STEM 231 Final Project

An Innovative Cost Effective Automated Paintball Caddy Prototype

Professor: Dr. Petros Katsioloudis

STEM 231 Final Project

Abstract
This essay provides information and research required to develop an innovative automated
dispensing paintball caddy capable of reloading multiple paint markers at a quick and effective
pace. It identifies and draws upon existing patents and devices and improving on these existing
designs. The history of the sport of paintball is also explored in order to site a relationship
between the evolution of a modern day war game and the caddy as an ammunition dispenser.
Calling upon very recent data, the essay defines the latest caddy models that are being distributed
in the market today and contrasts it with what potentially could be offered with the prototypical
caddy in this project. To conclude, the need for such a device as the one being developed is
recapped as well as the potential change in the paintball game and advantage to whomever uses
the device in terms of mechanical function.

STEM 231 Final Project

Table of contents
Introduction..4
History of paintball..5
Patent One6
Patent Two...........6
Patent Three.........7
Initial Design........7
Redesign...........8
Conclusion.......9
References..........10

STEM 231 Final Project

Introduction
Imagine a survival game in which you could pit the guy next door, a lawyer, a farmer, a
trained army soldier and combat marine head to head. In a simulated war setting would training
hold up or would the desk job guy or laborer pull an upset? Paintball is currently third most
popular extreme sport in the world behind only inline skating and skateboarding. The
aforementioned question is being currently answered all across the US and sometimes the results
are surprising. The paintball game market is a big one that has grown and evolved over time.
Since about 1982, the game is now played globally, both recreationally and competitively. Most
recreational play takes place in the woods, but competitive paintball is now played in an arena
type setting with inflatable bunkers. Tools of the trade have also evolved with the new formats.
A competitive player can nowadays easily spend several hundred dollars on a lot of equipment
(Danielson, 2009).
This now current multi-million dollar industry is the target of the project being
developed. At the forefront of this are two major professional leagues, Paintball Sports
Promotions and the United States Paintball League. Prize money and sponsorships are awarded
every year in tournaments. In these tournaments any type of edge is welcome which is exactly
what is being offered with the prototype product being presented. A caddy is a device that
contains and holds a material. In this case, a paintball caddy holds the paintball projectiles that
are used in paintballing. An automated fast release dispenser capable of carrying a very large
load of ammunition to reload multiple weapons at a time is a need which must be addressed.
Given the lack of such a device in paintball equipment, a cost effective product as well as a
useful one would be a welcome to the industry.

STEM 231 Final Project

History of Paintball
Starting in the early 70s, the air-powered paint guns were used to mark trees and
livestock in the field. Markers were mass produced by Daisy and Crossman for the Nelson Paint
Company and were used in both the livestock and forestry industries as tools for field-marking.
But the paintball was invented because the Nelson Paint Company was asked by the US Forestry
Service for a reliable way of marking trees from a distance. The problem was the tree was
sometimes across a stream or thick brush. The idea behind paintballs was that the balls would
shoot across any obstruction. Charles Gaines, Hayes Noel and Bob Gurnsey are accredited with
using guns that were used to mark trees and cattle and figuring that they would work to see who
could survive a survival game (www.ody.ca).
In June 1981, the first game took place in an eighty acre forest in New Hampshire; an
every-man-for-himself, capture-the-flag format was used. These were the origins of paintball
originally billed as National Survival Game, NSG (Danielson, 2009).
Since then the game has evolved to an incredible extent and virtually any type of rules
and variations are now possible. Capture the flag, elimination, defending or attacking a particular
point or area, search and destroy, and capturing objects of interest hidden in the playing area are
all types of games that can be played. Depending on the variant of game played, games can last
from seconds to hours and even days in scenario or tournament play. Thus stems the need for the
tools of the trade. The paintball caddy has been an essential item since the commencement of
paintball as a sport. Traditionally, the basic items used are a paintball gun (or marker), face-wear
for protection, and a caddy upon which to carry your ammunition. The prototype caddy to be
developed is one for a particular variant of game as its initial design allows it to be paired with a
large source of ammunition not typically able to be carried on a person. This large scale
dispensary method will also be quick in nature given an automatic dispensing mechanism that
5

STEM 231 Final Project

will allow many weapons to be reloaded therefore lending itself to a team game variant such as
capture the flag complete with bases or search and destroy or any team based tournament setting.
It is also important to note that the caddy can also be used solitarily just as effectively as any
other current caddy in production but the main advantage of the automatic dispensary
mechanism is not fully achieved until paired with a large ammunition supply or team setting in
which multiple weapons must be reloaded at fast pace.
Patent One
Patent one is invented by William D. Clark and is a basic paintball caddy demonstrating
the popular market design currently used. Here is presented the basic container with a threaded
screw top made out of what appears to be a plastic material. Also, smaller tube caddy containers
are shown and from that is where the main dimensions of diameter of the prototype caddy nozzle
are derived. This is in order to fit into most all universal dispensary needs as is standard in the
game today. Also noted at this point were the potential solitary uses of the prototype caddy as
intended per this model design and need for compatibility with both a larger ammunition load,
such as is held this model or a large bucket, or a caddy belt (see patent two).
Patent Two
Patent Two is a paintball storage tube carrier invented by Alfonso Celaya Garcia. It is a
caddy belt that carries multiple tubes storing paintballs. Although the prototype caddy is a
directed towards a large ammunition load and multiple weapon loading capabilities, it is from
this design that the need for this prototype to also be able to fill multiple storage tubes quickly,
are noted. Therefore, in order to be compatible for potential use with a belt as well as attach to a
larger load and dispense ammunition, the dimensions of the storage tubes in this design are the

