Odex Systems

Under reaming systems are the most economical solutions for casing drilling in normal ground conditions. This is particularly true for shallow holes, as is often the case in water well drilling. We have sizes 4", 5", 6" and 8" ODEX systems available.

In mineral exploration drilling we always set ODEX casing at the top of the hole until bedrock is encountered. This helps reduce caving of the hole and helps direct the sample into the center of the drill pipe where it belongs by the use of a Sealed Diverter between the casing and the drill rod. We use a threaded casing in our mineral exploration drilling to speed up the process of installing and removing the casing, rather than welding and cutting the casing for every hole.

The ODEX system utilizes an eccentric under reamer to cut a drilled hole ahead of the bottom of the casing. The casing is then simultaneously advanced by a percussive force applied to either the top or bottom of the casing. As the hole is advanced, the drill cuttings are normally removed by air and travel up the inside of the casing in the annular space between the casing ID and the drill rod OD. The ODEX method is highly effective in overburden soils where boulders or gravel layers are present, or when layers of rock must be penetrated. This method also subjects surficial and localized soils to some vibration.

One methods of drilling with casing treatment at same time is overburden system. This method is using overburden bit, odex bit and so on. Drilled casings are one of most popular methods for foundations, reinforcement work and well drilling today. They especially lend themselves to metropolitan work such as bridge, utility line, and building construction.

Available for DTH drill rigs
Currently Odex is available in eight diameters from 3" to 8" DTH hammers.
Odex 90 for 3" hammers
Odex 115 for 3" and 4" hammers
Odex 140 for 4" and 5" hammers
Odex 165 for 5" and 6" hammers
Odex 190 for 6" and 8" hammers
Odex 240 for 8" hammers

Odex is the specialist in normal overburden conditions and shorter holes.
Odex is an eccentric retrievable drilling system that’s ideal for short holes up to 273 mm (10 3/4") in diameter. Well drillers often have an Odex drill bit at hand for simultaneous casing of water and geothermal wells. The advantage is that Odex drills and installs the casing quickly and efficiently. While the ingenious bit system allows the complete drill bit to be retrieved – ready to drill the next hole.

Odex – the retrievable small holes specialist
Wherever there’s a well to be drilled there's always a need to case the overburden layer. This is where this tried and tested eccentric casing drilling system has proven itself to be the ideal solution. In fact, Odex has become synonymous with water well casing drilling.

Pioneers in casing drilling
Odex has become the standard for casing in water wells, geothermal wells and for shallow micropiling work. In fact, in some countries this is referred to as Odex drilling. Atlas Copco has continuously developed the product and today it still outperforms other eccentric systems.

Drill through overburden and bedrock
Odex is ideal for short holes in consolidated overburden. This means it's perfect for most water and geothermal well drilling. Even contractors working with short micropiles find Odex the best solution.

Ingenious eccentric system
Odex is an ingeniously designed eccentric drilling system which consists of a pilot bit and reamer "wing". The pilot bit protrudes beneath the casing pipe and, as the drill rotates, a specially designed “wing” folds out and acts as a reamer. This creates the space for the casing pipe to advance. Once through the overburden, Odex makes a socket in the bedrock allowing the casing to be fixed in place. Then, by simply reversing the drilling rotation, the wing retracts into the pilot bit and the whole drill string can be removed from the hole leaving the casing pipe in place.

Retrievable and reusable
For well drillers, it's imperative to have a casing drilling system that's easy to drill with any DTH drill rig. That’s where Odex comes into its own. Thanks to the ingenious reaming wing the bit is retrievable and can be used at the next well.

Push or pull casing pipes
Odex can be equipped with casing shoe shoulder or without one. By using a casing shoe shoulder, the casing pipe is pulled into hole. When there is no casing shoes shoulder present, the casing pipe is pushed into the hole.

	Hammer	Pilot diameter	Reamed diameter	Casing tube outside diameter	Casing tube wall thickness max.	Casing tube wall thickness w/o casing shoe max.
ODEX 90	3"	3-9/16 (90)	4-13/16 (123)	4-1/2 (114.3)	1/4 (6.3)	3/8 (10)
ODEX 115	3"-4"	4-1/2 (115)	6 (152)	5-1/2 (139.7)	1/4 (6.3)	3/8 (10)
ODEX 127	4"	5 (127)	6-1/2 (165)	6 (152.4)	1/4 (6.3)	3/8 (10)
ODEX 140	4"-5"	5-1/2 (140)	7-1/8 (181)	6-5/8 (168.3)	1/4 (6.3)	1/2 (12.7)
ODEX 152	5"-6"	6 (152)	7-9/16 (192)	7 (177.8)	1/4 (6.3)	3/8 (10)
ODEX 165	5"-6"	6-1/2 (165)	8-7/32 (209)	7-5/8 (193.7)	1/4 (6.3)	1/2 (12.7)
ODEX 190	6"-8"	7-1/2 (190)	9-1/4 (235)	8-5/8 (219.1)	1/4 (6.3)	1/2 (12.7)