Materials
I've been looking at materals for paintball use, and I've come across some intersting findings. Delrin is a popular material for bolts because it's light, easy to machine, slick, and "self lubricating". However, I think Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMW-PE) would be an even more ideal material.
UHMW is "self lubricating" just like Delrin (and other Acetal plastics), but it is also lighter than Delrin (it's actually the lightest material in my materials list), slicker than Delrin, and has excellent abbrasion resistance/wear properties. It is easy to machine, and very cheap. It can be colored. It can also handle cryogenic temps, so if liquid CO2 ever was a problem with Delrin parts, it wouldn't be with UHMW. It's not as strong as Delrin, but neither are used as load-bearing parts.
Extending this idea further: what about "sleeving" the breech with UHMW as well. The sleeve and bolt could be matched and sold as one unit, so that the bolt would seal perfectly and would slide extremely easily due to the low coeffecient of friction. You could even have different sizes to match paint/barrel diameters. This would also eliminate wear on the body... If the parts wear out, just the sleeve and bolt have to be replaced.
All you'd have to do is paintballize the name: Call it something like Unobtanium and all the kiddies will be clamoring to part with their money
UHMW is "self lubricating" just like Delrin (and other Acetal plastics), but it is also lighter than Delrin (it's actually the lightest material in my materials list), slicker than Delrin, and has excellent abbrasion resistance/wear properties. It is easy to machine, and very cheap. It can be colored. It can also handle cryogenic temps, so if liquid CO2 ever was a problem with Delrin parts, it wouldn't be with UHMW. It's not as strong as Delrin, but neither are used as load-bearing parts.
Extending this idea further: what about "sleeving" the breech with UHMW as well. The sleeve and bolt could be matched and sold as one unit, so that the bolt would seal perfectly and would slide extremely easily due to the low coeffecient of friction. You could even have different sizes to match paint/barrel diameters. This would also eliminate wear on the body... If the parts wear out, just the sleeve and bolt have to be replaced.
All you'd have to do is paintballize the name: Call it something like Unobtanium and all the kiddies will be clamoring to part with their money
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