The Classic Matrix c. 2000-2004: A Brief History

[the_matrix_guy]

In 1999 the paintball industry was buzzing with rumors that a company distributing through Diablo Direct had a high end paintball gun in the works named the Matrix, and produced by Airtech Industries. By 2000, Airtech Industries out of Canada had launched the granddaddy of all spool valve based markers -- the Matrix. Diablo was the distributor. Prototypes began making selected appearances throughout the year, according to Diablo Direct's Richmond Italia, with the final end-product being released and showcased at World Cup 2000 in October. The Matrix was the first marker to have a spool valve within the mechanism of the pneumatic drivetrain bolt-system and have it actuating solely through the pilot valve, also known as, the solenoid. The Matrix was very quick to make a name for itself by being a proper high-end marker capable of high ROF, with great consistency & accuracy, and an ultra smooth shot-signature. On the flipside, it was also very inefficient.

• Spool Valve Design: "Spool valve structured paintguns utilize a fixed volume airspace, and a regulated air source to (in theory) deliver a consistent amount of energy to the ball with every shot. The valve is controlled by a spool that slides back and forth like a piston. In one position it allows the regulated gas supply to fill the fixed air chamber, known as the accumulator. In the firing position the spool empties the contents of the accumulator into the breech, firing the paintball. A fair amount of energy is required to move the spool back and forth." [Source: http://www.warpig.com/paintball/tech...x/index.shtml 🧐

It is unclear what design improvements were made by Airtech from Lee Kirwan's original designs of his electropneumatic prototypes, but what is certain, is that Aardvark (also based out of Canada) improved upon the design. They made the second generation bolt-kit drivetrains, known as the "red" and "blue" bolt-kits, which was then licensed to Generation E Sports (Gen-E) after their buyout of the Matrix in 2001 and went from being an aftermarket performance upgrade to becoming the standard bolt-kit /drivetrain after Gen-E completed the acquisition from Airtech. Gen-E officially titles it the “Image-II" bolt-kit. It was an important re-design that improved overall performance; reliability, efficiency, and ROF. And it’s the standard black bolt-kit that came in most Matrices including private-labels after their takeover from Airtech. Aardvark Custom Paintball Products, Inc. is largely considered to be a co-designer of the Matrix. It's unclear as to what exact contributions they made to the original Airtech Matrix design apart from their aftermarket upgrades, but the company's founders have always alluded to the fact that they were indeed co-designers of the Airtech Matrix.

Gen-E also improved the electronics and evolved the original "Gun 12" switch PCB to what is known as the Gun 20 LED and the LCD board (also based on the Gun 20 algorithms and technology, except with added functions facilitated by the LCD controls.) The power switch was also replaced by a push-button(s). Both LED boards implemented 4 DIP switches whereby the dwell timings and rate of fire (ROF) were controlled. The original Gun 12 switch board is capable of a max ROF of about 15-17 BPS, whereas the Gun 20 and later models were all capable of 25+ BPS. The LCD boards were later models released in 2002 and would enable the user to tweak all settings, including front pulse (FP) and back pulse (BP) dwell timings via the LCD. Additional features were also added and facilitated by the LCD controls.

Gen E had a base LED & LCD model, and they also had three in-house private-label models: The New York Xtreme (NYX) Matrix, the Toxic Performance Matrix (under their sister company label: Toxic Performance, Inc.) and the Ironmen Matrix. All Gen-E in-house PL models (Toxic, NYX, and Ironmen) are based on the Gen-E re-design, which implemented Gen-E electronics such as the LCD boards and Egi LED board in the case of the NYX's, as well as standard eyes (ACE), CP In-line regulators, PBC Trinity LPR's, Image-II black bolt-kits, and custom milling.

Other note worthy production aspects & distinctions:

