c-g-designs

You have said ‘BELLEVILLES’ ?

            The Belleville washers , from their inventor’s name, Julien Belleville, co-owner of the automotive firm Delaunay-Belleville, also named ‘disk springs’ is a system of compression spring widely used in the industry  when important loads with short strokes are needed.

            The unit  reduced linear transfer are balanced by the fact  that the Belleville  washers can be stacked in inverted pairs  and even in multiples who allow to multiply by 2,3,4… the individual load capacity, although not modify the u nit  stroke.

            Since always, the bolt action firing mechanisms were powered by a compression coil spring, necessarily of a great lenght  to allow maximum use of its force in both cocked and decocked positions, this for one part to not add the spring rate to the bolt opening effort and for the other part to ensure sufficient acceleration to the mass in motion limited by a spring of great inertia and who remain constantly compressed to its maximal force, and even often over its maximal force compression, leading to its weakening in the long run.  The force of those springs remain limited for the bests to some 100Newton (22lbs/f) that prevents, over the heavier mass in motion, the quasi-impossibility to reduce the firing pin stroke under some 6,5-7mm (.256 to .276’).

            It was since long spoken about the eventuality to use the Bellevilles  to power the percussion systems, and the most incredible statements  were made on the subject. A fruitless attempt was made in USA and abandonned by lack of a serious approach. The great George Swenson even predicted me the worst if I persisted in my project.

            At the creation of the first C.Gs, I had conceived them in function of the use later of the Bellevilles system. For this, the firing pin stroke was reduced to 4mm ;( .157’), that represented a considerable reduction in comparison to the conventional models.

            As soon as the C.G were operational, I adressed the development of a Belleville system, using spring disks ID=8,2, ED=16, Th=0,40mm of an initial force of  154Newton (34lbs/f). This functionned perfectly, but the mass in motion remained quite on the  heavy side , mainly because of the 8mm diameter firing pin rod and its lenght..

            The patent for the system was delivered in 1990.

            Over the weight reduction of the mass in motion hereover mentioned, the change of the bolt design  of the  actions C.Gs ,  RPAs and later the C.G Milleniums necessited a Belleville of a smaller dimension and I decided for a ID=6,2 , OD=12,5 , Th=050mm of a maximal power of 296Newton, but used at a reduced power of 150-160Newton (33 to 35lbs/f) . This arrangement allowed to obtain a compression of the Bellevilles almost unexistant when in decocked position that offered an almost infinite longevity as the power pack remained under no load when tjhe action was decocked during the long periods of storage .

            The locktime was in the order of 1,4ms, velocity impossible to obtain with a coil spring system.

            The system equipped for years the C.Gs, C.G RPAs, C.G MILLENIUMs, C.G INCH and more recently C.Gs DELTAs 59 and 66. The spring compression necessited an  effort on bolt lift a little more important, although remaining acceptable for a target singleshot action, considering the advantages, locktime, reliability and longevity.

            My American partner attaching a great importance to the ease and smoothness of the bolt lift, it was necessary to reconsider the system on new basis without alteration of the performances of the former version.

            I fnally chose a thinner  Belleville, of a nominal force of 151 Newton (33lbs/f), used this time at a force closer to its nominal capacity.

            The results proven immediately impressive : performance equal to the previous models, but with an unequalled  opening smoothness, measured at 2,4kgs (5,4 lbs) of effort applied on the bolt handle knob. The opening is accomplished with the tip of the index. This opening effort is well inferior to those needed by most of the actions equipped with a conventional coil spring.

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4fQHRFmQVc&feature=youtu.be.

            The locktime remain unchanged at 1,4ms.

            I point that the system allow, by variation of the Belleville number, to modify the percussion force, in 10 Newtonincrements  by pair added or removed . I will not indicate the numbers nor the stack height….my little secrets !!.

            Finally, for the unconditionals of the coil spring, the system is designed to accept also a conventional coil spring of 110Newton (24lbs/f) however not allowing the same fast locktime.

            R.G.C

            11/2016