Marker Types
Paintball markers fall into two main categories in terms of mechanism - mechanical and electropnumatic.
In mechanical designs, the trigger manipulates a sear, which is holding a hammer, ram, or sealed gas chamber in its resting state. Pulling the trigger releases the sear, allowing the marker's action to cycle. There are a variety of mechanical designs, the most common being the "blow-back" marker, which utilizes a spring-loaded ram released by the sear to open a pin valve; the pressurized gas released through the valve is directed through the bolt to fire the marker, and also pushes the ram back where it is caught again by the sear, resetting the action for the next shot. There are other systems that saw success in earlier days of the sport, such as blow-forward (AGD Automag) and pneumatically actuated recocking (WorrGames Autococker); elements of these designs were carried forward into modern electropneumatic designs but the original examples of these mechanisms are rarely seen today.
In electropneumatic designs, the trigger, instead of being mechanically linked to the action of the marker, simply activates an electronic microswitch (or more recently, a magnetic or optical sensor). That information is passed through control circuitry to a computer-controlled solenoid valve which can open and close very quickly and precisely, allowing gas to move into or out of various pressure chambers in the marker to move the bolt and fire the paintball. This disconnect of the trigger from the action allows electronic trigger pulls to be very short in length and very lightweight (similar to a mouse click; the mechanisms are virtually identical), which dramatically increases rate-of-fire over a fully mechanical design. Solenoid-controlled gas valve designs also allow for reduced weight of internal parts, which both lightens overall weight and reduces the time it takes for the marker to cycle through firing a single paintball.
Paintball markers are also categorised to a lesser extent by which play style of paintball in which they are intended for use - sporting paintball such as Speedball and Stock Class Paintball, or Military Simulation style games such as Woodsball. Each branch favours a different aesthetic and values different aspects of marker design.
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