as the day goes on

[samme]

Hi there! ok so the first item I embroider in the morning goes by without a thread break but next one has 2 and it gets worse from there. Any suggestions that don't involve a really big hammer?! I've rechecked my bobbin tension, letter density, hoop tension, material thickness, presser foot height and changed backings. but what kills me is the first one stitched without a problem. What now?

[Juli in Kona]

I have noticed on occasion that my machines get better behaved as the day goes on. You, on the other hand, started out good, and then things started to deteriorate. Why? That is the question. I think it is the oil/grease. In your case, after running the machine awhile, thing warmed up (all that friction) and the grease is not lubricating well enough anymore. In my case, things warm up and the grease is migrating to areas that need it. This is, of course, only my guess. Something has changed - but what? Not the settings, not the thread, not the needle- not between one run to the next-, not the design (same ol' design). So what has changed from one run to the next. The only thing I can think of is the temperature. Temperature affects the viscosity of the lubricants, and the lubricants affect the quality of the run. Have I got that right?

The other thing that can be happening is that something is heating up in the electronics and causing a slight problem. It still works, but not well. I know that sometimes when my machine trims, I end up with a very short thread! It is out of the needle and out of the hole above it and is about 2 inches shore of the hole. So about 6" short. 6" is a whole lot to be short! How can it do that? What is happening? I think it is the actifeed. I think it is off.

Think about it. Sometimes I have a thread break - and not just break, but snaps so loud that it makes me jump! So what is that? It is not enough thread being fed. That is the actifeed. What is causing it? Either the electronics or the mechanics. There is nothing else - one or the other. And I have never, in all the time I have been on this list, heard of anyone, owner or tech, speculate that the actifeed might be the problem. And that is electronic - with the one exception that it may be the lubrication. I personally think that we don't lubricate enough.

So, my suggestion is to snap off the red wheel and clean it out and put a glob of grease in there and slap it back on. Can't heart at any rate. You could also change needles - change your thread over to a different needle. And, while you are at it, oil the needle shaft.

Juli in Kona

[debndukes]

Wow, Julie, that was very thought provoking. It was a very Zen answer to a very non-Zen question. I love it! [img]redface.gif[/img] )

[samme]

Thank you so much! I'm going to try it right now! I love being able to have help when I feel helpless!!Have a good one!
Samme

[Juli in Kona]

Just my frustration leaking out. Not much into Zen, just to getting my blankety blank machine to run without mistrims and without 25 thread breaks in on 782 stitch design! Am I asking too much?

Juli in Kona

[Steve I]

Julie,

Read your advise and go from there. Maybe your machine wants a day or two off. I swear these things have a personality. Try dealing with 8 of them at once. LOL. Have a happy new year and enjoy the weather and big waves.

Steve
Trinity Embroidery

[Judy]

I vote for my arch nemises -- Static Electricity. Dry air + poly thread = headaches for me! I keep a box of Counce dryer sheets around, and when the thread is feeding I hope it lightly over the actifeed wheel for about ten seconds. And before I start the project, I rub it all over the area I have hooped.

GOOD LUCK!

[samme]

Do you think it would be the hook timing? How do you tell if that is off or untimed?!

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Samme,
Hook timing is not something that commonly changes unless a major boo boo happens like getting a garment caught in the rotary hook. This abrupt stopping of the rotary hook can cause it to slip a little on it's shaft.

I noticed you had mentioned "material thickness" in one of your earlier posts. Am I to assume you are running a Non-XT Amaya with software from before 2006????

When was the last time you had a technician give the machine a "once over" to check all the fine points of the machine?

Ed Orantes
Melco Tech & Trainer