Patent ID: 8623251

Claim:
A process for manufacturing wellbore packer elements from an extruded tubular structure comprising an elastomeric material, the tubular structure having a radial inner surface and a radial outer surface; and the process comprising: machining the radial outer surface of the tubular structure to provide a desired wellbore packer element surface geometry; wherein the machining includes cutting the tubular structure with a cutting system having three knives that move along three different axes, the three knives being spaced apart along a longitudinal axis of the tubular structure and including a first knife configured to move perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the tubular structure, and a second knife and a third knife configured to move at inclines relative to the first knife; and wherein the first knife is located along the longitudinal axis of the tubular structure between the second and third knifes and is operated independently of the second and third knifes to effect separation of a wellbore packer element from the tubular structure after angled surfaces are formed on the packer element by the second and third knives.