ENP: Extended Nub Project (formerly Angled Hopup Pad). Status: Alpha Testing Phase

[krap101]

Current nub designs
Extended Flat Nub (EFN)
Buffered Extended Flat Nub (BEFN)
Extended Angled Nub (EAN)
Buffered Extended Angled Nub (BEAN)

Future
Extended Concave Nub (ECN)
Buffered Extended Concave Nub (BECN)

__________________________________________________ _____________

Projected Timeline

Alpha Test Phase 6 week (06/01/11-7/13/11)

teck ASC
Major9 ASM
cypher235 ASF
Griffin ASM
Lon3Wo1f ASF
ikliiu ASF
Logical ASM
ScooterVauto ASC

Each Alpha test kit will be $5.50 and will include four nubs: 1x EFN, 1x EAN, 1x BEFN, 1x BEAN

[COLOR="Gray"]Beta Test Phase 4 week (07/13/11-08/10/11)
Closed

Each Beta test kit will include two nubs: 1x EFN and 1x EAN OR 1x BEFN and 1x BEAN Depending on results from Alpha

Projected Release Date for (B)EFN and (B)EAN 08/24/11

Pricing: The nubs will be priced competitively to other similar nubs on the market. Expect between $5-10

Thanks to everybody who is participating!
__________________________________________________ ____________






After considering the requirements to be a tester, I came up with a list of three things that I think are reasonable to expect

Minimum Requirements for EPN testing: At least...
i) 2 videos: one showing the performance of each nub in the kit (4 for alpha, 2 for beta), and the other showing a competing nub
ii) A grouping/accuracy test for each nub at ranges of 10, 25, and 50 yards (4 for alpha, 2 for beta, and a competing nub)
iii) One paragraph, pro/con list, or other form of comparison between the nubs.

If you feel you cannot meet these requirements, send me an email/pm and I will refund your money.

If the three requirements are not met, and a "good effort" (as determined by me) is not made, the tester will be excluded from the sale and testing of any future nubs.

I'm sorry this has to be so formal, but I've put a lot of time into this project, and the test phase isn't meant to give out nubs to people for nothing

[krap101]

I want to explain the selection process for the beta testing phase for the (B)EAN and (B)EFN and for future testing (including (B)ECN). What will happen is I will choose a few people from the alpha test going on to be my permanent testers. The benefits of being a permanent tester are that you will be testing every major revision of the nubs, so you will get the nubs 1-3 months sooner than everybody else and you will be eligible for future tests. The expectations will be consistent throughout the ENP project. Because testing is very important (portal anyone?) and I am trying to release nubs as quickly as possible (and the best nubs possible), failure to complete the tests without prior notification will lead to being replaced. I'm not trying to be a jerk (I promise), but for this process to go smoothly, I need people I can rely on and who can perform good tests.

On another note, I completed the first test batch (140 nubs, 70 angled 70 flat) and will soon be adding the neoprene buffer to half of them once I get a hot glue gun. Pics incoming!

Update:

I tried gluing on the buffers, and the only thing that made a good bond was superglue. The hot glue that I was using didn't stick well to the neoprene buffer, so, for the nubs I'm going to use on Sunday, they're going to be superglued. I have 8 different duro's of neoprene coming in (10-80), along with a better hot glue. I'm thinking that I might have to change the direction that this project is headed. After some preliminary tests, I think I will have to choose between either the angled nub and the flat nub, and send out 4 different hardnesses of neoprene buffers. I believe that optimizing the depth and hardness of the buffer material will yield better results than the shape. I believe if the buffer material is soft enough, it will be better than having a hard (concave) nub, as the buffer material will conform to the bb shape meaning that it will always be centered. I haven't yet decided what will be included in each set, but I believe I will be discontinuing the EAN/EFN lines, and will be focusing on the BEAN/BEFN nubs. If somebody would rather have the original set (BEAN, EAN, BEFN, BEFN) then send me a email/pm, otherwise, I'll find some way to optimize the hardness/shape. This probably means that the hardness will need to depend on variables such as rof, velocity, weight, etc meaning there will be an auto and a dmr version

[Amos]

How do you propose this is gonna work?

the bump in any hop-up completely negates your design.

