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Hey guys. Lord Odin here.
Today we're going over the basic operation of the Tippmann A5 marker.
Although the diagram shows an A5,
the information can be applied to the X7 blowback, 98 Custom, and U.S. Army line
of markers such as the Alpha Black, Project Salvo, and Carver One.
They may appear different on the outside but on the inside the guts are almost identical
and you may often find that the parts are interchangeable from marker to marker,
depending on the model.
Some of you may already be familiar with Meph's animation,
but I've painstakingly converted it over to Flash
so we can get a better understanding of the mechanics of the marker.
So let's begin.
Once a tank is connected to the ASA, or Air Source Adapter, air will enter into the gas
line and through the ASA plug.
Air now enters the tombstone, where it is funneled into a narrow channel prior to entering
the valve.
It goes through the valve o-ring and washer, around the valve spring, and stops at the valve plunger.
The plunger creates a seal against the valve seat and prevents air from continuing through
the marker.
At this point, it is pressurized and ready to fire.
The marker won't fire until the rear bolt, or hammer, is released by the trigger.
The hammer waits under tension by the compressed drive spring inside of it
but is held in place by the trigger sear.
The drive spring pushes on the hammer and, in turn, pushes on the sear.
The operator squeezes the trigger, which rotates around a pin, and lifts the front of the sear.
The sear also rotates around a pin
until the lip of it clears the hammer.
Once that happens, multiple things happen simultaneously.
The trigger sear is pushed backwards by the sear spring and is reset, where it waits for the
hammer to return.
The hammer is connected by a linkage arm to the front bolt and entire assembly moves together
in unison by means of the drive spring pushing on the hammer.
As it moves forward, the entire assembly builds up momentum.
The front bolt is pushed forward and, in turn, pushes the paintball into the detent.
The detent folds downward, out of the way, and the paintball passes through the barrel adapter,
into the breech end of the barrel,
followed by the front bolt.
At the same time, the hammer enters the powertube and the o-ring creates an airtight seal.
The hammer then strikes the valve pin on the valve plunger.
It pushes the plunger forward and breaks the seal inside the valve, allowing the air to escape.
Air travels in two different directions at this point.
Firstly, it travels backwards into the cavity created by the walls of the powertube, the face
of the hammer, and the face of the valve.
This is referred to as the blowback gas.
This air builds up pressure inside of this cavity
and, combined with the valve spring, begins to reset the marker by driving the hammer,
linkage arm, and front bolt backwards.
Secondly, air splits into two halves and turns 90 degrees on both sides of the valve.
We'll refer to this is the propellant gas to differentiate it from the blowback gas.
Here, the air, yet again, diverts into two directions.
One way is through the side of the marker, where air powers the Cyclone and Response Trigger.
Both of which operate on the propellant gas;
not the blowback gas that pushes back the hammer.
The other way has the air turn 90 degrees and channels it forward through four grooves located
outside of the valve.
If you have an older style A5 valve or Low Pressure Kit valve, there will be 2 large grooves
instead of 4 smaller ones.
Once past the tombstone, the air converges in a small pocket of the powertube,
where it is then funneled into the powertube small extension, which allows the front bolt to slide
back and forth.
The air travels through the extension,
through the front bolt, and finally pushes the paintball through the barrel.
Now the marker has fired and needs to reset.
At this point, hammer continues traveling backwards until the valve plunger creates a seal against
the valve seat again, cutting off air supply to the marker.
One the hammer o-ring clears the end of the powertube,
most of the gases expelled throughout the back of the marker come from this small cavity.
The momentum of the hammer continues to drive it backwards and compresses the drive spring.
The hammer slides over the sear until it slams into the end-cap o-ring.
It then travels forward again until the sear catches the hammer and resets the sear.
The marker is now ready to fire again.
And that's it!
This may seem like a complex operation but if you open up your degassed marker, study the parts,
and move the assembly back and forth, you will begin to understand what's going on.
Hopefully this video often will help in explaining the marker's operation,
and will help you with things such as assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Stay tuned for future videos and thanks for watching.