Aftermarket Blackbird Auger

[TBK]

I was making augers and the power kept going out.   I think I am back in business now.  While tempting another power flicker, I was testing some related ideas for augers.  The results look really good.  Once I get the regular augers made I will get back to the different one. 

TBK

[TBK]

I am making more augers so I will soon finish the ones that I owe some of you.  I am waiting on the material for the pins and I will finish up and get them sent out. 

I had a request for one of my augers with magnets in it.  I obliged and finished the surgical insertion of the magnets a few minutes ago.  The surgery was a success.  It attracts quite a few BBs and when in the magazine, the BBs head to an equilibrium spot and actually rotate the auger a little bit.  (That is without a drive pin to lock the auger to the drive shaft.)  I can't wait to see how that works out!  Good luck!

This is turning out pretty well at this point.  I designed the augers a long time ago when working on a new magazine.  A few people were using them and giving me great feedback on them.  I tweaked a thing or two and now they work really well and even better than before.  I think the basic design will help feed the lead shot, and also provide good support for you speed demons that have the RPMs way up there.

I look forward to your input and hope these augers continue to be a successful upgrade for the BB!  There's a lot more neat stuff on the way!

TBK

[Parellax]

O boy!

[TBK]

I finally got some augers sent out.  They should arrive at their destinations in a couple if days. 

TBK

[TBK]

The augers are being delivered!  Please PM me if you have any questions about them.

If anyone else wants to buy one, I still have some left out of the last batch. 

TBK

[Parellax]

Excellent work TBK! I can't wait to try mine out. I can see all of the thought you put into this. I can tell just by looking at it that it's going to be jam up, and jelly tight. Very cool! Thank you so much.

[Parellax]

I have a ton of footage to edit from testing the prototype magnetic auger TBK sent. I am being very thorough in detailing exactly what I am doing. After all the prep, and setup today I tested 2K RPM. The auger performed flawlessly with no air shots. Since the first test went so well I bumped it up to 3K. The 18.5 V pack I was using didn't have enough power at 20.35 V so I went to my 14500's for 25.09 V. That was plenty of power, and gave me about 80%. The tests today were done with the 4K RPM Nichibo, and stock auger spring tightened as tight as I could get it without it binding. Each run was as close to 100 rnds as I could get. Next I will see how far it will go with a stiffer clutch spring. So far I am very impressed.

[TBK]

Glad you like it.  I think it is a big improvement.  Let me know how it works with the bpi lead shot in your gun at 700 to 1200 rpm range if you have a chance to check that out as well.   

TBK

[Parellax]

Will do. Here is the first video. I know it's pretty long, but I didn't want to leave anything out. It's a lot easier to point someone to a video when they ask you how you did something. It's also how I record my notes. I spent this morning working on 3K, and I made it. So far I am at 50% with 4K after one try. I believe from this point on I will just need to fine tune the clutch. This can be quite time consuming. Before I do that I will give a full mag a try without the slider to see what happens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAC0cCdSm_4

[Parellax]

Here is the second video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EidmM4Xvf1o

[TBK]

I like your videos.  You do a good job with documenting what you do. 

I wouldn't call my auger a prototype, though.  I have made quite a few of them and they are well beyond a prototype.  I was making this auger years ago.  I just added the magnets for you to help you out with trying to eliminate the shaker and as an existing way to possibly get 4k rpm.  I will wait anxiously for your continued results!  It is great to see others working with BBMGs and having fun with them!

Having pins on the end of the auger vs. not having them is optional for the auger for the BB and was designed that way.  There are a lot of other things that are not apparent in the design.  I have a whole other set of specs on the auger end condition for various applications, but for the BB the auger centers itself in the pocket made for the original drive spring in the stock condition.  The original spring drive needs the center shaft to work, my auger works without the separate piece, and centers well for the BB. I also have some other things you may want to try to get by without the shaker, but it will be a while for that...

Also, when I get some more time I am going to make some more of my complete mags if you are interested.  There are a whole lot of things working together to get the bbs to feed well.

Just a thought... Have you done the DUBB-like test on just running the BBs out of the bottom of the mag to see what the auger is actually feeding out of the bb reservoir vs. what is actually getting up to the chamber and firing? He did that for start up, but you could do the same thing when firing. 

What is the vintage of your yellow Drozd, and is that an original solenoid and solenoid return spring?  I found that the solenoid return spring wasn't stong/fast enough to cycle somewhere around 2000 rpm IIRC without the help of the valve spring and pressure in the valve.  The cycle is very short at 4000 rpm - about 15ms!

Keep up the good work and keep having fun!