• The Gen-E NYX Matrix encompasses three different generations of approximately 1000-1200 markers made in total across all three gens. Each with the same milling design -- but different custom milling processes as well as anodizing options. All NYX's had the same milling design throughout all three generations, easily distinguished by the "X" milled on the sides which connects to a Punisher skull milled ontop that covers the whole top of the body. The first generation NYX in 2002, was the first Matrix to come standard with the anti-chop-eye (ACE). Both the eyes and the "Egi" LED board in the NYX were designed by Egi and were highly tweaked Gun-20 settings with additional debounce settings for maximum responsiveness and ROF.
• The Toxic Matrix encompasses three different generations, each with the same milling design -- but different custom milling processes as well as anodizing options. All Toxics's had the same milling design throughout all three generations, easily distinguished by the Toxic liquid swirl mill-lines throughout the whole body. Unlike NYX's, the first generation Toxic Matrix from the initial 2002 gen-E marker lineup did not come with eyes (ACE), it wasn't until 2003, that the second generation Toxics were outfitted with eyes and the Toxic (ACE) breech (same as second gen NYX's). All Toxics came with LCD boards, however first gen Toxics also lacked all of the Toxic signature aftermarket parts, such as the Toxic DUB Wheel breech rod, the Toxic breech, Toxic magnetic trigger frames, and Toxic triggers that came standard in the second generation model as well as the third gen model.
• The Gen-E Ironmen Matrix encompasses a single generation of approximately 100-125 Ironmens (as per Duane Parsons & Dave "Toxic Dave" Rotunda, the designers and machinists credited for the Ironmen, Toxic, and NYX.) The Ironmens were easily distinguished by the dead air chamber (DAC) milled off the body, (making it the lightest Matrix at the time) with the shield Ironmen logo milled on one side and "Ironmen Los Angeles" milled opposite, as well as its signature red/black anodizing color scheme. Following in the steps of the first generation NYX Matrix in 2002, the Ironmen also release shortly thereafter, outfitted with eyes (ACE). All Ironmens came outfitted with LCD boards.

The first generation Toxics and NYX's used electric discharge milling or “machining” (EDM) whereas subsequent generations used industry-standard CNC milling. The EDM process produced slightly finer mill lines but also had the downside of burning the area around the mill lines which required additional polishing work due to the rougher surface and was discontinued in favor of the industry standard CNC milling process. And this is the reason why second gen. NYX's and Toxics are referred to as "CNC" and first gens are referred to as "EDM." Another distinction between first generation and second gen NYX's and Toxics were the anodizings. The first gen EDM NYX's all came in single dust colors: dust blue, dust silver, and battleship grey, with the only exception being the glossy "Ground Zero" tri-fade (black-blue-silver), whereas all subsequent generations of NYX were all glossy and also added two color fade schemes to the lineups. The first gen Toxics were all dust/matte in either single color or splash (in very limited production numbers,) whereas all subsequent generations were glossy single color or two-color fades. The third and last generation of NYX's and Toxics were produced during the DYE buyout and were made using DYE bodies. The biggest distinction in the third gens. came in the milling of the NYX, the "X" and Punisher skull was milled inversely into the body, whereas the X/Punisher milling on the first two NYX gens. was opposite, the milling was done around the X/Punisher making the design protrude instead of being "pocketed" into the body. The other distinction between third gen. Toxics & NYX's were the high quality glossy fade and outfitting of parts which consisted of DYE trigger-frames and ULE second gen. Toxic breeches. Third gen. NYX's and Toxics are referred to as "DYE’s" and are considered the most limited in production numbers. Anodizing options consisted of one color (glossy) and two color glossy fades. Unlike the previous generations, no "Ground Zero" NYX tri-fades were produced in the last gen that used DYE bodies.

The base model Gen-E LCD's and LED's also came in ACE and non-ACE options. In-line (HPR) regulators also varied between 2002-2003: 2002 models came with Centerflag In-line regulators, whereas later 2003 models came with CP In-line regulators (HPR). Anodizings options varied slightly, all base models came in single colors, both glossy and dust.

Other technological advancements, include the break-beam anti-chop eye (ACE) system implemented in the original, first generation NYX in 2002, which was the first Matrix to implement the anti-chop-eye (ACE). A break-beam emitter-receiver diode system designed by Egi of Finland, which was subsequently adapted to ACE-optioned Gen-E base models, as well as private labels (PL) such as the Ironmen Matrix (2002), Toxic Matrix (2003), and DYE LCD Matrix (2003). The first generation NYX preceded the design and implementation of the eye-carrier and vision-ready breech thus the eye wire was external and looped around the front. It wasn’t until Duane Parsons designed the Ironmen shortly after, that he designed the eye carrier and milled the breech to accommodate the eyes internally. This advancement was adopted by all Matrices moving forward, including other third-party private-labels such as FreeFlow and DYE, as well as second generation “CNC” NYX and Toxic models. It's worth noting that the eye system was only present in the Gen-E redesign after the Airtech acquisition. All previous models under Airtech were blind.

Additionally, the original Airtech Matrix also lacked a low pressure regulator (LPR), but third party manufactures made aftermarket parts including LPR's for the Airtech Matrix. Gen-E made the LPR standard on all models after the buyout with its highly-regarded PBC Trinity. During its first-year launch, there were only a couple manufactures making aftermarket LPR's i.e. Shocktech (regarded as unreliable and underperforming) and the Aardvarks (highly regarded for their fast recharge and reliability.) KAPP offered retrofit installations of its Autococker Rhino LPR which had a front hose looping in the front, sealing the port. Other manufactures would follow shortly after with their own dedicated Matrix models including AKALMP, (which is the only manufacture still offering brand-new factory-direct LPR's for the classic Matrix 20+ years later at the time of this write-up: 2022)

Other third-party partner private-labels include, Aardvark, FreeFlow, Shocktech, KAPP, The Matrix Center, & DYE, which is commonly referred to as the DM3, but the official name was simply DYE Matrix LCD, and was produced before the DYE buyout in late 2003, hence a private label, categorically, even though unlike other PL's which sport custom milling, the DYE had a plain body and is almost indistinguishable from the base-model Gen-E's.

