Group 28 - Gate1 - Project Planning - 2012

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Product Management

Work Proposal

Disassembly/Assembly Overview

The disassembly, and eventual re-assembly, of The Tippmann 98 Custom Paintball Marker will only require several basic tools to properly separate the entire marker into its components. Some components may even be taken apart by hand, too.

These tools include:

• An Allen Wrench(Hex Key)- primarily 1/8" size
• Small & Medium Sized Philips head Screwdriver
• A crescent wrench or pair of pliers

With these tools, this paintball marker is disassembled fairly easily as long as care is taken to watch out for small components, such as springs or screws. Also, prior to disassembly, the paintball is made sure to have no air tanks connected and left in an un-cocked state.

Step 1 - Remove the paintball hopper, by pressing the front sight downward and allowing, thus allowing the hopper to move freely and be taken off.

Step 2 - Unscrew the barrel by hand.

Step 3 - Remove the small Allen screws on the sides of the handle and the screws on the bottom of the handle, which secure the air tank connector.

Step 4 - Remove the Allen screws with the Allen wrench from the side with the Tippmann 98 Custom logo paintball marker. There should be six Allen screws, all 1/8" sized.

Step 5 - With the Tippmann logo facing up, the face plate can be removed carefully as to prevent any possible springs or pins from flying out.

Step 6 - The internal components should now be exposed, and a more thorough analysis could be conducted from here.

Group Member Evaluation

Group Member	Strengths/Experience	Weaknesses/Needs Development
Kyle Erway	Knowledgable in AutoCAD, MS Word, Excel, Visio, and Powerpoint Adaptive learner Good with computers(though not programming) Able to efficiently organize events, schedules, inventories, etc. Good understanding of how to write well Some public speaking experience	Overestimates time needed for assignments Would rather have work done correctly than done at all Very little experience handling paintball markers Impatient
Alexander Harris	AutoCAD experience Familiar with some 3D modeling programs Familiar with how a paintball marker functions Sociable and cooperative person	Limited public speaking experience Novice technical writing skills No HTML/wiki experience
Gino Nadela	Good organization skills Decent presentation skills Experienced with Adobe Photoshop, MS Word,Powerpoint, and some Excel Experienced with assembly of iPhones, Xbox-es, etc.	Only played paintball once Not that much experience in mechanical products Hard to get in contact with Needs to remember how to use AutoCAD No HTML/wiki experience
Matthew Tolentino	Good with solving problems Hands-on worker Experience with AutoCAD Sociable and cooperative person	Mediocre writing skills Not adept at public speaking Poor at managing time with assignments

Overall Group Assessment

The overall census of the group's capabilities and shortcomings

The Capabilities:

• Entire groups has experience in AutoCAD, or some modeling software
• Organized and cooperative members

The Shortcomings:

• Mediocre communication among the members
• Only one person knows how to edit wiki pages
• Inadequate time management skills

Management Proposal

In order to complete the project and each gate in orderly and timely manner, each member in the group will be assigned specific roles that reflect their strengths and will follow the following outline in order to complete each gate by the given deadline.

Gantt Chart

Group Member Roles

Project Coordinator: Kyle Erway

Responsibilities:

• Organizes group meeting and main group contact
• Manages group's wiki pages
• Converts any information gathered for the project in a proper format for the wiki
• Provides assistance or criticism for any other group member's tasks

Lead Disassembler: Matthew Tolentino

Responsibilities:

• Handles the majority of the disassembly and reassembly
• Will communicate to other member the proper procedure for disassembly and reassembly
• Will be in charge of measuring dimension of components and recording observations of the system
• Provides assistance or criticism for any other group member's tasks

Designer: Alexander Harris

Responsibilities:

• Handles any drafts or models created of the system or its components
• Will communicate with Lead Disassembler and Data Compiler to develop correct models
• Provides assistance or criticism for any other group member's tasks

Data Compiler: Gino Nadela

Responsibilities:

• Will officially record any dimensions or observations for transfer to the wiki page
• Will photograph or document any procedures taken by Lead Disassembler
• Will communicate with Lead Disassembler and Designer to gather data
• Provides assistance or criticism for any other group member's tasks

Group Meetings

Group Meetings will be held in the Ellicott Complex area since most of the members live there.

Schedule:

• Every Tuesday and Thursday
• At least 1 hour within the time of 3:30PM - 6:00PM

Meeting Itinerary:

These meeting will primarily focus on discussing the current project assessment and the progress on the gate being worked on. The group members will discuss any problems or conflict about completing their workload, and whether or not they may need more help. This time will also allow for members to present their progress and have members provide constructive criticism to improve the overall quality of the project. Every meeting should start with a reminder of how far each person should be completed with their workload, and end with a reminder of what deadlines are coming up in the near future.

Communication:

Primary contact for Group 28 - Kyle Erway<kyleerwa@buffalo.edu>

In order to have a good way to update group members of sudden changes of schedule or problems, the Project Coordinator will be in charge of communication important messages and determine the meeting place. An emphasis has been put out to all group members that their buffalo.edu email should be checked regularly when nearing deadlines and at least occasionally when between deadlines, in order to ensure a group member is not left to solve any problem alone. Currently, the group is struggling with determining what actually is necessary for each gate, what is required from each member, and when the deadlines are; the solution to this is reinforcing an emphasis of the project outline and a progress assessment of the group at each meeting.

