Lock

A Stryfe's acceleration trigger lock.

A lock is an internal part found in many blasters, usually electronic flywheel-powered blasters.

Details

A lock is the general name given to a component in a blaster that temporarily disables some function of the blaster if a certain condition is not met (e.g. a jam door is open or a blaster is primed). Locks are usually implemented as safety features, reducing risk of injury to the user or damage to the blaster.

Safety

Main article: Safety

Safeties are purpose-built locks that block the trigger, which the user can activate by themselves.

Locks on electronic blasters

There are usually five locks found in an electronic flywheel blaster; the first lock prevents the flywheels from revving up when the jam door is open, the second lock prevents the firing trigger from being pulled when a dart is not loaded in the clip (although this lock is very uncommon nowadays), the third lock prevents the firing trigger from being pulled when a clip is not inserted, the fourth lock prevents the blaster from being revved when a clip is not inserted, and the fifth lock prevents the firing trigger from being pulled when the acceleration trigger is not being pulled.

Locks can either be mechanical or electronic; mechanical locks physically block a component from moving, such as the lock that prevents the firing trigger from being pulled before the acceleration trigger, while electronic locks are switches that prevent the flywheels from being activated. Some electronic locks cut off the current from the motors, and others provide electronic braking to the flywheel motors; this halts them almost instantaneously, as a safety feature. It does this by grounding the motors to make them stall.

Locks on non-electronic blasters

Locks are also common on non-electronic blasters. Most clip/magazine-fed blasters have a lock that prevents the blaster from being primed twice; this prevents the user from accidentally chambering several projectiles which may cause a jam, and also so that the breech is completely the forward position when firing. However, unjamming buttons can override this lock. Similarly, there is also a lock that prevents the firing trigger from being pulled while the blaster is being primed (except for on slam fire blasters) so that the plunger rod can catch. This acts as a safety mechanism, since pulling the trigger with the bolt back will cause it to slam forward, which could cause injury to the user or damage the blaster. Removing these locks removes this safety feature, but also allows users to de-prime the blaster by holding down the trigger and easing the priming handle forward. Additionally, the lock can usually be overridden if the trigger is pulled before priming the blaster, although some blasters have another lock that prevents the priming handle from being pulled if the trigger is being pulled first. Another lock is present on most clip system blasters, which block the clip release button from being used when the blaster's breech is forward. This is likely so that users cannot remove the clip while the bolt sled is forward, which may cause damage to the clip.

The Strongarm and other cylinder-fed blasters have a lock that prevents the trigger from being pulled when the cylinder is swung out.

The CrossBolt has several locks, including one that prevents it from firing without a dart loaded.

Half-prime lock

A half-prime lock, or intermediate prime lock is a type of lock that is found on blasters that use priming handles. The lock prevents the priming handle from moving forward until it has been moved all the way back, usually halfway between the prime stroke. Some blasters feature a ratcheting lock that lock the slide from moving forward in regular increments. This makes it easier to prime the blaster, especially for blasters with stronger springs. However, this may also cause jams as it prevents the priming handle from moving forward after it engages one of these locks.

Modification

Many modders choose to remove locks, as this will make testing easier and improves some performance since the firing trigger is able to be pulled all the way. Some locks are kept in to retain their safety features. On some slam fire blasters such as the Rampage, the prime lock is usually kept in; without this lock, pulling the trigger of a primed slam fire blaster will often cause the sled to move backwards instead of firing, so the priming handle has to be held in position to fire.

It is common to remove the electronic lock on flywheel blasters that prevents the blaster from being revved when no clip is inserted. This allows the user to rev their blaster while doing a reload so that their flywheels are at max speed by the time they insert a new clip.

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