Breaking Needles

[B&S Enterprises]

I am trying to embroider on caps that we have not done before. A customer brought in a box of Pacific Headwear #404 caps for us to embroider. I have broken three needles (75x11 and 70x10). One broke on the first stitch. The underlay started stitching fine until the first needle break. These caps have a very stiff lining. It feels like extra heavy starched material. The mare rial on the front of the cap has started to push through the lining inside the cap where the needle punches through. Any ideas?

[Juli in Kona]

I'd make sure I was using sharps.

Juli in Kona

[Dorothy Compton]

If you have a cap press try heating the cap to relax the cap a bit. If you don't have a press, rub the cap a bit with your hand to relax it a bit. Good luck!

[lfrazier]

Are these flex fit? I have a Big Red and have never been able to successfully stitch these hats without needle breaks.

[B&S Enterprises]

Yes we have a cap press and yes they are flex fit, but we solved the problem by adjusting the Acti-Feed Pressure to 12. Now it runs at 700 SPM without a hitch. Thanks for your input. I will try to remember them the next time.

[Nalo_b]

Yes I usually break needles if the actifeed is set too low. You can here a kind of popping noise if the actifeed is too low. The thread pulls the needle slightly and it hits the needle plate.

[B&S Enterprises]

Yep! But I hope I learned my lesson.