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![]() What
do you think?
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![]() FBM Delrin Triggers By Bill Mills - Nov 2004 In the 1980s and into the 90s, Delrin* caught on as a material for aftermarket paintgun bolts and pumps. Delrin is an acetal resin developed by DuPont in the early 1950s. It is a polymer derived from formaldehyde that was originally called “synthetic stone” by Dupont’s research staff, and was later given the brand name of Delrin. While Delrin is a strong material, it has other qualities that are very unlike stone. From a manufacturing aspect it is easily machined with the same tools and equipment used to create parts out of aluminum and steel. From the applications point of view, Delrin is not only strong, but it is also considered a self lubricating material. It can be used as a bushing material between metal parts to reduce friction and wear, and it can also be used to make whole parts that will exhibit little friction or wear as they interface with metal parts.
The selection of Delrin means that the trigger is lightweight, unlikely to bind against its hinge point or sides of the grip frame. One of the advantages FBM cites for their Delrin triggers is that with less mass, they are less likely to have problems with physical trigger bounce, and in most paintguns can be used without a trigger return spring. The first design, Fireball calls Original. It is a simple, single wide radius curve. The second design, called the Wave is a reverse of many two-finger trigger designs, and is laid out in an s-curve shape. For review the Wave trigger was tested on an LCD Matrix. Installation was straightforward but required custom fitting. The process began with the removal of the Matrix’ wraparound rubber grips, followed by disconnection of the power and solenoid wire leads from circuit board. Once unplugged, the grip was removed from the receiver, and a pin punch was used to gently tap out the trigger pin. The stock trigger was then easily lifted out. It was discovered at this point that the FBM trigger would not simply drop into place. It was wide enough that it would bind against the grip frame, too tightly to reset after each shot. A few minutes with a fine flat file was enough to adjust the trigger to a perfect fit with the frame. In retrospect, the oversize fit can be advantageous, as filing the trigger ensured a perfect fit to the frame without any side to side slop that would be present if the trigger had been undersized.
Both of the FBM trigger designs for the Matrix feature twin set screws, just like the stock triggers. The front-most screw adjusts the forward trigger travel limit, while the rear screw adjusts its rear travel limit. The forward travel limit screw must be adjusted while the grip frame is not attached to the receiver. Turning it in or out directly affects the trigger position and can be checked with test pulls to make sure that the trigger switch is reliably released after each pull. The rear limit screw, like the screws on stock LCD Matrix triggers was installed with its hex head on the top side. This presents a slight problem when adjusting. It requires that the grip frame be removed to make an adjustment, but since the screw works by contacting the receiver, the only way to check the adjustment is to place the grip frame back on the receiver. For review, the rear adjustment screws were removed, then reinstalled in the triggers with the hex heads on the bottom. This allowed for the rear trigger limit to be adjusted with a ball end hex wrench while the grip frame was mounted on the receiver.
In practical use, the trigger performed
well, operating smoothly, and was easy to fire quickly. The two shapes
provide quite different feels, and which of those is better for any given
player, would largely be an issue of personal taste.
*Editor’s note: Delrin
is a registered trademark of the DuPont corporation and their attorneys
get snippy if we don’t remind our readers of that fact.
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