Protean Modular Takedown Blaster

Build Guide
Bill of Materials
FAQ
Open Beta Fileset (not all components complete)
Buy hardware or printed parts at SilverFoxIndustries

A spiritual successor to the Gryphon, though not a replacement. Leaning further to the direction of modularity, Protean is a highly-configurable, conventional-layout mag-fed flywheel blaster. 7 takedown pins are all that stands between you and being capable of swapping flywheel cages, magwells, stocks, and pusher mechanisms with no additional tools. Not only does this make adjusting the blaster for different game velocity caps trivial, it also makes it possible to swap configurations even between rounds of an event, and in some cases replace broken parts. 

Currently supported configurations include:

• Single-stage flywheel cages between 39.5 and 43.5mm
• Dual-stage flywheel cages between 39.5 and 43.5mm
• Talon magwell
• Full-length magwell
• 14.5mm or 14.0mm bore insert
• Straight PCAR or BCAR (angles from 12.5 down to 4 degrees available) bore insert
• 4-to-1 geared pusher mechanism
• Neutron Solenoid pusher mechanism
• Thumbscrew-secured and notch-locking rod stocks
• Fixed battery stock in short and extended lengths.
• Buffer tube battery stock (refer to the Gryphon for stock files)
• Bolt-secured flywheel cages (require additional M3 Nut, M3x35 bolt, 2 M3 heatset inserts, and additional M3x10 bolts).

Configurations in the open beta include:

• Flatbar Battery Stock with squeeze-to-collapse mech

Future features planned include:

• Hurricane and (maybe) microwheel geometry support
• Microcontroller-driven select-fire and single-trigger control with plug & play code

Update Log:

V1.01: After finding out firsthand that the bottom buttplate mount hole was fragile, I beefed it up (5 -> 10mm) and added a chamfer and partial fillet for now. Buttplates remain reverse-compatible, but a longer bolt (M3x16, or longer if you use a printed thumbscrew) is now likely necessary).

V1.02: Release of the bolt flywheel cage, no-spin straight BCAR, and minor magwell fixes. The bolt flywheel cage and its corresponding magwell are the main feature, all the same spacings as previous cages, single and dual-stage. They will require 2 M3 heatset inserts, 1 M3 hex nut, 2 M3x20 bolts, and 1 M3x30 bolt. Furthermore, some minor modeling errors with chamfers on the magwell were fixed. The bolt flywheel cage is not currently supported by hardware kits. The no-spin straight BCAR, on the other hand, is exactly what it sounds line: no angle on the bearings flanges relative to the barrel at all. It has been found to work, though your mileage may vary.

V1.1 (1/21/2025): Release of the solenoid pusher mechanism, which was largely finished. I spent a significant amount of time hoping that I could get a variety of select-fire support schematics and codebases out, and let that hold back the release. I've decided, no more! Also, a full-length magwell is attached, in addition to a new BCAR iteration that uses MF63ZZ 3x6x2.5 bearings instead. The BOM should be updated in accordance to this update. All cages should remain reverse compatible, but you may need to print the new blend piece as the magwell geometry has been slightly changed up. Furthermore, slightly extended motor covers have been included for Quickdraw motor support.

V1.1 (6/2/2025): Fixed incorrect solenoid pusher cover variants.