Gearboxes

Airsoft complete gearboxes and shells for airsoft replicas – what should you know?

The main parts that make up the airsoft replica mechanism (the airsoft complete gearbox) are: the shell, the trigger switch, the gears, the spring, the piston, the cylinder and the selector switch (responsible for selecting single/burst/full automatic fire).

What is a gearbox and what is a gearbox shell?

Gearbox

Every airsoft enthusiast should be familiar with the principle of how an airsoft gearbox v2 produces the energy to fire a pellet. Pressing the trigger lever starts the engine that powers the gears. The gears pull the piston, thus tightening the spring behind it. The last of the gears is half-teeth, so at some point it lets go of the piston, the spring extends and pushes the piston, which compresses the air in the cylinder. The pushed air is then redirected to the Hop-Up chamber (which makes the pellet rotate) and finally fires the pellet. In full automatic fire mode the action is repeated, while in single fire mode the sequence occurs each time the trigger lever is pressed.

Gearbox shell

As the name suggests, this is the body of the whole mechanism, the shell that keeps the whole gearbox 'in check'. However, this does not mean that it is a less important part. The more solid the shell, the longer the life of the replica and the less likely it is to crack. Reinforcement allows us to tune the gearbox with stronger components that affect the speed at which the replica is fired, while using greater force which is spread across the shell. Therefore, if we want our replica to serve us longer, it is worth investing in a metal shell with reinforcement because the overloading that occurs in gearboxes can make the plastic shell unable to withstand that much force.

Designations v2 and v3

It would appear that these are designations of the generation - the degree of advancement of the replica part. Nothing could be more wrong. The names v2 and v3 designate different gearbox versions, based on the same system. Of course, they are different, but the way they work remains the same. It is worth adding that it is not possible to determine unambiguously which one is better. It all depends on the needs of the user and the requirements of a given replica.

In addition to complete airsoft gearboxes and shells, Gunfire offers a number of internal parts which give replica users additional tuning possibilities.