[krap101]

Originally Posted by Amos

How do you propose this is gonna work?

the bump in any hop-up completely negates your design.

Are we talking the bump on the bucking? Similar to the SCS/PCS, for this to work, you'll need to shave it off. I'm assuming you want me to make a bumpless bucking? I have considered making a bumpless bucking, but I'm still looking for an easy to use material. The positives and negatives of the buckings shouldn't be too big of an issue with a cnc and all... I was going to try silicone, since that's what noobie uses for his tdc buckings, but MadMax said that silicone would wear down too quickly to be of use, and suggested urethane. I suppose when/if the tests come back, if they are worse then a normal nub, then I'll have to find/make a bumpless bucking before release....

[Amos]

I think you'll have MUCH more success in the air soft market coming out with a bumpless hop-up rubber made from the proper materials than re-inventing the re-invented wheel with another nub.

[krap101]

I tried gluing on the buffers, and the only thing that made a good bond was superglue. The hot glue that I was using didn't stick well to the neoprene buffer, so, for the nubs I'm going to use on Sunday, they're going to be superglued. I have 8 different duro's of neoprene coming in (10-80), along with a better hot glue. I'm thinking that I might have to change the direction that this project is headed. After some preliminary tests, I think I will have to choose between either the angled nub and the flat nub, and send out 4 different hardnesses of neoprene buffers. I believe that optimizing the depth and hardness of the buffer material will yield better results than the shape. I believe if the buffer material is soft enough, it will be better than having a hard (concave) nub, as the buffer material will conform to the bb shape meaning that it will always be centered. I haven't yet decided what will be included in each set, but I believe I will be discontinuing the EAN/EFN lines, and will be focusing on the BEAN/BEFN nubs. If somebody would rather have the original set (BEAN, EAN, BEFN, BEFN) then send me a email/pm, otherwise, I'll find some way to optimize the hardness/shape. This probably means that the hardness will need to depend on variables such as rof, velocity, weight, etc, so there will be a auto and dmr version of the nub

[krap101]

Hey guys,

The test kits were sent out today, and most should receive their nubs within a week. I decided that the direction I want to take the project is away from hard nubs such as a SCS/PCS concave, and more towards a compliant buffer. This means that the the ECN/BECN project is probably not going to happen. The results of the project will come back by August, when I will finalize the design and begin sale of the nub.

In the meantime, I am going to begin a side project to develop an accompanying bucking. At the same time, I mean to advance the manufacturing techniques for the nubs by curing the silicone directly to the nub rather than using CA. I plan to use urethanes/silicones in the area of 5A-30A, although I don't have much experience in this area, I expect the end product will end up similar to noobies TF bucking but for aeg's. Something I may work on in the future is making a hopup arm with a buffer attached.

Finally, I will be making the day to day updates on a new facebook page I made for the project. The big updates I will bring to the forums, but I don't like superbumping my threads :P. This is the name I came up with (a bit cheesy), but if anybody has any better suggestions, feel free to suggest.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Airsof...767865?sk=wall

Thanks guys!

Danny

[krap101]

Hey guys!

A itty bitty update... In an effort to explore different options before I venture into the realm of cast buckings and nubs, I am going to try to design a drop in upgrade with variable concavity. Rather than having the bucking simply follow the shape of the nub, I plan to try to have the bucking and the nub interact, where the bucking will initially be flat, and as you apply more force with the hopup, it will become more and more concave until it is hugging the bb. I believe this will mean that you will be able to apply hopup to bb's through a very large range of weights, and do so well. As a parallel project, I will try to produce a test batch of a flat topped bucking to use in conjunction with one of my nubs, which will be decided when the results from the alpha test come back.

Have a great summer!
APD