AEG Tappet Plates
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Checkout our selection of tappet plates! Click Here to Learn About tappet plates!. Have questions? Give us a call at 888-316-7816
The tappet plate is a simple looking gearbox component but is responsible for doing a lot of things. The tappet plate moves the air seal nozzle back and forth in your gearbox as it is fired. When your AEG is fired, the nozzle is in its forward-most position and air travels through it to drive the BB. When you pull the trigger, your AEG will fire out whatever BB is in the chamber already. The gearbox will then on this same cycle pull the air nozzle back and the space in the hopup chamber that is created is where a BB will come up from the magazine and get fed into your hopup, getting you set up for the next shot. In full auto mode, this all happens very rapidly. The tappet plate is the part that interfaces with the air seal nozzle to move it back and forth, and is activated by a cam on the spur gear in the gearbox. Every full revolution of this gear will drive the tappet plate and nozzle back and forth one time.
The tappet plate needs to be matched to your gearbox/hopup chamber setup in order to perform its function. Changing things like the air nozzle or putting in the wrong tappet plate will result in your nozzle possibly not moving enough to pick up the next shot. This would be considered a timing issue and although everything might look and sound normal, you will know right away if your gun is not feeding. Tappet plates like any other AEG component are a wear item and tappet plates in particular only fail out of a working gun by breaking. If your gun has been used for quite a bit and your gun isn't picking up BBs it could be a sign of the tappet plate going out. This can be observed by having the gun apart down to the gearbox but with the motor and battery connected and pulling the trigger to check for nozzle movement. If the gun sounds like it is firing normally but there is no movement, the tappet plate is the suspect component.
Q: Do people upgrade the tappet plate?
A: Tappet plates either work or they don't. There is no performance assosciated though you could buy a better one to improve durability. The fitment and timing with the gears has to match perfectly otherwise it will not move the nozzle enough and giving you feeding issues, so it is with that we recommend you change this only if your old one broke.
Q: Do they make metal tappet plates?
A: Tappet plates need some give in order to perform their function. You will not find a metal tappet plate and typically the material used will be a flexible but strong polymer such as polycarbonate or similar. Typically the manufacturers use this type of material because using the wrong type of plastic makes it brittle to the forces it sees and would lead to it snapping prematurely. A good tappet plate should be somewhat flexible without snapping.
Q: How long does a tappet plate last?
A: It is hard to estimate how long these will last exactly but it should be in the tens of thousands of rounds fired. Upgrading your guns performance in other areas should not increase any wear and tear on the tappet plate. Tappet plates should move without friction in the gearbox. Fitment can be tested by pushing the nozzle and seeing it spring back and forth. Any drag from an incorrectly fit tappet plate will result in lower or inconsistent FPS because the nozzle can't return to the correct position freely.