False bobbin breaks

[Just Sew It]

I talked to Hugo yesterday and he helped me solve some thread break problems. Now I need some more input. Doing 6-panel mesh/back hats, structured. The top of the design is little lightening bolts. The machine (big red) stops every 50 stitches for a false bobbin break near the top of the hat. I can stand and pull the hat button down and make it sew but really don't have time for that. Using standard feed of 16. More, I get loops, less, more bobbin breaks. Anyone want to contribute?? Please.
Jo

[signman]

Set it to autofeed...not standard and it should be a big difference. Your loops are from the hat face 'bouncing' (flagging) up and down-creating loose thread because of the 16 setting-that is way too loose (at least from what techs have showed me on our big red). Pressor foot should be all the way down and back 1 click. Otherwise it lets the face bounce, creating the loops.
Digitizing should be from bottom (brim edge of face) to the top, and wherever you can, lettering or design, breakit up to sew from the center out.
When I run into 'flagging' and can't split the design to go center out, I lay down a walk stitch 'tie down' outline of the whole design (wherever I can hide it with the design) from the bottom to the top. This ties that face to your stiff backing and it will stay still and not pucker for the rest of the design.
I use a stiff tearaway backing, and watched Hugo's video (or is it Herb's? so many people with excellent help in here I lose track) and make sure
that the hat is FIRMLY pushed down on the hoop station. The only time I use standard (manual) setting is when I play around on foam front hats.

[Just Sew It]

Autofeed only works well on unstructured caps on my Amayas. And the presser foot goes all the way up and down one for most 6-panel hats. Maybe because autofeed came out after I bought my big reds. They must be 2005 early.
The false bobbin breaks occur at the top of the design even tho the design is 2.3" and done by a pro. Mesh back hats are hard to clip tight. Is there some good idea for pulling down the top toward the back of the hat?
Jo

[smeggy345o]

I have a 2004 big red and it has auto feed. I also found in my very limited experience that I need the presser foot is all the way up and then down 2 clicks.

[Rod or Sharon]

For the Big Reds, the ones with the flat topped sewing arm, IF you are using the RAISED needle plate, the correct position of the presser foot is all the way up and down 2 clicks.

IF the raised needle plate is NOT used, as many folks do, the correct position of the presser foot would be all the way down and up two clicks.

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[signman]

Ah,ha! That's who taught me how to do the hats right...good ol' Rod the day he and Sharon stopped on their way down the highway. We haven't used the raised plate since-and hats are no longer ulcer makers!
and the 'auto feed' isn't in the machine-it's in the OS program. I think it came in version 7? That's the last upgrade we put in and I think that's when we got it. Our big red turns 5 this year so it also is an early one.

[Just Sew It]

So, Rod, you are saying that I would not use the WACF and the raised needle plate, then presser foot all the way down and up 2 clicks. What cap frame are you using?
Jo

[Rod or Sharon]

Jo,

I have an old Big Red and an XT. I normally use the CCF/WAD. This hoop is not capable of sewing 270 degrees tho, so I use it for most standard front cap design logos. ALSO, do not use the wings on the cap driver with the CCF/WAD as they will impact the side of the frame with a wide design. I use the standard non-raised needle plate with this setup and the presser foot all the way down and up 1 or 2 clicks depending on the type of cap I am sewing on.

Flex-fit, Nu-fit style of caps, with some of the lots just have a huge build up of material in the bill attachment area, which causes quite a bit of poofy space above the sewing arm, no matter how tight you try to hoop the cap. On the Big Red, I sometimes will revert back to the wings and raised needle plate but I will then go with the WACF frames all the way on both machines with these caps. The XT is better for the Flex-fit problem children, as it allows the crown portion of the cap from the bill to the attachment seam to lay flatter on the sewing arm.

You just have to experiment over time with combinations to find what works best in different situations

There just isn't 1 magic formula that will cover all situations. For the most part tho, the old CCF/WAD will do the job for what I am trying to accomplish. I use the WACF on the XT.

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Just Sew It]

I think I solved the false bobbin breaks on this job on this hat style. WACF, raised needle plate, hooping as snug to the driver as possible and then pulling the mesh back down and forward to pull the top of the hat down. One Amays is all the way up and down 2 on the presser foot, the other is down one. Bobbin breaks were happening at the top of the design and nest to the center seam. I use a stiff backing. Also shrunk the design from 2.33H to 2.25 and turned off the short stitches. All is sailing along!!(knock-knock)
Thank you everyone for your input.
Jo