[Updated] How Do Paintball Guns Work? | 2022 | The Technology

How Do Paintball Guns Work? Have you ever wondered about the working principle behind paintball? In this article, we explain the technology behind paintball. Have you ever wanted to know how a paintball gun works? From loading the barrel to firing the paintball at your opponent, here’s everything you need to know about how it works. If you’re wondering why this is significant, it’s because understanding how a paintball gun works will allow you to alter your firing angle, making it easier to hit a target. It also aids in the decision of whether to choose a mechanical or electronic paintball gun.

[Updated] How Do Paintball Guns Work? | 2022 | The Technology

The Basics – How Do Paintball Guns Work?

How does a paintball gun work and what are the parts? Even though there are so many different designs and types of paintball guns, they all work in the same way in theory. In some places, it’s also referred to as a marker.’ In this article, the two names will be used interchangeably.

Returning to the beginning, a paintball gun functions by having a barrel attached to it. Here’s where you’ll put the paintballs. This barrel can’t carry just one paintball because you’d have to load them one at a time. Most paintball markers allow you to load a large number of paintballs so you can keep shooting.

A paintball gun, in general, works by releasing pressurized air (typically carbon dioxide/CO2) to propel the paintball out of the gun. The pressurized gas is held in the chamber until the seal is lifted, at which point it is released to push the paintball.

A mechanical paintball gun and an electronic paintball gun are the two types of paintball guns available. You’ll be able to tell the difference between the two later on.

The Process – How Do Paintball Guns Work

You can easily comprehend how the paintball gun works now that you grasp the fundamentals. Let’s begin with the barrel. When you load the paintballs, they don’t fall into the valve tube right away. When you pull the trigger, the ball and gas pass through the valve tube, which is the elongated section of the pistol. The paintball guns are jammed in the barrel by default.

The bolt should be cocked to allow a paintball to fall. What exactly does that imply? Your gun, by default, isn’t constantly ready to fire in the same way that a regular gun is. To get the paintball to fall from the barrel, you must first cock the pistol. When you cock the gun, you press against a spring, which causes the bolt to go forward, allowing the barrel to open.

Is there any gas left? Is it happening at the same time? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no In actuality, when the gun is loaded, it simply indicates that a paintball has already been fed into the valve tube. However, this does not guarantee that it will ignite straight away. The other components are already on standby, but the chamber is still shut. To fire, you must pull the trigger, just as you would with a regular gun.

When you pull the trigger, the hammer linked to the bolt is released. When the bolt is released, a sear is pushed to prevent the pressurized gas chamber from being blocked. The pressurized air is released after the sear is moved away, forcing the paintball out of the pistol and onto your target. To put it another way, when the seal is broken, the compressed air escapes. If there is no paintball, the marker will make a noise but nothing will come out of it.

After the paintball has been forced out, the sear that was pushed aside returns, preventing compressed gas from accumulating in the chamber. To shoot another paintball, you’d have to cock the marker again, this time allowing a new paintball to drop from the barrel.

Depending on the sort of marker you have, the pistol can either fire one paintball after another or force you to reload each time. If it’s the former, you’re looking at an electronic marker with a quantity of paintballs you can shoot. If it’s the former, it’s referred to as a mechanical marker.

Types of Paintball Marker – How Do Paintball Guns Work

Mechanical Paintball Gun

The mechanical paintball gun is the earliest and most prevalent type of marker. A set of basic plastic pumps makes up the majority of what you’ll find on a paintball field. Of course, there are more advanced versions of the mechanical marker available, but they are also prohibitively pricey for general use.

Blowback paintball guns make up the majority of semi-automatic mechanical paintball guns. When the trigger is squeezed, a bolt is released, forced forward by a spring, and the paintball is pushed into the barrel.

The bolt strikes a pin once the ball is in the barrel, opening the valve and letting air to flow down the barrel. The force of the air expanding forces the bolt back to its original location. The term “blowback” refers to the fact that the bolt is blown back into place by air.

Types of Mechanical Guns

Mechanical guns are available in a variety of styles and pricing points. They range in price from inexpensive plastic pumps to thousands-of-dollar precision-milled firearms. We’ll go over the most common and widely available blowback mechanical firearms here.

Maintenance Requirements

Mechanical markers are usually highly dependable and require little routine maintenance. After each use, they should be cleaned and lubricated (ideally after every use). As needed, the o-rings should be replaced.

They’re usually fairly simple to take apart. If a problem arises, replacement components are inexpensive, and a mechanically minded person can usually repair it without too much difficulty.