STEM 231 Final Project

preliminary dimensions of compatibility adapted to the prototype caddy. This is why two inch
schedule 40 PVC piping is considered for the initial body of the prototype.
Patent Three
Stephen Ho and Kheng Pang invented patent three. A paintball hopper refill apparatus is
disclosed. It is from this design that the intention of an automatic dispensary of ammunition
mechanism of the prototype caddy is derived. In this design, the interior is designed to be
paintballs and the dispensing portion is designed to be opened either by pulling a pull string or
by squeezing the hopper. However, expanding on that the initial prototype caddy builds on that
idea by featuring an automatic dispensary which would in theory be a bit more functional in the
field.
Initial Design
As stated previously, the initial design of this prototype was to utilize equipment from
around the STEM lab and put together what would be an innovative, cost effective paintball
caddy. The materials gathered were Two inch schedule 40 PVC pipe, sheet metal, and 1/2" metal
rods, the pricing of which would be calculated after construction and compared to the current
market for paintball caddy equipment. The role of body of nozzle was then attributed to the PVC
pipe. Once the body dimensions were set the dispensing part followed. The initial process there
was cutting the sheet metal via band saw into two separate flaps that would rest on the
dispensary unit tip and automatically dispense paintballs in quick and efficient manner via
rotation. Herein is where the process came to a slight halt. In order to have that rotary function
the 1/2" rods were cut in length to the diameter of the PVC piping with the idea of utilizing a
lathe machine to ingrain a slit across the rod allowing the sheet metal door flaps to rest snugly.
This was not possible due to the tiny size of bit required to perform such an operation on the
7

STEM 231 Final Project

lathe machine was not available in the lab. Had it been possible flaps would have served as gates
to open and close the path of the paintballs. Then the process of making it automatically
dispensable would have had one more component to control holding the gates in place and then
allowing the flaps to freely open and dispense paintballs. Unfortunately, due to time constraints it
was not feasible to create such a device and the idea was scrapped. A new brainstorm process
saw the automatic dispense mechanism be replaced by a much more basic bent rectangular shape
sheet metal to form a clip like handle for the nozzle.
Redesign
Unfortunately without the tools required for the initial design and a deadline of time
rapidly approaching the initial prototype design had to be redesigned to something a bit more
feasible and rudimentary in nature. Given this case, the sheet metal was cut via band saw into
thin rectangular shape. The tip was cut into a semi-hexagonal shape at the end via band saw and
then filed to create smooth edges. A slit was cut into the PVC pipe. The rectangular sheet metal
was then bent to form a tab that serves as a handle/dispensary tab mechanism that goes into the
slit on the side of the PVC pipe and retracts when pulled out. This mechanism is held in place by
using a strip of PVC piping from the original cut and wrapping it around the sheet metal. This
component is then wrapped around and secured with tape; this allows it to be used as a handle to
snap the dispensary tab in and out of place. The rudimentary prototype device is basic in design
but very functional in and of itself. It serves the purpose despite the dispensary tab having to be
physically removed and not automatically dispensed as originally intended.
What ensued was the purchase of a five quart bucket to carry the paintball load and a
redesign of the caddy. Originally it was thought the nozzle would be sufficient as a dispenser of
an amount of paintballs large or small in volume however, it was then thought better to
8

STEM 231 Final Project

maximize the volume per requirements of the caddy in general. This was done by merging the
actual container and the nozzle to better perform said function. It was then determined that a hole
should be cut the diameter of the nozzle and fitted therefore allowing the load as well as
dispenser to be readily available. Then a major flaw that was noticed was the fact that the full
extent of the volume available was not being used per requirements. Once again, a redesign took
place this time milling the PVC pipe laterally so as to not be limited to the volume of the
diameter time to fill the nozzle completely; this tiny yet important detail gave us the faster
dispensing required.
Conclusion
Paintball is a popular multimillion function ability dollar industry which has evolved into
a worldwide accepted fun time. Contemporary tools are necessary for this fast paced war game
and the need arises for new technology in an evolving game. Initially, a prototype that would be
capable of quick automatic dispensary of paintball ammunition for multiple paintball markers
was to be developed. Patented existing designs were analyzed for proper dimensions as well as
mechanism design. From this ideas for an innovative prototype caddy were derived. The
materials used were fairly inexpensive for the first prototype. Problems were addressed as they
arose and the final prototype only partially met requirements with the automatic dispensary
function falling short. The final redesign of milling the nozzle took place and the results of
testing were well documented. This was documented by surveys as well as through video means.

STEM 231 Final Project

References (alphabetized by web site source)

Clark, W. D. (2003, October 30). Patent Application Publication . In Paint ball caddy. Retrieved
November 25, 2014, from Google scholar (US20030200960 A1).

Ho, S., & Pang, K. (2007, June 19). United States Patent . In Paintball refillers and method for
making and using same. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from Google scholar (US7231946 B2).

Wells, C., & Kloehn's, P. (2001, November 21). How paintball started, and the timeline of
paintball guns / markers and equipment. In PAINTBALL HISTORY THE ONGOING HISTORY
OF PAINTBALL . Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.ody.ca/~cwells/history.htm
Danielson, G. (2009, April 30). The History of Paintball. In Great History The Best Blogging in
History . Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://greathistory.com/the-history-ofpaintball.htm

10