TBK

[TBK]

The magnets are 1/8" x 1/4" N42, diametrically magnetized.  That was the best I could find to fit the auger.  Yes they are just a press fit.  You should be able to very carefully push them out.  There are 5 or 6 in there.  I did not attempt to optimize the individual positions along the auger.  You could push them towards the drive end, or towards the exit end.  However, at the exit, each BB is controlled so the magnetism won't be needed to keep a BB down in the auger channel.

[Parellax]

The magnets appear to be in the optimal position. The reason I refer to it as a "prototype" is for lack of a better term. I realize you have been making these for some time, but without magnets. I know it's an oversimplification on my part, but this is completely brand new for many viewers. I meant no disrespect.

All of the tests on camera with your auger have been with the bb shaker in the mag. This was done because I found with my auger it is much more user friendly to leave it in. BTW. I did use a stiffer auger spring in the 4K calling it video. It felt like the spring was still compressing under the hopper even after I routed the open spring end to the center of the auger shaft.

Anyway Camracer has a gun set up to do what I would like to for another test that would tell us a lot if he is willing. I want to do a test where the speed of the motor can be slowed while the board can maintain the power going to the solenoid. The spring allows for slop, a wider space for bb's to fall into the auger should correct this for extreme ROF. Think about each slot like a magazine. Then think of the slots being wider at the hopper side. My thinking is if they go in the back in a double stack formation the bb's on top can be squeezed out by the time they enter the feed channel in a controlled manner with enough magnetic attraction.

I am really amazed how your auger works with no end pins. It doesn't jam under the heaviest punishment I can deliver. Neither does it show any wear in my mag, or the auger. I thought that might be an issue, but it's completely dialed in. Totally awesome!

I did try DUBB's test, but it was off camera with no shaker towards the end of the second video. The mag would not cycle at 24V with the 10K RPM motor.

The Bumblebee is an '02 I believe. It is the same gun I hit 4K with using a 30 rnd mag that you later taught me how to make a spring for. Remember this? Cam asked for this test.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87R8DbgJdGI


 

[camracer]

Keep up the good work Parellax. Things are coming along very nicely.

Two things to try I am curious about:
 One is how the vent holes on the mag neck will affect the results. Sealing them vs. keeping them open.
At 1000 psi, I am not sure how much of a difference it may or may not make, but some of the air shots could be a result of the air forced down the mag neck when firing. That will become more pronounced as air pressure is increased.
The other is the pulse setting. I see you had it set on 4 during testing. I would like to see what changes will happen to your shots counted at 4000 rpm if you turn your pulse all the way up. Will it make the shot count much worse??

I do have TBK's auger in one of my mags. The magnets I put into that auger were axially magnetized, not diametrically magnetized. Also I spaced the 1/8" x 1/4" magnets I had each 1/8" apart. I think I put four magnets into the auger, maybe five, so that it was magnetized more on the hopper end of the auger and no magnet at the output end.
Also, I did not put end nibs on my auger. It is free floating. Lastly, I removed the shaker.

I have not yet tried it out. Been too busy lately. I will get to it soon.
And just to note, I have one of the 2000 rpm circuit boards installed. I have no plans to install a 4000 right now in my Drozd.
So, as for the motor speed control, I can try it out for 2000 rpm only.
 It will be really interesting to fire my Drozd at 2000 rpm. I have had Sergeys 2000 rpm board for a long time and never got it working perfect past 1600rpm. That seems like it will change!

Thanks for testing using the 30 round mag. A stiffer spring was what was needed, as you thought.

The advances everyone has done here is great! Things are really falling nicely into place.
I'll keep you informed soon.

---Cam

[Parellax]

2K is a piece of cake with either auger with magnets. Even 3K is pretty much a breeze so I think you are going to love how your gun runs when you try it out.

With the stronger motor, and stiffer clutch spring I can actually mushroom the mag with the motor force alone. I can't fit a BB mag in the B with a mag clip that prevents mushrooming because the screws on the latch plate will not pass the mag release lever. There is just not as mushroom in there as my birds. I am going to have to change guns once I get some stronger magnets for the auger to avoid grinding on my B mag lever.

What I have found with the pulse setting is at 4 ms using 9 V the valve will not open. It takes 11 V before the valve begins to open. The valve is fully opened at 15 V @ 4 ms. Sergey, and I were scratching our heads when I was doing some stock voltage testing with the SB-4K. He remembered I keep my guns at 4 ms, and suggested I try 7 ms (around where the stock board is set). That worked perfectly at 9 V. The reason I use a pulse of 4 MS is because at high voltages there is no more fps gain even at 1600 psi. The other reason is at 4K a bb is being fired every 15 ms. If I ramp it up to 12 ms that only leaves 3 ms for the plunger to fire, open the valve, and then return. I will try the higher settings just to see what happens though. There actually might be a sweet spot that will allow me to loosen the clutch.