Maintenance mats are effective not only for air gun maintenance, but also for preventing dirt from getting on floors and desks, and for preventing parts from getting lost when working on machinery.
Some people may not own a mat because you can work on machines without one, but once you use one, you'll find it so convenient that you won't want to work on anything else. If you don't have one, I highly recommend considering getting one.
I don't have any particular functional maintenance mats that I would recommend; any mat sold at a home improvement store or on Amazon will work perfectly fine, so you'll probably just choose based on size and pattern. But since we're on the subject, I'll introduce two mats with Glock and AR-15 designs that I use.
*This article aims to provide educational explanations from a mechanical engineering perspective regarding the safe hobby use of airsoft guns.
This does not promote acts of violence, the use of weapons, weapon modification, practical evaluation, or violation of laws and regulations.
Size, material
These are the two maintenance mats I'm using.
I use two of them, one in a different size, depending on the situation.
Glock pattern mat
AR-15 pattern mat
The sizes of each item are as follows:
The Glock patterned mat measures 50cm wide by 30cm tall. A Glock 17 Gen. 5 is placed next to it to give you a better sense of the size.
The AR-15 patterned mat measures 90cm wide and 30cm tall. To help you get a sense of the size, we've placed a Mk18 mod1 with a 10.5-inch barrel next to it.
The material consists of a polyester synthetic fiber surface that is oil and water resistant, and a synthetic rubber (nitrile, NBR?) backing for anti-slip properties.
The surface is made of polyester and the pattern is black, so it can also be used as a large mouse pad.
Because the entire mat is made of a soft material, you can fold or roll it up.
It can be washed; I scrub it with a neutral dish soap and a scouring pad, then let it dry.
That concludes the explanation of the maintenance mat's functionality. To be honest, as a maintenance mat, it's quite ordinary and doesn't have any particular features, but it's not a bad product and I think it's perfectly adequate (and reasonably inexpensive).
Next, let's take a closer look at the design, which is the product's greatest appeal.
Glock pattern details
Let's take a closer look at the Glock design.
Big picture.
Let's take a closer look, starting from the left.
The required information is listed below.
- Operating mechanism: Short recoil, locked breech, tilting barrel (Glock 25 and 28 use straight blowback)
- Feed system: Detachable magazines of 6, 10, 15, 17, 19, 31, or 33 rounds, or a 50-round drum magazine.
- Site: Fixed, adjustable, self-illuminating night site
Below that, there is a photo printed of a VECTOR OPTICS red dot sight directly mounted on the slide.
Next, let's look at the parts diagram.
I think it's impressive how Glock manages to have so few parts in total, only 33, even when most of the components are disassembled (significantly fewer parts than an airsoft gun).
My personal points of interest are the easily recognizable striker mechanism, the Glock's innovative technologies at the time—the trigger safety (part No. 25), the filing pin block safety (parts No. 8 and 9), and the trigger bar drop safety (parts No. 4, 22, 23, 24, and 25).
The striker-fired system and trigger safety are well-known because they are easy to understand from the outside, but the firing block safety and drop safety, which prevent accidental firing due to external impacts other than trigger operation (such as dropping), are composed of a minimum number of parts, which is truly impressive from a mechanical designer's perspective.
In my personal opinion, the Glock was a successful model because it attracted attention for its then-unusual polymer frame, striker-fired mechanism, high magazine capacity, and significantly lower cost due to polymer injection molding compared to conventional metal frames (machined from forging), resulting in a lower price. However, I believe a major factor in its success was that, in addition to these features, it was not just a quirky, cheap model, but also useful for professional use thanks to its three safety features (trigger safety, filing pin block safety, and drop safety).
If we continue like this, it'll turn into a long discussion about Glocks instead of explaining Matt, so let's move on to Matt's AR-15.
Details of the AR-15 pattern
Let's take a look at the full details of the AR-15 pattern.
Let's take a closer look, starting from the left.
The required information is listed below.
- Designer: Eugene Stoner
- Country of origin: USA
- Manufacturer: Armalite, Colt
- Production period: 1958 - present
- Operating mechanism: Direct impingement/Rotating bolt
- Feed system (ammunition feeding mechanism): Various STANG standard magazines
- Ammunition: .223 Remington, 5.56 NATO rounds
- Weight: 5.5–5.8 pounds (2.48–2.61 kg)
- Barrel length: 20 inches, 16 inches, 5 inches
- Sight: Adjustable iron sight
- Rate of fire: 800 rpm
- Ballistic characteristics - .223 Remington
- Ammunition type: 36gr (grain, 2.3g) JHP (Hollow Point) bullet; Muzzle velocity: 3750 ft/s (1140 m/s); Kinetic energy: 1124 ft-lbf (1524 J)
- Ammunition type: 55gr (grain, 3.6g) Nosler Ballistic Tip (Nosler plastic tip bullet) Muzzle velocity: 3240 ft/s (990 m/s) Kinetic energy: 1282 ft-lbs (1738 J)
- Ammunition type: 60gr (grain, 3.9g) Nosler Partition (Nosler's special hunting ammunition) Muzzle velocity: 3160 ft/s (960 m/s) Kinetic energy: 1330 ft-lbs (1800 J)
- Ammunition type: 69gr (grain, 4.5g) BTHP (Bullet-to-Head High Power) rounds (rounds with a hollow tip designed for longer range) Muzzle velocity: 2950 ft/s (900 m/s) Kinetic energy: 1333 ft-lbs (1807 J)
- Ammunition type: 77gr (grain, 5.0g) BTHP; muzzle velocity: 2750 ft/s (840 m/s); kinetic energy: 1293 ft-lbs (1753 J)
I believe bullet velocity refers to muzzle velocity, and energy refers to muzzle energy. For Japanese people who aren't very familiar with real firearms, the differences between ammunition are a fundamental and interesting topic.
