Spherical interior vortex block

[Pennywise]

A while back I started tweaking the design of a standard vortex block. I'm not sure what the specific design style would be called, but I'll just keep this simple and call it a 'block'.

The typical design allows the bbs to continue spinning around the center hole until they 'find' the outlet. With 3d printing now being a more practical building solution, we can change around the internal geometry of the design. Not a huge change, but a seemingly effective one.

In this configuration, the bbs are loaded in behind the Block, with a plunger and spring keeping them in the loading area. The air is introduced at the rear of the bottom of the primary cavity in the block, and follows its path upward, curving around until it finds the barrel hole at the top of the arc. The change in this design is that instead of having drilled the hole, I built it spherical. This means that as the bbs are spinning in the primary cavity, the easiest path for them to take is to 'fall' into the very centerline (widthwise) of the arc, directly in line with the barrel. It also likely causes the air to have an easier time making the same travel, as it has a 'guided' path to its exit.

I know this isn't exactly a breakthrough or anything, but in the first trial design I'm hitting around 113bbps, at 350fps, with ~130psi, with a 25" brakeline barrel. The gun fires absolutely constantly through its contents, with zero breaks or noticeable inconsistencies in rps.

**edit: 113bbps is a calculated average through an entire load of bbs.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Very interesting and another illustration of how 3D printing is allowing innovation that would have been difficult to flesh out with traditional manufacturing techniques.

It would be nice to see it in action at that rate of fire