As the name implies, slips are intended to keep the drill pipe from slipping down into the hole or hold the pipe in place. These specially designed gripping tools are small but powerful and are carefully engineered to handle delicate and dangerous pipes in high-risk environments such as drilling rigs.


Slips are wedge-shaped tools used to wrap the drill string. The slip is lined on the inside with small serrated teeth called inserts designed to firmly grip the outside of the pipe, stabilizing and suspending the drill string in the rotary table.


Workers must manually lift and lower slips around the pipe with traditional slips. When everything is in place, the driller lowers the pipe slowly, allowing the teeth to grip the string. The force wedges the slips into the taper of the rotary table's opening, effectively distributing and supporting the drill pipe's weight. The rig crew must grasp and lift the slip handles while the driller lifts the pipe from the rotary table opening to remove slips. The slips are set aside after they have been completely removed.


Power or automatic slips do not require manual lifting and slip settings unlike their traditional counterparts. On the other hand, power slips can be pneumatically or hydraulically powered and controlled remotely via a valve or pedal. Power slips can also help to reduce crew fatigue and increase safety on the drill floor by eliminating the need for manual handling slips.


  1. Drilling Pipe Slips

Pipe Drilling A rotary slip is a device used on an oil rig to grip and hold the upper part of a drill string to the drill floor. The slips are made up of metal wedges hinged together to form a circular shape around the drill pipe. The slips typically have replaceable steel teeth on the inside surface that grip the pipe. The slips' outsides are tapered, and they meet a similar taper on the drill floor. Typically, the pipe passes through a Rotary table, a piece of machinery that causes the pipe to rotate.


Drilling Slips


After wrapping the slips around the drill pipe, the slips are lowered so that the teeth on the inside grip the pipe and pull the slips down. The wedges then compress the drill pipe.


The drill string is raised when the job is finished, which unlocks the gripping action. After that, the slips are removed.


  • Made of heat-treated alloy steel for strength and resistance to wear

  • Manufactured to API specifications

  • Have an API taper of 4”/ft on the diameter


So, if you are looking for oilfield tools, Drilling Parts is the perfect place to start with.


2. Drilling Collar Slips

Drill Collar Slips are devices that grip and hold drill collars and wash pipes to the drill floor on an oil rig. The slips are made up of a series of metal wedges hinged together to form a circular shape around the tubular. The slips have replaceable steel teeth on the inside that grip the pipe.


The outsides of the slips are tapered, and they meet a similar taper on the drill floor.


After the slips are wrapped around the tubular, it is lowered so that the teeth on the inside grip the pipe, and the slips are pulled down. The wedges hold the tubular in place due to the compressive force.


After work is completed, the string is raised, unlocking the gripping action. The slips are then lifted away.


  • Multi-segment design to fit all drill collars within the slip’s size range

  • Slip segments are made of heat-treated alloy steel for strength and resistance to wear

  • Load rated and has an API tape of 4”/ft on the diameter

  • Provided with safety flex handles as a standard option


3. Casing Slips

The casing is a large-diameter pipe assembled and inserted into a borehole recently drilled. Like the bones of a spine, Casing is installed inside the drilled borehole to protect and support the good stream. Casing Slips are tools that aid in the holding and movement of the pipe down the well.


The multi-segment hinged design of Keystone's slip provides a full wrap-around to help prevent casing damage.


Drilling Slips


  • Multi-segmented design for full wrap-around to help prevent casing damage

  • Made of heat-treated alloy steel for strength and resistance to wear

  • CMS-XL slips have an API taper of 4” taper on the diameter

  • Provided with safety flex handles as a standard option


Whether you use traditional or automatic slips, the proper application helps prevent bottlenecking and gouging damage and reduce downtime and increase overall operational efficiency and safety for your drilling projects.


Drilling Parts has many high-quality drill pipes, drill collars, and casing slips for various applications. All of our slips are manufactured in the United States to API specifications and use tempered and tested alloy steel and other high-quality materials to ensure maximum handling capacity with minimal weight to ease the handling. Contact us to learn more about how we can assist you in delivering the ideal solution for your energy requirements.


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