Needle Breaks...ughh!!!!!!

[Kim Nelson]

I am brand new to embroidery and the Amaya XT machine. I attended training for 4 days last week and started to use my machine this week for a very big job. Unfortunately, yesterday, I was working on a wool beanie hat and it got stuck underneath in the bobbin. I ended up removing the needle plate and cutting it out of the bobbin case. After replacing everything back and checking to make sure the the needle was centered, I tried to continue to work. I kept getting thread breaks. I checked everything according to the book. Finally my husband and I noticed that the bobbin didn't go straight across, it tilted down to the right and we noticed that the arm (not sure of the exact name) look to be out of the groove at the top of the bobbin case and it did not look right. I'm thinking that maybe I had pulled it out when I was struggling to get this hat out. We detached this arm, undoing the screws on the left side and placed it in the groove, which then made the bobbin look correct. We set everything back up and then restarted the machine. I was excited to see that everything started working great, until about 1 minute in, the needle broke. I changed it, rechecked the plate, made sure it was centered, but now I'm not sure what to do. Do you think I need a tech? Or is there something else I can check. I turned off the machine, let it sit over night and tried again this morning...again, it ran for about 1 minute and then the needle broke. I saw in the manual something about resetting the optical sensor, but that says that I need tech assistance. I'm in the middle of an incredibly large job....if anyone has any suggestions, I'd hate to waste the whole weekend.....Help!!!!!

Sorry to ramble......

[Rod or Sharon]

Kim,

The curved piece that you mentioned and adjusted is the hook retaining support finger. It keeps the hook basket in position and keeps it from spinning freely. When adjusting this finger it "must" be gauged from the face of the finger to the hook basket properly. In your starter kit there is a flat metal gauge supplied for this very purpose. You have to bend the tip of the gauge slightly to be able to fit it between the support finger and the slot in the hook basket.

You also need to check your hook timing ( head timing ) to see if you have slipped/spun the rotary hook on the shaft when it locked up in the beanie. Check your manual for this information.

There are many things that may have happened....if the knife and selector working properly? Is the needle coming in contact with either of these? Is the needle oriented properly (groove forward---scarf to the rear )? Is the needle "centered" in the needle plate hole, on all 16 needles?

To keep breaking needles can also cause more damage----scarring of the rotary hook face---which will mean excessive thread breakage/fraying...etc...

You need to either turn the machine off or engage the E-Stop and turn the Z-Axis shaft over by hand to see where the needle is going, what it may be coming in contact with and determine what is causing it to hit something.....and yes it may mean a tech call if you cannot see what the problem is right up front....

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Kim Nelson]

This may sound like a dumb question but in the manual it tells you everything about how to adjust the hook timing, but how do I know what I am adjusting and what should it be?? You said I need to check to see if I have slipped/spun the rotory hook on the shaft, but I'm not sure what I'm exactly looking at.....I'm really beginning to feel like an idiot....I also have no idea what you mean by turning the Z-Axis shaft over. What is the Z-Axis? I would help if there was a diagram pointing out all these things on a picture in the manual...is there and I just don't see it? I'm really trying here. I'm beginning to think I've invested thousands of dollars and it's too technical to be trying to do this on my own, I really need some help here.

[Rod or Sharon]

Kim,
With the starter kit that came with the machine, you should have received a parts and technical CD disk. In the tech information type in "head timing", and select hook timing. There are excellent instructions and pictures of the rotary hook, Z-axis shaft and other items associated with the timing of the rotary hook.

I would have thought that in the training, there would have been a mention of the Z-axis shaft and it's location and the need to know where it is located.

Check out your Parts and Tech manual CD. Lots of good info there. It may still require a tech visit if you don't see something that just jumps out at you.

The Amaya or any commercial embroidery machine is not a "plug and play" operation. The learning curve is sometimes steep. When we first started in this business, and in the mist of some frustrating issues, we were told something that we really did not want to hear, but unfortunally it held a lot of truth. We were were told, " Mr Springer, you just have to "pay your dues."

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Kim,
In the tech manual, it is explained that along with the manual they suggest that a good number of proceedures should be done by a tech who has attended a melco technical class. In this class, all these terms you asked about are pointed out, described, and explained. This is why you're having troubles identifying the Z axis shaft, rotary hook, rotary hook support finger, etc...
Melco has two techs out of the Atlanta area where as one might be able to help you. You must also understand that it's not unusual for a tech to be booked up a week or two in advance during seasons such as this. It's a busy time for everyone. So get your call into Melco's tech support as soon as possible in the hopes of scheduling a service call.
I hate to be the one to say this but getting something caught in your bobbin area is discussed in the training class and is usually not covered by the warranty. Similar to driving a brand new car off the road and into a fence.
Best of luck to you.
Ed Orantes