Aardvark, KAPP, and Shocktech private labels are 2001-2002 models based on the original Airtech design, easily distinguished by the "beehive" in-line regulator, which connected directly to the body without a vertical air adapter, unique custom milling, and lack of standard eyes (ACE). Whereas, The Matrix Center (TMC) Matrices, FreeFlows, and DYE's are 2002+ PL models sported custom milling as well, but are Gen-E bodies and based on the Gen-E redesign. In the case of the DYE's the custom milling is minimal, and almost indistinguishable from base model Gen-E's as mentioned earlier.

Distinguishing DYE Matrix LCD's from Gen-E Base Models:

• The surefire way to distinguish the DYE Matrix LCD's from base-model Gen-E's is by spotting the position of the milled groove at the bottom of the body. The DYE LCD's groove is near the rear of the gun and the Gen-E's (and Airtechs) have the groove near the front. Other distinguishable aspects are the milled tear drop at the front-top of the trigger-frames, all DYE frames have the tear drop (which also helps ID the last gen NYX's, Toxics, and Freeflows that were produced with DYE leftover bodies post DYE buyout.)
• Moreover, other ways to tell them apart, is by ID'ing the rest of the parts outfitted in them, although this is not fool proof given that anyone can upgrade or swap parts. Parts such as the DYE low pressure regulators (LPR's) which consisted of two models: the bigger Rocket model, which is largely regarded as underperforming & unreliable, and was consequently replaced by the vastly improved & smaller second gen. Bullet models which are largely based on the AKA SCM's and which offered similar high-performance. Other distinctions in outfitted parts include the Hyper-II in-lines (HPR) which came standard on all DYE LCD's, the standard ACE (eyes) breech, and the thinner double groove trigger. All DYE LCD's come in dust blue, dust red, dust silver and dust black, (which is not a distinguishable feature in itself.) Moreover, DYE's were the only private label to come without an adjustable feedneck, making them closer in appearance to base model Gen-E's -- which aids in the confusion.

Some of the third-party custom shops also made private labels Matrices that were strictly team guns and were never mass produced and/or released to the public, such as the Aardvark Entities for team Ironmen, the FreeFlow Lockouts, Shocktech Images, Shocktech Traumas, & FreeFlow Demonics, etc. (Yes that's correct, Shocktech, also made Image/Trauma Matrices, not just FreeFlow, but in much more limited quantities, strictly for the Image/Trauma team.)

It's also worth noting that Aardvark also produced two commercially available models, the Tequila and Tequila Sunrise, but were made in very limited quantities of about 25 each, making them the rarest, most valued, and highly-sought-after custom Matrices to this day. Both models are considered among the most aesthetically pleasing, implementing some cosmetic improvements i.e. windows milled around the drivetrain chamber, the main and largest window is cut around the shot chamber and sealed with a Lexan see-through bolt-sleeve allowing the shot chamber in the bolt-kit to be visible.

By mid 2003, DYE had closed the acquisition and secured the Matrix properties from Gen-E. And by late 2003, DYE had redesigned the Matrix in the form of the DM4, and by early 2004 DYE implemented a fully vertically integrated model, and became the sole manufacture of the Matrix, disabling third party vendors through cease & desist orders, (with only one exception throughout 2004 & 2005: Shocktech: which produced the only private-label DM4 & DM5 in the entire market, but was also subsequently disabled by DYE for 2006. Making DYE's vertical integration model absolute from thereon.) It’s worth mentioning that in the buyout agreement, Generation E was allowed one last generation, a limited release of Toxics and NYX’s that used the last of the DYE leftover bodies that DYE had on hand, and were allowed to continue selling, both, their own leftover existing inventory as well as DYE’s throughout 2004. This was a limited release and are considered the third and last generation of NYX's (distinguished by the inversed milled X and Punisher skulls, high quality glossy fade anodizings, DYE trigger-frames, and ULE second gen. Toxic breeches) and Toxics (also distinguished by the high quality glossy fade anodizings, DYE trigger-frames, and ULE second gen. Toxic breeches).

