Okay I just had this idea and I had to share it. I've hastily thrown together a crude 3d model of the basic construction.
Sorry for the low quality
Here's how it would work. You compress the spring to the bottom. The little bar on top of the piston is on a hinge and is angled (there would be more than one in the real thing but I didn't want to take the time to model them), compressing the smaller spring, as you do this. When you get it all the way compressed, the bar is able to slip into the notch thanks to the second spring, locking the piston in place.
When fired, the hammer pushes the cartridge forward more, just like a regular PFC, and the detonator in the modelgun then presses bars down again. The bar acts as a lever, pushing up against the top of the notch and slides. The bars clear the notch, at which point the main spring is free to expand, pressing against the detonator and cycling the action.
Aside from the obvious issue of keeping all the parts inside the cartridge when fired, what do you guys think?
My only concern is that it wouldn't be possible to store enough energy inside the mainspring without a ridiculously large spring constant that would be impossible to work with/create. But then again, I have no way of knowing how much energy is in a normal PFC cap, nor how much of it actually goes into the movement of the action so I can't even begin to theorize what size would be necessary.
Sat Mar 20, 2021 3:31 pm