Next, I will translate the following part of the photo.
The following is the translation.
The AR-15 is the original name for the M16, a military-designed assault rifle that was first used by the United States in the Vietnam War.
The name AR-15 is now primarily used to refer to the semi-automatic, commercially available civilian versions of the M16 and M4 assault rifles.
[Operating Mechanism]
The rifle's operating mechanism is known as direct gas impingement.
Gas is extracted from the barrel as the bullet passes through the gas port located above the rifle's front sight base. The gas flows into the port and through the gas tube located above the barrel, then from the front sight base into the AR-15's upper receiver.
Here, a gas tube protrudes into the “gas key” (bolt carrier key), receiving gas and blowing it onto the bolt carrier.
The movement of gas towards the bolt carrier pushes it backward towards the stock of the rifle. As the bolt carrier moves towards the stock, the bolt begins to rotate and the lock is released from the barrel extension.
Once the barrel lock is fully released, the bolt begins to move backward along with the bolt carrier. The cam pin rotates the bolt along the grooves etched into the carrier, thereby releasing the bolt lock.
Once the bolt lock is released, the bolt carrier continues to move towards the stock, extracting the empty cartridge case and ejecting it from the ejection port on the side of the upper receiver.
Behind the bolt carrier is a plastic or metal buffer, positioned parallel to a return spring that pushes the bolt carrier back towards the chamber.
A pocket machined into the upper receiver engages with the cam pin, preventing the cam pin and bolt from rotating into the closed position. Next, the bolt's locking lug pushes a new bullet out of the barrel magazine, guided by the feed ramp into the chamber. As the bolt's locking lug moves beyond the barrel extension, the cam pin rotates and engages with the pocket machined into the upper receiver. This rotational motion rotates the bolt along a groove machined into the bolt carrier, locking the barrel extension in place.
Translation complete.
The translation is rather vague, making it difficult to fully understand the operating mechanism. If you'd like to learn more about the AR-15's operating mechanism, please check out the parts diagram on this mat and search for "AR-15 mechanism" on YouTube; you'll find some easy-to-understand 3D CG videos.
Next is a photo of the lower receiver section.
The parts mentioned in the description of the operating mechanism are part No. 1 stock, No. 5 action spring (referred to as return spring in the text), and No. 6 buffer assembly (referred to as buffer in the text).
The stock has an old-fashioned look, similar to the XM177 series. Since I couldn't find a fully automatic sear, it appears to be a civilian version.
Next is a photo of the bolt carrier section.
The parts mentioned in the description of the operating mechanism are part No. 1 bolt carrier (the machined grooves shown in the text are not visible), No. 2 bolt (the tip is a bolt lug), and No. 4 bolt carrier key (referred to as a buffer in the text).
Next up is the upper receiver section.
The part mentioned in the explanation of the operating mechanism is part No. 1, the upper receiver (the machined pocket on the upper receiver is not visible).
The carrying handle and rear sight do not appear to be shown in this parts diagram.
Finally, let's look at the barrel area.
The parts mentioned in the explanation of the operating mechanism are part No. 1 barrel (the locking part of the barrel extension is not visible, nor is the feed ramp), No. 3 front sight (referred to as the front sight block in the text), and No. 5 gas tube.
The barrel looks like it's about 20 inches long.
Looking at the whole thing, it appears to be equipped with a civilian 20-inch AR-15, not a military one.
I'd like to write a little anecdote about the AR-15 here, just like I did with the Glock, but since this article is about Matt, I'll end the detailed introduction of Matt's design here.
Summary
As a maintenance mat, it's quite ordinary and nothing particularly noteworthy, but the design is quite detailed and interesting to look at.
Although this article only briefly introduces the maintenance mat, I ended up spending a lot of time explaining it with diagrams.
The mats are reasonably priced at 1500-2500 yen (according to my research on Amazon), and the quality of the maintenance mats is not bad, so I recommend them if you're interested in the diagram.
Furthermore, it can be used as a mousepad without any maintenance. The Handgun series is larger than typical mousepads, making it easy to use.
The same mat has designs for handguns such as the M1911, Beretta 92, HK USP, SIG P229, S&W M&P, XD, and Cz75, and for long guns, there are AK-47 and M870 to choose from (there may be others as well).
That concludes my review of the maintenance mat.
Chaos Airsoft Maintenance Mat Gun Disassembly Diagram
You can choose from different patterns on the Amazon website, which you can access via the link.
Chaos Airsoft Maintenance Mat Gun Disassembly Diagram Cz75
The CZ75 was on a different page than the one above.
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