doc or the effective amount the exposure of cutters 24 is reduced vis u00e0 vis a formation to be drilled by way of example only each bearing element 42 may be configured to a certain height related to the desired doc of its associated cutter or cutters 24 that is as the height of bearing element 42 increases relative to the surface of blade 18 the doc of its associated cutter or cutters 24 decreases for example a cutter 24 might have a nominal diameter of 0 75 inch that when brazed into a pocket 22 in blade 18 may without an adjacent bearing element 42 have a nominal doc of 0 375 inch by including a bearing element 42 the doc of the 0 75 inch diameter pdc cutter might be reduced to as little as zero 0 inches of course the doc may be selected within a variety of ranges that depend upon the height of bearing element 42 or the distance that bearing element 42 protrudes from a surface of the crown of bit 10 thus bearing elements 42 eliminate the need to alter the depth of the cutter displacement receiving cavities formed in a mold for the bit body which permits the use of existing standard displacements thus the doc of cutters 24 at.