Resonance-Enabled Drills

Abstract

Provided herein is a resonance-enabled drill, comprising a housing; one or more force generators chosen from one or more voice coil actuators, one or more eccentrics driven by one or more electric motors, or combinations thereof, one or more sonic heads coupled to the one or more force generators; a plurality of springs coupling the housing to the one or more sonic heads; and a drill rod disposed on its proximal end to the one or more sonic heads.

1 . A resonance-enabled drill, comprising:
 a housing;   one or more force generators chosen from one or more voice coil actuators, or one or more eccentrics driven by one or more electric motors;   one or more sonic heads coupled to the one or more force generators;   a plurality of springs coupling the housing to the one or more sonic heads; and   a drill rod disposed on its proximal end to the one or more sonic heads.   
     
     
         2 . The drill of  claim 1 , further comprising a bit disposed on the distal end of the drill rod. 
     
     
         3 . The drill of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more force generators are one or more voice coil actuators comprising a coil assembly rigidly disposed on the housing or on a reflection mass and a magnet assembly disposed on the one or more sonic heads. 
     
     
         4 . The drill of  claim 3 , wherein the coil assembly of each of the one or more voice coil actuators has little to no motion compared to the one or more sonic heads. 
     
     
         5 . The drill of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more force generators are one or more eccentrics, where each eccentric is driven by one electric motor. 
     
     
         6 . The drill of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more force generators comprises two paired sets of eccentrics configured to exert no vertical force, using a 180° phase angle between the two paired sets of eccentrics. 
     
     
         7 . The drill of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more force generators comprises two paired sets of eccentrics configured to exert full vertical force, using a 0° phase angle between the two paired sets of eccentrics. 
     
     
         8 . The drill of  claim 1 , further comprising a seal disposed between the housing and the drill rod. 
     
     
         9 . The drill of  any one of the preceding claim 1 , further comprising a spring-damper disposed between the drill rod and a drill bit. 
     
     
         10 . The drill of  claim 9 , wherein the spring-damper cushions impact of the drill bit by widening and lowering impulse magnitude, whereby transfer of primary resonant energy to unwanted resonant modes is lowered, and the drill bit is kept in motion and not fused with a workpiece. 
     
     
         11 . The drill of  claim 1 , further comprising an energy transfer rod and flange adaptor disposed between the one or more sonic heads and the drill rod. 
     
     
         12 . The drill of  claim 1 , further comprising between the one or more sonic heads a rotor disposed on the drill rod, and a stator and stator housing disposed on the housing. 
     
     
         13 . The drill of  claim 1 , wherein kinetic energy stored in the drill by the one or more sonic heads is directly offset by potential energy stored within the plurality springs. 
     
     
         14 . The drill of  claim 1 , further comprising a reflection mass coupled to the one or more sonic heads through a second plurality of springs and configured to offset kinetic energy stored in the drill. 
     
     
         15 . The drill of  claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a plurality of plates and a plurality of standoffs. 
     
     
         16 . The drill of  claim 1 , having a resonance frequency, and, when the drill is on resonance, an input force is in phase with the resultant oscillation velocity of the one or more sonic heads. 
     
     
         17 . The drill of  claim 1 , further comprising a gauge functionally coupled to the drill to receive information about the drill, including current operating conditions, and calculations from measurements of the drill, including the resonance frequency and weight on bit, the gauge displaying the information and calculations to an operator, including when the drill is in resonance, the weight on bit, and changes in a boundary condition 
     
     
         18 . The drill of  claim 17 , wherein the gauge indicates to maximize the ratio between bit motion and motion of the one or more sonic heads. 
     
     
         19 . The drill of  claim 17 , wherein the phase displayed on the gauge indicates a relative position of the phase for the resonance frequency of the sonic drill. 
     
     
         20 . The drill of  claim 17 , wherein the gauge displays a phase measurement between the force generator and the one or more sonic heads in the drill, the gauge indicating where the resonance frequency of the drill is relative to current operating frequency of the drill based on the phase measurement, or the gauge displaying the difference between a phase estimated from a model for no coupling at the drill bit and the phase measurement, or
 wherein when the drill is no longer in resonance, information on the stress state and safe operating conditions of the drill is displayed on the gauge, or   wherein the display comprises a list or visual cues of the sonic drill's resonant frequencies.