QUOTE (SpellBinder @ Jul 3 2017, 01:13 PM)

And what's wrong with having a singular gas vent as an accessory and barrel extension, like
this? Same principle on revolvers where you've got a minuscule gap between cylinder and barrel, or barrel & vent in this example on a minigun.
(Relatively) short answer:
It could work in principle. But you'd have to have two very difficult problems solved.
The first very difficult problem is that your barrels would have to line up perfectly (to within a thousandth of an inch or better) with the gas venting system every single time, or your gas venting system would not last very long nor work very well. You could certainly invent a locking structure that ensures that, perhaps by locking the venting extension to the barrel every time, but you would run into a problem then that the whole system becomes slower and more complex. Theoretically possible. Practically dubious.
The next problem is that the whole reason for a minigun in the first place is to mitigate the effects of sustained fire on the barrels themselves. Try shooting fifty rounds in fairly rapid succession from a revolver with an unshrouded barrel, then feel the barrel. Quite warm, right? Now imagine what would happen to the venting system.
It would make more sense to cut vents into the front of each barrel in the minigun, as you might do on a revolver.