Product Archaeology

Development Profile

The product, Tippmann 98 Custom Paintball Marker, was developed in 1998. The product appeals to players who don't want to spend much money to get started but still has the ability to upgrade the product for the future. The build quality and design enhance the playing experience with its standard yet rigid firearm design. The product was developed and manufactured by Tippmann, an American company, which originally developed standard firearms. Sources - http://paintball.about.com/od/gunreviews/gr/tippmann98c.htm

Usage Profile

^[1] - Army Battalion using paintball as firefight simulator

The Tippmann 98 Custom Paintball Marker's intended purpose is to allow users to partake in recreational and professional paintballing. This paintball marker fulfills that promise by letting the user to able to launch paintballs at objects and people, mimicking a live firefight (without live ammunition and lethal injuries). This paintball marker could be used for professionals and hobbyists, however, professionals may prefer a more high-end paintball marker for competition. As this product is relatively cheap, the military has been known to use this product when trying to evaluate how well a team/squad does in combat. While higher-end Tippmann models mimic real firearms, this model is adequate enough to demonstrate firing a weapon, while also allowing the a team to practice formation and tactics.
^[1] - http://www.army.mil/article/35031/Paintball_has_a_healing_affect/

Energy Profile

The 98 Custom performs its primary function, firing paintballs, with the use of compressed air (mainly compressed carbon dioxide,CO2. The compressed CO2 is contained in a replaceable metal tank which connects at an adapter below the handle of the marker. Once the tank is connected properly, air travels through a hose connecting to the barrel which then propels paintballs through the rest of the barrel. The propulsion is derived from the pressurized air; once it’s open to the atmosphere the pressure difference allows the gas to flow through the chamber and interact with the paintball, thereby transferring its kinetic energy to the paintball. The Velocity Adjustment Screw can modify how much pressurized gas is sent to the valve/chamber. By adjusting this screw, the more or less gas will flow through the chamber, and the paintball will leave with a larger or smaller velocity.
While this is not an entirely accurate representation of the Tippmann 98 Custom Pro (GIF is of another brand), the accompanying picture demonstrates the interactions in the front of the chamber.

Image from (http://www.deadlywind.com/paintball-animation)

Complexity Profile

The outer face prevents the consumers from seeing the internal parts. Since a couple of members of Group 28 have prior knowledge and experience with the product and with a basic understanding of the internal mechanics of the product, the parts are relatively straight-forward and are not too complex. There are no features like self-cocking, variable firing rates, automatic paintball feeding, or stocks. Rather there only approximately 20-30 components that are visible from the outside, and most likely they only serve the purpose of aiding the paintball firing process. A couple components like the Hopper and air-tank adaptor are housed on the outside of the marker casing, but most of the components are actually housed inside the casing, thus a closer inspection will have to wait until the dissection.

Material Profile

The exterior is composed of steel, aluminum and plastic. The frame is comprised of steel, whereas the barrel is aluminum. The handle and the tank adapter are made of plastic. On the inside of the marker casing, its estimated that the valve and bolt system may be made of stainless steel or rust resistant material, since they would need to be durable and resistant to moisture caused by pressure changes and constant movement when being actuated during the firing process. The O-Ring, which is visible when cocking the gun, is mostly likely made of rubber since the bolt would need to hit something that could absorb the force when being forced back when firing.

User Interaction Profile

The user interacts with product in several ways:

• Connecting Compressed Gas Tanks
• Loading the Hopper with paintballs
• Toggling the Safety Switch
• Setting the Rear Bolt into the Cocked Position
• Aiming at the Target
• Squeezing the Trigger
• Adjusting the paintball speed via the Velocity Adjustment Screw
• Performing maintenance on the gun which requires disassembling the product(See Gate 2 & 4)

Product Alternative Profile

Alternative Products	Product Image	Retail Price
Barnett Diablo Slingshot	http://www.amazon.com/Barnett-17066-Diablo-Slingshot/dp/B000HE8NK8	$34.99
Tippmann A5 Paintball Marker	http://www.tippmann.com/a5.aspx	$179.00
WDP Angel G7 Fly Paintball Marker		$1,400.00

Compared to the Tippmann 98 Custom, these alternatives products having several distinct features that set each apart from another.
Barnett Diablo Slingshot:

• Harder to launch paintballs (relies on user strength)
• Generally, only one paintball can be shot at a time.
• Much cheaper
• Low maintenance
• Little, if any, options for customization

Tippmann A5 Paintball Marker:

• Faster paintball firing rate
• Lighter weight than 98 Custom
• Higher quality components
• More expensive
• Slightly more maintenance necessary
• Uses pressurized gases(CO2, compressed air, Nitrogen)

WDP Angel G7(http://www.paintballimpact.com/paintballguns/hee-wdp-angel1-fly.html) :

• Much more expensive
• Low pressure operation
• ”Fastest Trigger on Earth
• Enhanced gas efficiency
• Very lightweight
• Low recoil
• Very appealing aesthetics

Advantages and Disadvantages:

Advantages: The Tippmann 98 Custom has several advantages. It is one of the cheapest Tippmann paintball markers available, retailing around 120$. The reason for its relatively cheap price is because it is the most basic marker in the Tippmann product line up. There are only the basic components that a paintball marker requires; a trigger, barrel, paintball feeding system and a shot chamber. This allows to the product to have little to no maintenance and readily available replacement parts in the case of a damaged or defective product. Another advantage is the fact that the most basic paintball marker has the most upgrades available, almost every part of the product can be improved which then enhances performance. Due to its popularity there are many aftermarket upgrade parts available for a cheaper cost than the brand-name, thus allowing consumers to have the ability to improve their product at a cheaper cost.

Disadvantages:. With advantages comes disadvantages of a product. Being the lower-end model, the Tippmann 98 Custom has the least features out of all the Tippmann products. One of the main differences between high-end to low-end paintball marker models would the trigger-sensitivity and modes, higher-end models will have a more sensitive trigger or may even have an electronic trigger which may have certain features such as burst-mode or full-auto. Another feature that a this product is missing would be an "eye", which makes sure that a paintball is completely in the shot chamber, therefore preventing paintball breaks or blank shots.