Cats protract claws while hunting or pawing on the ground and retract to muscles when relaxing. Inspired by this behavior, and in order to solve the problem of short service life and low comprehensive drilling efficiency of polycrystalline diamond compact bits which results from its poor adaptability to soft-hard interbedded strata, a self-adaptive bionic polycrystalline diamond compact bit was designed, which can use the elastic element to adjust its back-rake angle according to the formation hardness to improve the adaptability of polycrystalline diamond compact bits. Theoretical analysis and drilling test results show that the self-adaptive bionic polycrystalline diamond compact bit has a strong adaptability to soft-hard interbedded rock strata. When drilling in soft rock, the back-rake angle is small and the rate of penetration is high; when drilling in hard rock, the angle becomes larger to reduce the abnormal damage of cutters. Thus, it can improve the integrated drilling efficiency and service life of polycrystalline diamond compact bits. In the whole drilling test, the average penetration rate of the self-adaptive bionic polycrystalline diamond compact bit increases by 10%–13% over conventional polycrystalline diamond compact bits with the same dimension and material.

To enhance the lifespan of drill pipes and minimize wear, this study introduces a bionic structure model inspired by the pit shape structure found in the dung beetle’s abdomen. The stress distribution and wear of bionic pitted structure and ordinary structure are simulated by finite element software. The findings revealed that the bionic structure significantly improves stress distribution, resulting in an impressive 81.3% increase in lifespan. Subsequently, the surface of the 7075 aluminum drill pipe was coated with Ni powder by a laser cladding system. Wear tests were conducted to analyze the wear and surface damage behavior of the cladding layer. The microstructure, composition, and microhardness of the cladding layer were measured and observed. The results showed that the cladding layer was mainly composed of Al₃Ni₂ and had high hardness. Additionally, a transition region exists between the cladding layer and the substrate, comprising relatively low hardness Al, thereby enhancing the drill pipe’s ability to withstand alternating loads. Furthermore, the bionic structure possesses the capability to store particles, effectively reducing the occurrence of abrasive wear and increasing the lifespan by 70.0%.