Thumb screws on rail for hat attachment

[SkyLinePrints]

hi everyone,

i had the weirdest thing happen this weekend.

i was running hats and the two half dollar size thumb screws that hold the slide rail to the sew arm broke off. I was running a hat design and heard a new sound. Turned to look and the two screws were laying on the bottom of the machine sheared off.

I've called Melco and they are shipping me new ones but I would really like to hear if anyone else has run into this problem?

Thanks in advance.

[Fabrications]

YES! We had this exact thing happen in August or September. When I asked Melco if this was common, he said that they were aware of a 'bad' batch of screws that seemed to be weaker than they should be...and apparently machines were shipped out with this batch of screws.

Note that replacing them on that bar will require you to remove the 2 roll pins...and that was no easy task! Luckily we found a work-around for it and got the new screws installed easily.


Good luck!

[Mother Lode Custom Embroidery]

I had the same thing happen to me a few moths ago.

When I called Melco, they said it was probably from over tightening, but I think it is from the strain of the hat frame moving. The one it happened to is the XT that is set up only for hats since I purchased it over a year ago and I have never adjusted them since I received it.

[Steve I]

They make the thumbscrews out of softer material so the threads in the t-nut do not strip. I had several break so I replaced them with allen head machine screws. It takes a little longer to install and remove them but I have not had a problem with them coming loose and the shaft moving forward during sewing since.

You don't have to remove the roll pins to replace them just the allen heads on the end of the fixture.

Steve I
Trinity Embroidery

[SB's Embroidery & More]

We have had several break and is getting very irritating. I had a tech tell me he replaced his with the machine screws. Can you please tell me what size allen head machine screws are used?

And what is the roll pins?

Thanks in advance!
Sharon

[Fabrications]

Roll pins are the tiny hollow tubes that hold the 2 silver bars in place. The tech walking me thru it on the phone told me the roll pins had to be removed in order to move the silver bars out of the way for inserting the new screws. That was an impossible task. We ended up removing other screws with an allen wrench and it worked just fine; the new screws went in problem free after we figured that out!
Good luck!

[SB's Embroidery & More]

Steve,

Do you remember what size allen head machine screws you used?

Sharon

[SkyLinePrints]

Sharon,

I found the size needed is 4mm by 16mm. However, my local Home Depot and Lowes did not have them. I tried to find this past weekend as I was down but had to wait till I got the new parts from Melco today.