Frequently asked questions
Will DH aluminium lips damage the BBs?
On DH aluimnium lips, all edges that could be in contact with the BBs are machined rounded and smooth. This is an expensive time-consuming process, but necesary to ensure the minimum chance of damaging the BBs while feeding or loading the magazines. This is not true for other brand lips that have opted for cheaper alternatives like chamfering.
Will DH aluminium lips damage my nozzle?
The nozzle never contact the lips, so is safe for it. In fact, the reduced required force to feed the BB with DH aluminium lips create less stress on the nozzle loading arm than plastic lips.
What are the advantages of DH aluminium lips over OEM plastic lips?
Improved feeding: DH lips are designed to have a determined feeding point and angle and lower feeding force, with the intention of having a repetable feeding with less strees on the loading nozzle.
Easy loading: with the right technique and adpater, DH lips require lower force to load, since is not necessary to bend them open.
Stronger: DH lips are machined in a strong aluminium aleation to better withstand accidental drops than the brittle plastic that many lips are originally made.
Fast unloading: this being an unintentional feature, many user that manually unload the unused BBs after the match have praised how easy is to perform.
What is the best way to load the magazines with DH aluminium feed lips?
One easy way is to use the pistol style loader adapter for speed loaders. Depending on the width of the lips, you could use the pistol adapter, or if your lips are thicker, GHK one. Insert the adapter into the speed loader (or better, glue it). Put the speed loader on the magazine and slowly rotate it up and down while gently pressing the loading bar. The lips only let the BBs in on a specific angle, you will find this sweet spot when the BBs enter easily. Don't press too hard on the loading arm, this means your speed loader is not on the right angle. Check this video for more information.
I get all my BBs sprayed out after loading
Short answer: retire your loader and adapter vertically at the same time.
Long answer: DH lips feeding bore is some microns bigger than an BB. They retain the BBs on a equilibrium position thanks to the force of the magazine spring, instead of relaying of bending themselves like plastic ones. That means that if when you displace a BB out of the equilibrium position, it will get out of the magazine pushed by the spring. Loading adapters have a ramp that helps the BBs going down while front loading. This ramp act both ways, so if you retire your loader from the loading adapter while the adapter is still in place on the magazine, all BBs will fly out. Retire your loader and adapter vertically at the same time.
I can not load the BBs using the GHK/pistol adapter
On some magazines (GHK AKs for example), the follower rises so high that it blocks the front path of the lip when the magazine is fully empty. Load the first round by hand pushing the follower down follower and then use the loader, or directly use the loader while pushing down the empty mag lever. After the first BB is in, the magazine will load as standar. Some users file a little ramp on the front of the lip to help the first BB load.
I can not load the magazines with my 3D printed loader adapter
DH lips are designed with the best feeding performance in mind. To achieve it, a precise feeding point is determined, while on other lips BBs can get out in several points. This implies that to load the magazine, BBs must go through the same point. Most random designed 3D printed adapters just dont have the loading point on the same spot. Some models work just by pure chance. Specific adapters with check valves are in the "to do" list.
Why I cannot load the BBs from the top?
Plastic lips that can be loaded from the top rely on the elastic deformation to let the BBs go into the magazine. Aluminium is 30 times stiffer than common polymers, so they are not going to bend open. By design, DH aluminium lips shall be loaded from the front.
I got my BBs accidentally discharged while manipulating the magazine.
DH feedlips retain the BBs with their internal geomtery, while leaving a free path for the BB, instead of having the BB to force open the lips. Each lip has a resting position where the top BB stays in place. But if you push the BB on the back of the lip, it will fly out. You will not be able to take your finger out fast enough and it will act as a wedge for the next BBs. Avoiding this issue is as simple as manipulating the magazines wihtout touching this area. The resting position of each lip model is different, as it depends on the original lip design and feeding ramp height.
Lips with a lower resting position and thinner loading arm opening are safer.
What does design revision number means?
It is the number of iterations on the design any item has gone through. It helps customers know if there has been any improvements since their last units. First iterations are usually to get the parts to fit and work propertly. When an issue that can be improved with a design change is detected, new revisions are tested until a better design is found. Then remaining machined units of the old design are either modified or scraped. Many revisions does not reach production, so numbers will have leaps on them. With the gained experience on design, newer parts have usually a lower revision number, but continuous improvment philosophy is performed on all parts.
What does "slim" model mean?
Slim models are the exact same fitting and feeding design of their thick siblings, but the top sides of the lips have a small reduction in width so a standard speedloader adapter can fit, instead of needing a wider adapter (that is still compatible). The revision number on this models is the same, as the feeding geometry remains unchanged. This was a customer request, as some models did naturaly fit the standard adapters, and wanted all their lips this way. Since the small reduction of strenght is not an issue, models that only fits wide adapters are being moved into slim versions. Old thick models will still be avaible upon request, but not actively produced or in stock.
Do you make any DH mod (CO2) products?
Not rigth now, but we will! DH mod was developed and shared to the comunity for free, but getting the OEM parts needed is still somewhat costly. We hope to change it and make ir more afordable so more people can enjoy it.
Will DH Airsoft Machining develope new products?
Yes! That's what we love to do! There are many products partially developed and some working prototypes. But DH Airsoft Machining is so far a side hustle. Reaching production level on this complex prototypes requires a lot of work and equipment investment. We are eager to do so and already reinvesting any revenue to improve our capabilities, but to launch more complex products we need a steady income to get DH Airsoft Machining into a real deal. So if you want to have some of the new projects, the best way to make them happen is supporting us by getting the already in production stuff!
What is the goal of DH Airsoft Machining?
The main goal of DH Airsoft Machining is to get airsoft replicas into the quality of real steel. No more injected pot metal, no more fragile parts, just tight tolerances and strong materials. Forget about that feel that you still have a toy in your hands. We focus mainly in GBBR products intended to be used with the strongest gases to get the best recoil and performance.
Can you make this XXX part for me?
DH Airsoft Machining was born to repair old discontinued magazine lips that no longer had replacements, and we still follow that philosophy. But you must understand that CNC machining is a complex topic. Parts need reverse engineering, computer design (CAD), programming (CAM), get the stock material, make fixtures, machine cost, etc. Many of those do not depend on the number of parts being made, either 1 or 1000. The greater the number of parts, the more diluited this costs are. We are open to evaluate any part that the comunity might need replacement or upgrades, given that they fit on our current equipment capabilities. But if you want a personal project being done just for you, does not really make sense.