flo
16.02.2005, 15:14
http://www.pbportal.de/files/2005/logos/pb2x.gif
Bea Young hat ihren Stachel tief in Graham Easton gesteckt
und Ihn zum Thema "ION" ausgesaugt.
Bea: Who is responsible for heading such a project?
Graham: Billy Gardner, Daniel, and Hans. Hans was overall supervisor for the past year over the gun.
Bea: What kind of material is it made out of? Will the plastic molding warp?
Graham: Exoskeleton - It won't warp. It's plastic polymer, reinforced with a rubber outer layer. The concept is kind of like changing the cover on your cell phone, or even lately, the I-Pod.
Bea: So, it's not entirely an all plastic gun.
Graham: It's not. The only part that is made out of plastic is the Exoskeleton. The rest of the gun is made out of aluminum.
Bea: Tell me about the Internals.
Graham: It only has one moving part - the bolt.
Bea: What makes this unique to other entry-level paintball markers on the market right now?
Graham: You got a whole lot of gun for a lot less buck; It's got all the Smart Parts patented technology, three different fire modes, three-shot bursts, including a full-automatic mode, which is capped at 10 balls per second. It's a low maintenance gun, easy to fix (that's if it goes down for whatever reason). There are very few o-rings, and like I mentioned before, the only moving part is the bolt.
Bea: It can go into full-auto right out of the box?
Graham: Yes.
Bea: Describe the three modes.
Graham: The first mode is a three-shot burst capped at 10 shots per second.
The second mode is full-automatic that's also capped at 10 shots per second. The final mode is like a ramping mode, which shoots at 17 balls per second.
Bea: Is this something that a tournament level player can use during competition?
Graham: Yes. As a matter of fact, a couple of the Miami Effect kids are using them, even in the NXL competitions. Other teams like Punishers Paintball X-Ball team, as well.
Bea: It resembles the Shocker.
Graham: Yes, the shape does, but it runs on the three-way whereas the shocker runs on a 4-way. Low-pressure technology applies. It runs at 180 PSI. Any tournament player will benefit by having this in his bag as a backup.
Bea: What makes it so affordable ($299 retail, USD)?
Graham: We're using a solenoid that costs less to make. The gun is almost 100% American made except for the Exoskeleton. All the engineering, the barrel, etc., are all made in Pennsylvania.
Bea: How much does the Exoskeleton cost?
Graham: Kits are going to be around $40 MSRP, to be released in about 2 months. Currently, the color choices are red, blue, black, and yellow. In the kit, it includes, the upper-body cover, and the front regulator foregrip cover, all interchangeable colors, even reversed (stripes will be colored, for ie). We'll also have two or three scenario versions of the Ion, as well.
Bea: What kind of programming does it entail?
Graham: The only programming you really have to do to the circuit board is interchange between the three modes and turn it on and off.
Bea: The Eye?
Graham: It is a break-beam anti-chop eye and has rubber ball detents.
Bea: The Exoskeleton helps keep those ball detents in?
Graham: Right.
Bea: How do you adjust the velocity?
Graham: To adjust the velocity, it has it's own wrench that you use to turn the inline reg.
Already, Smart Parts has sold over 5,000 units since its release on February 11th. Graham concludes, "I've got an order for a 1000 from one company. And it's only been two days…"
Interview conducted on Sunday, February 13, 2005 at Paintball Expo, West.
Bea Young hat ihren Stachel tief in Graham Easton gesteckt
und Ihn zum Thema "ION" ausgesaugt.
Bea: Who is responsible for heading such a project?
Graham: Billy Gardner, Daniel, and Hans. Hans was overall supervisor for the past year over the gun.
Bea: What kind of material is it made out of? Will the plastic molding warp?
Graham: Exoskeleton - It won't warp. It's plastic polymer, reinforced with a rubber outer layer. The concept is kind of like changing the cover on your cell phone, or even lately, the I-Pod.
Bea: So, it's not entirely an all plastic gun.
Graham: It's not. The only part that is made out of plastic is the Exoskeleton. The rest of the gun is made out of aluminum.
Bea: Tell me about the Internals.
Graham: It only has one moving part - the bolt.
Bea: What makes this unique to other entry-level paintball markers on the market right now?
Graham: You got a whole lot of gun for a lot less buck; It's got all the Smart Parts patented technology, three different fire modes, three-shot bursts, including a full-automatic mode, which is capped at 10 balls per second. It's a low maintenance gun, easy to fix (that's if it goes down for whatever reason). There are very few o-rings, and like I mentioned before, the only moving part is the bolt.
Bea: It can go into full-auto right out of the box?
Graham: Yes.
Bea: Describe the three modes.
Graham: The first mode is a three-shot burst capped at 10 shots per second.
The second mode is full-automatic that's also capped at 10 shots per second. The final mode is like a ramping mode, which shoots at 17 balls per second.
Bea: Is this something that a tournament level player can use during competition?
Graham: Yes. As a matter of fact, a couple of the Miami Effect kids are using them, even in the NXL competitions. Other teams like Punishers Paintball X-Ball team, as well.
Bea: It resembles the Shocker.
Graham: Yes, the shape does, but it runs on the three-way whereas the shocker runs on a 4-way. Low-pressure technology applies. It runs at 180 PSI. Any tournament player will benefit by having this in his bag as a backup.
Bea: What makes it so affordable ($299 retail, USD)?
Graham: We're using a solenoid that costs less to make. The gun is almost 100% American made except for the Exoskeleton. All the engineering, the barrel, etc., are all made in Pennsylvania.
Bea: How much does the Exoskeleton cost?
Graham: Kits are going to be around $40 MSRP, to be released in about 2 months. Currently, the color choices are red, blue, black, and yellow. In the kit, it includes, the upper-body cover, and the front regulator foregrip cover, all interchangeable colors, even reversed (stripes will be colored, for ie). We'll also have two or three scenario versions of the Ion, as well.
Bea: What kind of programming does it entail?
Graham: The only programming you really have to do to the circuit board is interchange between the three modes and turn it on and off.
Bea: The Eye?
Graham: It is a break-beam anti-chop eye and has rubber ball detents.
Bea: The Exoskeleton helps keep those ball detents in?
Graham: Right.
Bea: How do you adjust the velocity?
Graham: To adjust the velocity, it has it's own wrench that you use to turn the inline reg.
Already, Smart Parts has sold over 5,000 units since its release on February 11th. Graham concludes, "I've got an order for a 1000 from one company. And it's only been two days…"
Interview conducted on Sunday, February 13, 2005 at Paintball Expo, West.