions: what material to use to manufacture drift? Marking requirements? Lead In/Lead Out Taper requirement? Wear indicators or # of uses limitations? What is the criteria for certifying API Drifts?... Is there another document or source of info regarding API Casing/Tubing Drifts?

 

[redpicker]

You may use any suitable material for the drift. Steel is often used, but I have seen plastic ones used in coated pipe. I believe the requirement is the drift must meet a minimum diameter and length. The manufacturer may add any lead-in taper he wishes. He may make the OD slightly larger (say 0.005") to allow for some wear allowance. If he wants to incorporate a wear indicator, he may, but is not required. All that is required is that the minimum OD is maintained over the minimum length. The inspection requirements for the drifts should be addressed by your quality program.

 

[DGonzales]

Thanks Redpicker. Is this something you are familiar with first hand? I am asking because this is exactly what we were thinking just could not believe that API would only have requirements on OD and Length but leave everything else up to the manufacturer or end user.

Our customer is wanting to purchase API certified drifts, most API products are well defined and pretty tightly controlled through specifications. We thought the API Drifts would be the same.

 

[redpicker]

Am I familiar with this? Yeah, a little. In a small way, I am partly responsible for there only being minimum requirements.

I believe that APIs attitude is that they don't want to over specify requirements when they are not needed and would place hardship on the manufacturer.

For example, if they placed a +/- 0.002" tolerance on the drift diameter, then the diameter, which is subject to wear, would have to be checked fairly often. With such a requirement, a third party inspector could reject product if it was drifted with a drift that was 0.005" over the drift diameter (which is crazy, but that is what third party inspectors do).

The way it is, a manufacturer could make all his drifts 0.015" over the drift diameter and use a no-go gauge set at 0.005" over to qualify production drifts. Any product that did not drift with the production drifts could be re-tested with a special drift that was closer to the minimum drift size, if the manufacturer wanted.

The same applies to the length.

I do not believe Casing drifts are considered an API product. That is, you can produce, sell, and certify drifts as meeting the requirements for drifts in API 5CT, but you cannot apply the API monogram. If you want to produce monogrammed API drifts, you would have to get in touch with API and discuss it with them.