Editing ZAP Paintball (section)

== Paintball products ==

=== Paintballs ===

Paintball ammunition was ZAP's principal product category.

The company marketed ammunition for recreational and competitive use, including products intended for organised tournament competition.

Documented historical product ranges included:

* '''Performance Plus''' – Paintballs supplied as part of tournament sponsorship and prize programmes.
* '''Pro Series''' – Tournament ammunition used in World Paintball Federation events.
* '''Chronic''' – Tournament paintballs marketed by ZAP by 2002.
* '''AMP''' – Paintballs included in the company's 2002 product range.
* '''Tork''' – A paintball range announced during the 2002 World Cup.

[3][5][9]

The ZAP name has remained in commercial use for paintball ammunition under later ownership.

Products marketed under the brand have included Cryptic, Attak and Chronic paintballs.[10]

=== Mach 404 loader ===

In 2001, ZAP introduced the '''Mach 404''', an electronically assisted paintball loader developed with the involvement of [[Aldo Perrone]], the founder of [[Brass Eagle]].

The loader used a vibrating pendulum mechanism to agitate paintballs and help prevent feeding interruptions.

Unlike conventional motor-driven loaders with rotating paddles, the Mach 404 used an eccentric motor weight to move a suspended agitator inside the hopper.

The product was introduced at the 2001 International Amateur Open and reviewed by ''[[WARPIG]]'' in September of that year.[4]

The design was subsequently documented in United States patent 6,418,919, issued on 16 July 2002.[11]

=== Electronic marker development ===

ZAP also explored the development of electronic paintball markers.

At the 2001 International Amateur Open, Aldo Perrone presented the proposed '''ZXS-600E''', a lower-priced electronic marker using a combination of moulded polymer and metal components.

Contemporary reporting described it as an attempt to bring electronic markers to a broader recreational market.[12]

Patents assigned to ZAP during this period document further development of electronically operated paintball marker mechanisms.[13]