Prewound Bobbin Thread

[Beckie]

I would like some input on what type of prewound bobbins to use for my Amaya - I've only had my machine for little over a month (purchased used through Beacon) I've had some false bobbin breaks and I want to make sure I am using the correct bobbin thread, especially when I am trying to embroider small letters. I have been using the prewound NEC bobbins and it seems somewhere I read that is not a good choice. Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks as always for all of your help.
Beckie
Bee-Utiful Creations

[susan]

Hi Beckie,
I use the plastic sided, polyester NEB bobbins. They give me way less trouble than the COATS bobbins that were supplied with the machine from Melco. Less lint build up too.

Also, You might want to tighten your bobbin thread a little if you are getting false bobbin breaks.

Susan
Embroidery Station

[Beckie]

I apologize I typed NEC - it should have been NEB bobbins that I'm using - so far both Judy and Susan you say you use those - that is what I've been using - it is the polyester type I'm using. I have tried tightening my bobbin tension, added more stablizer. I've tried several things that several people told me to do - it did get better but I still had thread breaks on every letter, sometimes twice (just on a six letter word) using the Open Block at .45 and increasing the density to 5. That's why I thought I would try changing the bobbin thread possibly. I must be making it harder than it is because I've seen plenty of embroidered letters less than 1/2" in height done on shirts and things.

[Judy]

AH, the next save - try going slower?

Hooped tighter than tight?

Layer of solvy on top?

Underlaying with edge walk and zig zag?

Hopping on one foot while waving lit sparklers in the air and whistling Yankee Doodle Dandy?

[Rod or Sharon]

Beckie,
There is nothing wrong with using the NEB bobbins. we use them in our shop with very good results. I would venture that the difficulty you are having with the small lettering is not with the brand of bobbin you are using but with some of the other things that hat been mentioned here.

This may be a very good time to step back and run a design that will help to let you know if you are having design issues or mechanical issues.

Why don't you try running the Melco test sewout? It has your machine sew and move in about every direction it can move and use all 16 needles to do it. It also sews two full alphabets of small lettering.

To get this design loaded, select a 44x30cm hoop size and then in OS select "C" drive, Program Files, Melco Embroidery Systems, Amaya,Test Designs, Ampass and load it to the machine.

Use two pieces of medium to heavy cut-a-way backing for this test....no tear-a-way allowed ....set your presser foot all the way down and maybe up 1 click....no more.....start with a full bobbin.

Set the color sequence up as 1,2,3,4 thru 16.

Set your auto-actifeed to standard with a material thickness of 3

Set your sew speed to 1200 spm.

You should not see more than around 4 thread breaks or less.

This test assumes that everything in the machine has been taken care of in the way of lubrication. All the rollers, needle bars, rotary hook, reciprocator....anything that is suppose to have lubrication or extra tender loving care ...etc

Push the go button and document what you see happen....

This is always a process of elimination....eliminate the machine as the problem and then you can focus in on either software or more probably design issues

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[oldkush]

Hi Rod

Just curious why "4 or less" thread breaks would be acceptable for the test design you mentioned?

I think even one thread break would be too many .... or am I missing something ?

Bob

[Pure Embroidery]

I like the Coats bobbins. I tried some Madiera bobbins and I don't like those. They are not wound very well and sometimes I have to waste half a bobbin becuase of uneven winding. I've never used the NEB bobbins, so I can't compare the Coats to them.

Never had any problems with the Coats bobbins.

[signman]

We have a box of the magnetic and they are great-whenever we run into a design (usually small letters!) with lots of breaks we pop in a magnetic bobbin and it fixes it. Can't use them all the time because they cost more per bobbin, and have a LOT less thread per bobbin-I think around 20% less or something-so again, you use more bobbins and spend more $$ for the same thread.
We tried the melco 'cheapy' bobbins-forget it! Nothing but garbage-won't try to save THAT expense again. And black bobbin thread-is the worst. Not the best quality thread used to make black bobbins. Period.

[Russell Silva]

Roland,

The magnetic bobbins have the same amount of thread as a regular bobbin, there is just less bobbins per box. If you do the math, the cost of the Fil-Tec magnetic bobbins and Coats Trusew are a little over $0.28 a piece, NEB bobbins are a little over $0.22 a piece, according to the Melco catalog. If you think the magnetic bobbins work that much better and therefore saves time, why wouldn't you use them for everything? I like NEB bobbins better then anything I have tried so far, my second choice would be Robison Anton bobbins.

[signman]

We found that the magnetic bobbins we tried definitely have a lot less thread on them, and fewer per box. I can't remember exactly which design, but we knew how many bobbins per numbr of sewouts it took-and we were changing the bobbins more often-I think we had figured it out to about 20% less thread per bobbin.
Enough that being a damncheapyankee we decided to just use them for when needed.
Yes, they work better if a design runs into a lot of breaks-the extra 'drag' of the magnetic core keeps them consistent-and you don't get the birds nest when the bobbin runs out...but it runs out with no warning-so you get a lot of loose sewing when you realize it!
Have to keep an eye on the machine a little closer at the end of the bobbin.
So it's really not 'cost'...pennies don't amount to much-it's just personal preference. Once we get down to the bottom of the regular bobbins and need to reorder-several boxes to go-we may decide to just go magnetic completely since we do no high volume work at all, and a box of bobbins lasts for months.
Roland

[Russell Silva]

Most bobbins have 232 yards on them and the magnetic bobbins have 235 yards, if you are getting less designs out of the magnetic bobbins you must be running them looser them regular bobbins, I have run both and did not find there to be a difference in the amount of designs that I could sew with a single bobbin, you do have to adjust the bobbin case when you switch from one brand of bobbin to another.

[Juli in Kona]

>>you do have to adjust the bobbin case when you switch from one brand of bobbin to another.

Really? How much? Which way? I just hate fooling around with bobbin tension!

Juli in Kona

[Russell Silva]

If you have been to training you should have learned the drop test to check bobbin tension, I only do that when I switch from white to black and from brand to brand, the amount you have to adjust and which way depends on the thickness of the thread. Not all thread is the same, if brand A has thicker thread then brand B then your tension could change dramatically.

[Rod or Sharon]

Bob,
Hummm, How did I know that someone would come up with that very question? I did not say that it was , as you put it, "aceptable." It puts the machine through some tough tasks.

Well, lets put it this way. That is a test design but it is groomed to run well also. It, as I mentioned in my post, "assumes" that the operator has taken care of "all" of the other "varibles".
Can you think of what some of these varibles might be? Thread type and brand and condition, needles, needle orientaion, needle depth, hook timing, presser foot height, lubrication, roller condititon, type of material, static buildup, loose hooping, humidity, machine speed, design digitizing, should I go on?

For me to post that one would not see "any" thread breaks on this design, or any design for that matter, without being right there in front of the machine and "knowing all of the "varibles" have been taken care of would be foolish. Thread breaks, unfortunately, are a part of the "real" world of embroidery, aceptable or not.

I agree with you, even one thread break is too many, but that just is not living in the "real" world of embroidery. There are just too many varibles.

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Russell Silva]

Correction on the bobbin yardage, it is 132 yards and 135 yards. It must have been to early in the morning