Operation
The operation of an inline blowback marker can be separated into four stages:
- Ready:
- The compressed mainspring puts pressure on the striker, often called a hammer or "rear bolt", which is held in place by the sear. The bolt is linked to the striker by the linkage arm, and held clear of the feed neck, which allows a paintball to drop into the chamber.
- Chamber:
- The sear is depressed or "tripped" by the trigger, which releases the striker and allows the mainspring to push it forward. The linkage arm causes the bolt to move forward as well, pushing the paintball into the end of the barrel and sealing off the feed tube. This is where any misfed paintballs will be chopped.
- Strike:
- The striker hits the seal pin on the valve, opening the cup seal inside and allowing compressed gas to escape. A portion of this gas flows through the space between the seal pin and the valve, forcing the striker backwards and resealing the cup seal.
- Fire:
- The remainder of the gas flows around the valve through wide grooves milled in its sides and is channeled by the power tube to flow out the center of the bolt, propelling the paintball. The power tube usually has a screw in front of the valve which is twisted to restrict the flow of gas and change the final velocity of the paintball. Once the striker is forced back far enough, the sear catches it and the marker is back at the "ready" stage.
Ideally, the firing stage will complete before the feed tube is reopened. This prevents gas from venting out the tube instead of propelling the ball, which would require a greater volume of gas to bring the ball to the correct velocity. However, this is not the sign of a sloppy marker, as a slight pressure on the paintballs in the feed tube can help "unjam" standard gravity-fed hoppers.Some of the most common inline blowback markers are made by Tippmann.
Read more about this topic: Inline Blowback (paintball)
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