Something different

[Doc Nickel]

Originally posted by Mark
Welcome along Doc...you been lurking for a while or did someone tell you the Whiteboard had been quoted? and now that you are here care to comment in this thread http://www.p8ntballer-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22659

-Actually, it was Manike quoting the Smart Parts thread here, over at The Tinker's Guild that lured me over.

I can, however, say with a straight face that I wasn't surprised to see both my comic and my Vee-Twin 'Cocker being mentioned here.

As for the tubing/fitting issue, I agree. Most of the push-to-lock fittings I've dealt with are rated considerably below common working pressures for our markers.

These sorts of fittings were designed as a fast-setup way to plumb airlines, air-logic and other fluid handling in industry applications. People here in PB, with no idea of working pressures, elastic limits and pressure ratings, just plug 'em in and go, not knowing they're running 850 psi through hose rated to 400 and fittings rated to 200.

But they don't blow right away, so therefore it must be safe, right?

Another problem is that it's hard to know what the rating of the fitting is even if you want to find out. I've had some fittings rated to 600 psi, most are rated for 200 to 400. I can get tubing rated to 900 psi, but most of the common stuff is significantly less. I once paid $50 for a fifty-foot roll of 1/4" tubing (you Brits are gonna have to do your own conversions) that turned out to have a 125 psi rating, and a burst of 450.

There's five manufacturers that I know of, for the fittings and hose, and all of them make several grades- for example, the "fixed" 90° fittings might be rated to 450 psi, while the more popular "swivel" type is only rated to 250. They also make hoses in various wall thicknesses- externally they're identical, and they work in the same fittings, but one hose might take 600 psi, while the other is only good to 250.

Personally, I'll install plastic line if the customer supplies the fittings (unless they're obviously inappropriate) but for most of my gear, I have braided stainless hose, or some of my rigid stainless tubing- the 3/16" stuff has a working pressure of 6,000 psi and a burst of 27,000. I think it's good.

Doc.

 

[Mark]

Originally posted by Doc Nickel
-Actually, it was Manike quoting the Smart Parts thread here, Doc.

Ok, well strange that I started that thread here quoting your post on AO small world eh? As for your thoughts on the PB fittings I meant more along the lines of commenting in the thread I linked to as people here tend to re-visit some threads only if they have an interest in the subject. One of the questions being that what is braided hose rated at.

 

[Doc Nickel]

Oh, sorry. I didn't read the whole thing- I've been in a hundred topics where they discuss the same thing, and invaribly, the consensus is, lots of people just say "hey, it doesn't blow right away, it looks cooler than braided and it's easier to install, so I'll run it."

Good quality, teflon-lined braided steel hose, 3/16" ID, with properly-crimped ends, is usually rated between 1,200 and 1,800 psi working pressure, with a burst of 3K or better.

Doc.

 

[Mark]

Originally posted by Mark
Ok, well strange that I started that thread here quoting your post on AO small world eh?

Quoting myself to keep some kind of continuity going ...the thread I started re Smart parts was actually Wicked Air Sportz...as I followed the thread there and here it was the other thoughts that got posted that was actually Doc's answer...sorry about that, sometimes I confuse myself

 

[Doc Nickel]

No problem. I wrote most of what got quoted (here, there and a dozen places since) in a deliberate effort to try and reduce the noise-to-signal on the whole lawsuit thing.

The FAQ I wrote has been passed around to nearly every board I've gone to, and I've been told by quite a few that it helped keep things somewhat more clear.

Drew's "SP is gonna destroy paintball" titles, while garnering needed attention, tend to give people the wrong ideas- IE, that electros will be somehow illegal, or will be confiscated, or tourneys will stop letting us use them, etc.

And with a little thought, I've managed to distill the whole thing down to a single paragraph in a comic strip.

Like Manike has said, if what SP is doing was a valid claim- meaning they did, indeed, patent the idea of using electrical components and electronic controls to operate a paintball gun- I would say "more power to 'em" and chalk it up to capitalism and savvy business sense.

However, SP's original, unaltered patent covers only the Shocker, and was broadened and expanded only relatively recently, in the last two years or so. The expansion essentially rewrites the original patent, which they did to get the earlier filing date, to emphasize the electronics as opposed to the design of the gun.

And I can only logically interpret that move- which took thought, time, paperwork and piles of legal fees- as a deliberate effort to try and somehow make money off everybody's electros, not just SP's own.

And this, in my opinion, any royalties paid as such to SP are unearned and undeserved.

Doc.

 

[Crazy]

Sp

I agree with Doc.
Hey Doc I do think Microsoft would employ Sp as birds of a feather flock together.