Spring Bumpers

A broad category of Bumpers that use the potential energy of a spring — either metal or rubber — to cause the ball to rebound. The category spans both passive designs, where a rubber ring’s natural elasticity provides the deflection, and active designs that incorporate an internal metal spring as part of the firing or reset mechanism. Subtypes include Compression Spring Bumpers, which use a helical compression spring to directly propel the ball. Spring bumpers appeared on approximately 180 IPDB-cataloged machines, primarily during the Electromechanical era, before solenoid-driven Pop Bumpers became the dominant bumper design.