Mechanical Paintball Advantage

Mechanical markers are typically less expensive than electronic markers, and they are widely available for individuals just entering into paintball. They can usually run on CO2 or compressed air, and they’re quite simple to set up and use even if you’ve never played paintball before. Because many mechanical markers from various manufacturers use the same size pieces, replacement parts are easy to come by.

Mechanical Paintball Disadvantage

Electronic guns are often faster, more accurate, and more consistent than mechanical firearms. The amount of air used to propel the paintball from the barrel varies from shot to shot, as can the ball’s speed (usually by only a few fps, but this can affect accuracy).

Mechanical guns are generally louder than electronic guns, and they must first be cocked before firing.
To fire mechanical guns, you’ll need more air pressure in your tank. While an electronic gun can fire with as little as 200 psi, a mechanical gun typically requires 600-800 psi to fire. This implies that each tank of air, you receive fewer shots.

What is a mechanical marker and how does it work? A mechanical paintball gun, as the name implies, must be mechanically prepared in order to function. This means you’ll be cocking the pistol by hand, causing the other pieces to move to allow the paintball to exit the barrel.

A mechanical marker has the limitation of only being able to fire single shots. This means you’ll need to reload frequently, and the time it takes to do so may be too long for you. Additionally, mechanical paintball guns have a slower velocity. It can only go 275 feet per second, compared to the norm of 300 feet per second. The velocity of certain earlier and more rudimentary firearms can be as low as 200 feet per second.

Isn’t it true that a mechanical gun isn’t good for paintball? No, it’s not true. They would cease to exist if this were the case. Modern mechanical guns, on the other hand, may achieve speeds of up to 300 feet per second. Other benefits include being less expensive and having parts that are always available.

Buying a mechanical marker is the best method to get started in the paintball hobby if you’re a novice. You won’t have to invest as much money at the start of a new activity this way. Mechanical guns are very simple to operate and set up.

Electronic Paintball Guns

Electronic guns, also known as electro-pneumatic guns, employ battery-powered circuit boards to operate solenoids, which fire the gun. The circuit board fires when the trigger is pulled, which activates the gun. It’s simple to command the board to fire automatically, employ a three-round burst, or any other firing mode because circuit boards are programmable.

Of course, if a mechanical gun exists, an electrical one exists as well. What’s the difference? To put it another way, the electronic guns discharge paintballs according to the shooting mode you select. For this reason, they’re also known as automatic paintball guns. Does this imply that you don’t have to fire the gun? You should still do so, but depending on how many paintballs you’ve placed, pressing the trigger can discharge one or more.

The circuit board is where you’ll find the solution to how a paintball gun can achieve that. One of the distinguishing features of an electronic paintball pistol is the circuit board. They serve as the marker’s control panel, regulating the marker’s whole firing system.

The majority of individuals will choose an electronic paintball gun over a traditional paintball gun since it is more accurate and consistent. You don’t have to reload every time you shot a paintball because the circuit board handles the firing. You can also fire a large number of paintballs at once. For paintball players, this is already a significant advantage.

All of these are significant advantages over a mechanical marker, but keep in mind that they come at a cost. Electronic paintball guns are significantly more expensive than traditional paintball guns, hence they are not suitable for beginners. If you absolutely want to try an automatic, there are plenty available secondhand.

Regulators are also used in electronic firearms to ensure that they fire consistently. These mechanical devices extract fluctuating air pressures from a tank and release it at a lower, consistent pressure.

Types of Electronic Guns

Electronic guns exist in a variety of shapes and sizes, with a variety of internal configurations. While the various types of valves, regulators, and bolts used in different guns have an impact on performance, the general benefits and drawbacks are nearly identical.

Maintenance Requirements

Regular maintenance varies each electronic gun, although it usually includes of basic cleaning and lubrication (either with grease or oil, depending on the gun). Read and carefully follow the instructions in your manual.

Disassembly of electronic markers is usually more complex. They usually come with step-by-step instructions on how to disassemble and reassemble each component of the pistol. During routine maintenance, be sure to properly follow the directions. Due to the complexity of electronic firearms, any major repairs or upgrades should be performed by a specialist.

Electronic Paintball Advantage

Electronic guns are more consistent, accurate, and can shoot faster than mechanical guns. They also have the potential to be smaller and lighter than their mechanical equivalents.

Because the trigger just needs to activate the circuit board and not the firing mechanism itself, the trigger pull can be very light and brief. Electronic guns can also fire at a lower pressure than mechanical guns, allowing them to fire more shots per tank.

Electronic Paintball Disadvantage

Electronic markers are much more expensive than mechanical markers, and therefore are not as widely available.
They’re difficult to fix, and faults or upgrades usually necessitate professional help. You won’t be able to use CO2 because they normally demand compressed air. You must ensure that your batteries are fully charged.