Overview of Slips and Elevator Used in Upstream Drilling Industry

This article will explain the overview of slips and elevator which are very important tool on the rig.

Slips

Slips are wedge-shaped gripping devices which are used to suspend the drill string in the hole. They fit around the body of drill pipe and wedge in the taper of the rotary table’s opening. Slips have serrated inserts or dies that will grip the outside diameter of the tubular when it is set on the rotary table. To set the slips, rig crews place them around the pipe and the driller then slowly lowers the pipe until the slips can take up the load. The dies in the slips will firmly hold the pipe. In order to remove the slips, rig crew grasp the slip handles and as the driller picks up the pipe, they lift them out of the rotary table opening and set them aside.

You can watch this video to see how the rig crew set and remove the slips

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