FreeFlow Matrix: Similarly, there was also a post-buyout arrangement made between FreeFlow and DYE. FreeFlow had made a new (non-Trauma) milling style after the Trauma series. Some orders were already made at this time but cease & desist letters from DYE were preventing further production of the new milling style. Because Ethan had unfulfilled orders, he was able to work out an arrangement with DYE and was able to get some DYE leftover bodies, like Gen-E did, thus allowing FreeFlow to fulfill the last few orders using DYE bodies, and produce its last generation of FreeFlow Matrices in very limited production numbers.

All FreeFlows were custom made-to-order and outfitted depending on the buyer's choice of parts. This is also why there are ACE'd and non-ACE'd FreeFlows. All FreeFlows were made in small, made-to-order batches of 10, as per Ethan Steiner, founder of FreeFlow Technology, Inc. There are two different Trauma Matrix generations, each having anywhere from 15-20 batches, totaling about 150-200 markers made for each generation of the two Traumas. Both Traumas were Gen-E based. And have very small variances in the milling, with some having the Trauma "T" milled on the top of the bodies. Also, not all of the FF's had the smaller "FreeFlow" logo milled on the lower front of the bodies. But all Traumas had the "Baltimore Trauma" logo milled on the sides among other distinct mill lines. Some Traumas had both chambers active. The live (dead air chamber) was active like early model Airtechs and Gen-E's to add a second gas source for the accumulation or "shot" chamber for faster recharge. The actual benefit of having the second chamber live is open to debate as the performance difference was impossible to notice given that Matrices with the inactive DAC performed fine without pressure drop off or velocity issues. Ethan milled the Traumas with a small variation near the lower center of the body to signify whether the marker had one or both chambers active. Traumas with both chambers active were milled with a small "X" in the lower-center of the body above the trigger-frame, whereas Traumas with the dead air chamber (DAC) ...well.... dead... were milled with a half-X or single line. Most ACE-optioned FreeFlows, had one active chamber since the eyes (ACE) are routed via the DAC. The third and last gen of FreeFlows using DYE bodies sported an all-new non-Trauma milling design, and were produced in very limited production numbers, and were plagued with quality-control issues regarding the milling and anodizing which created different types of defects throughout the bodies. Most of the defects did not affect performance and were non-visible from the outside. That said, FreeFlows were known throughout all its different gens as being very aesthetically pleasing to the eye as well as high-performing. All FreeFlow's came with made-to-order anodizing options that ranged from single colors to beautiful acid-washes. FreeFlow also made custom parts, including performance parts/upgrades for the second gen bolt-kits. All of the cosmetic upgrades came standard on all of their markers, which included the FF adjustment knobs for the PBC LPR's, the FF breeches & breech rods, as well as the FF adjustable feednecks. In-line regs varied from CP's to match-anodised AKA Sidewinders depending on the customer's custom build. FF also used the standard PBC low pressure regulator (LPR) used by Gen-E on all its markers, however, they match-anodised them as well as match ano'd the custom FreeFlow LPR knobs, which gave the markers a nice touch.

[Hp_lovecraft]

I don't really know anything about the Matrix, but I remember that Airtech didn't create the Matrix.
Lee Kirwan invented the Matrix, originally called the Omega. Then sold to Airtech, but kept the patent rights. Airtech told to GenE, then GenE sold to Dye.
Dye, seeing the absolutely choas being caused by Smart Parts, decided to also purchase the patents from Kirwan.

Then that led to Smart Parts and Dye suing each other, waiting to see who would blink first.

Those were exciting times.

[Roger7pball]

Thanks for the history lesson guys, I didn’t know about The Omega. Found this on the sister site Vintage Rex.

[the_matrix_guy]

It's definitely open to revision. Help me compile the data

[the_matrix_guy]

Roger7pball Hp_lovecraft I revised the intro but its still a work in progress... the question now is: what improvements did Airtech make to Kirwan's designs and prototypes (if any)?

Also, three additional subtopics that are missing:

1. Aardvark's SLAM bolt kit which ( BonesJackson can speak intelligently upon.)
2. The legalities/custodial chain of patents and legal battle between DYE v. Smart Parts.
3. And the effect and precedent the Matrix (and spool valves) set upon the pro-circuit. As we know, the Matrix changed everything and for the past 5 years or so all pro teams have been shooting spool valve based markers which all started in 2002 with Trauma dominating the NXL circuit, but also Ironmen, NYX, and to a lesser extent Lockout (which had some of the guys shooting Matrices alongside Autocockers.) Aftershock as well, which shot some classic Matrices in 2003, and then went all-DM4 in 2004. And lest we forget, the Shocker spool-valve redesign in 2002-2003 that also saw Dynasty continue its domination of the NPPL, although that is more of a general topic on spool valves and/or Shockers.