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The E Matrix is a paintball marker. In 1999 AirTech Industries, a company distributing through Diablo Direct, had developed a high end paintball gun named the Matrix. The Matrix was initially designed to be available in both a pneumatic and electro-pneumatic version. But with the new trend in paintball guns heading for all electronic on the high end scale the pneumatic version was set aside and the E-Matrix began its life in production. Prototypes began making rare, selected appearances at paintball fields to determine the markers aptitude of handling the rigors of play. According to Diablo's Richmond Italia, the first time a Matrix saw tournament play it was fielded by Team Pigchat, a team made of regulars from WARPIG.com's chatroom, at Skyball 2000. Throughout the rest of 2000, the Matrix was further refined until its "coming out" at World Cup in October 2000. At its debut, it was not just shown in the vendor's tent as most new markers of the time were, but it was put to use on the field, in the hands of the pro team Image, and a number of amateur teams playing in the tournament.
Contents
Valve/bolt system
The Matrix uses a spool valve system to propel a paintball. The spool valve utilizes an airspace with a fixed volume and a regulated air source to deliver a consistent amount of force to each ball that is shot. The valve works in the matter of a spool that slides back and forth much like a piston. In one position the spool allows the fixed air chamber to be filled. In the firing position the spool moves forward and dumps the contents of the fixed air chamber into the breech of the marker, which in turn fires the paintball. The movement of the spool is controlled by the flow of air to it. This flow of air is controlled by a solenoid (electronically actuated valve). The Matrix has a sleek look and lacks external hoses that can become damaged over time. The gas is instead routed through passages inside the body of the marker and plugs in the front and rear of the marker keep these passages airtight. A low pressure regulator can also be attached to the front of the marker to help the consistency and help lower the force of the air hitting the ball.
Removable breech
The Matrix also features a removable breech. The breech is able to be removed via a rod that runs the entire length of the body. The stock breech is threaded to accept Autococker threaded barrels and has a pair of rubber ball detents. The detents can easily be removed and cleaned or replaced using an o-ring pick to remove them and a hex key to push them back in. The completely removable breech leaves ways for aftermarket manufactures to develop new and improved breeches.
Electronics
A single push button on the rear of the frame allows the marker to switch the marker off and on, safe and fire modes respectively. The stock factory circuit board of the Matrix has only a semi-automatic firing function, ready for tournament play. The core of the circuit board is a PIC16C54C microcontroller. This microprocessor is programmable in several programming languages including C and Assembly. The PIC that the Matrix utilizes has a socket form factor which allows different ‘chips’ containing different software to be swapped in and out rather quickly. These chips can contain new software for more features that the Matrix can utilize such as: alternate firing modes, timers, and infrared ball detection systems. The PIC uses four dip switches mounted on the circuit board to select timing values for the duration the bolt stays forward and the amount of delay between shots fired. The first two switches control how long the bolt remains in the firing position. The second two switches control the length of delay between shots in order to allow a ball to fall into the breech and be fired. The combination of these two settings determines the maximum rate of fire for the Matrix.
Air regulation
Mounted vertically in the front of the Matrix is the inline regulator. This regulator has two functions; the first of which reduces the pressure of the air coming into the marker before it enters the marker, the second of these functions is to act as a fore grip to stabilize holding the marker. The regulator is necessary because the Matrix operates at a low pressure, about 140 psi. Because the amount of air used to fire a paintball is a fixed amount, the pressure that this air is allowed into the marker is what controls the velocity at which the paintball is shot. Changing the amount of pressure allowed into the marker in turn changes the velocity: lower pressure results in a lower velocity. The regulator on the Matrix allows CO2 or compressed air to be used as a propellant.