Jackets with Seam

[Knehmer]

HELP! I had a tech here on Monday for four hours. Cleaned everything, lubed everything, ran the AMPAS test--all was good. Got one coat done yesterday then had constant thread breaks. He came back today (for free) and checked everything out. We then ran part of the design on a coat (which will be trash), and it was working great when he left. Now I have constant thread breaks--seems to me it's the seam. I can do these jackets on my semi-commercial six needle, no problem--why can't I get them to run on the pricier, better Amaya XT?

[levelbest]

Check to make sure actifeed is set to auto and that the lower limit is set properly as well.

[Rod or Sharon]

Where is you presser foot set at?

What setting is your "auto-lower limit" set to?

How is the bobbin tension?

What kind of a coat are we talking about? How thick?

Polyester thread or rayon thread?

I would say that you need to run Ampass at this time. If when properly set up the machine will sew Ampass, then it should be able to sew the coat without difficulty as long as the machine is adjusted for the garment being sewn on and the design is properly digitized. Ampass is found in C drive, Program files, Melco, Amaya, test Designs, Ampass. A 44 X 30 cm hoop is required. At least two layers of med heavy weight backing hooped very taut so there is no flagging of the material. Presserfoot all the way down or possibly up one click. In Settings, Threadfeed, the auto lowerlimit should be at 1 when using auto acti-feed that is. No burrs on the needles and needle orientation all correct. Machine speed set at 1200. Hook timing correct.

You have to remember one thing, your 6 needle machine works much differently than the XT. The XT is a computer fed thread process and the 6 needle is a tension process. The XT is much more precise in the amount of thread being laid down and therefore will sew columns narrower and stitches tighter. An over simplification for an explanation, yes, but if you want a column 1/8th inch wide, that is exactly what the computer will give you. It is up to you to program in pull compensation to allow for shrinkage, depending on the type of material being sewn on to compensate for these changes.

Rod Spinger
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

It could be the needle on the machine.
What size needle are you sewing with on the Amaya?
A heavier needle (80/12) will help out when sewing on a seam. Make sure it's a sharp point as well.
It would have been good if you had attempted to sew on this type of jacket when the tech was there. That way the tech could have helped troubleshoot this issue.

Ed

[Knehmer]

I'll check on the needle size. I did sew on it with the tech here...but you know how that goes sometimes--works when they are here and then the machine senses their leaving...

Kathy

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Kathy,
My thoughts here is that the needle may be deflecting when it hits the hard seam. Deflecting (bowing) needles is definitely a no-no in embroidery. Loose hooping and improper backing can also be attributed to this. Referred to as "flagging".
The Amaya has an adjustable presserfoot whereas your Six needle machine has a fixed presserfoot. (adjustable under the covers)
It could be a combination of the presserfoot holding the fabric in place by squeezing it against the needle plate which would reduce shifting of the fabric and possibly a slower sewing speed which allows you to sew this design on these jackets. Faster sewing speeds can attribute to needle deflection if the garment isn't held real tight in place.

The presserfoot is designed to only prevent the fabric from lifting up from the needle plate when sewing should the fabric "hang on" to the needle due to reasons like a thick or dense fabric or design. If the presser foot happens to pin the fabric against the needleplate which minimizes shifting of the fabric, it's an unintended benefit.

Another issue you might be having if you are getting thread breaks when sewing on the seam is the incosistent thickness of the fabric in combination with your thread feed "acti-feed" settings. Although this would be more prevelant if you were sewing along the seam, side to side from the thick side to the thin side of the seam.

Ed