#16 needle cylinder

[Jeff Shaw]

Hello everyone.. I just finished my training on the AMAYA XT. I came home set up my machine and embroidered a small design. I set my hoop to a larger one then what was in the machine. Everything was going fine until I reached the bottom where the #16 needle cylinder hit the hoop and I found the needle was bent. I stopped the machine, removed the bent needle and noticed that the needle cylinder is down and won't go up. I can slide it up or down but it does hit on the footer. I removed the cover plate behind the thread and when I slide the needle rod all the way up two things happen; 1. It comes back down. & 2. the little allen screw compared with the other when all the way up is slightly down. I would appreciate anyone's help. And yes they did teach us how to trace, unfortunately I did not do that.
Thanks
Jeff

[sschroed2]

Which ever needle the presser foot is on will be slightly lower than the rest. This is normal.

[Jeff Shaw]

Okay, but the needle cylinder moves freely like there is no spring on it. I push it up and it falls back down.

Thanks

Jeff

[Rod or Sharon]

Jeff,

There is a possibility that you may have broken the lower portion of the reciprocator jaw. If you are on needle 16, you can remove the black upper arm cover to the left of the needle case and get a good look at the jaws, needle bar and needle bar clamping stud. The stud should be trapped inside of the reciprocator jaws so that the reciprocator can pull it up and down.... You can look at your parts CD to get an idea of how the parts actually look....

Look carefully for any broken pieces of metal, they won't be large so check carefully.....at this point my gut feeling is that the reciprocater jaw was fractured with the hit.

It is always important to use the correct hoop and select the proper designated hoop in OS and do a trace....bad things can happen when you don't.....

If it is broken, a tech call is in order, as it means needle case removal, etc, etc.......

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Shuffletown Embroidery]

This may be something you already understand, but if the machine doesn't know the correct hoop size, it will not recognize if the design is out of limits. Ask me how I know this. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Good luck with getting your machine back in service.
Mary

[Jeff Shaw]

I can't seem to find the black upper arm cover to th left of the needle case. I guess the best thing for me to do is to call Melco and ask for their assistance. I hope there is a tech near Vermont.

Thanks

Jeff

[Rod or Sharon]

Jeff,

Look at the Parts CD and type upper arm cover, left, in the search and it will direct you to the part so you can see what it looks like....

It is the only black item behind the needle case, there are two of them, a left side and a right side, and they are plastic, has 4 screws that holds the left side on and has a tracking groove that goes across the face of it horizonially that the needle bar studs track in.....

Rod springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[Jeff Shaw]

Rod,

Thanks for your assistance, I will call Melco and have them help or send a tech.

Jeff

[signman]

Jeff, your nearest tech as far as I know is Brian, out of Manchester NH area.
I just sent you a message...if you want Brian's phone number email me or call me.
I also had the reciprocator cam snap in half...Brian walked me through the 'diagnosis' over the phone, had the new part on the way that afternoon and he was here within 2 days to fix it.

Roland

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Jeff,
This does sound like your reciprocator has been broken. This doesn't happen everytime you hit a hoop but it's a 50/50 shot. Unfortunately, this won't be covered under the warranty aggreement. Just be prepared if/when you get a bill.
Try to get your tech on the phone before he or she comes out. Ask them if they are ordering any parts in preparation for this repair.
As for the black upper arm covers, you can see these from across the room. You really can't miss them. They're approximately 7 inches across and about 4 inches tall. You see them when standing in front of the machine. If your needle case is on needle 16, then you will really only be looking at the left one. Because the needlecase will be in front of the one on the right. You will want a bright flashlight when looking inside of the machine. Make sure you don't make matters worse by color changing the needlecase with either of these black plastic covers off the machine.
Good Luck,
Ed Orantes
Melco Tech & Trainer
504-258-6260

[signman]

With a new machine he should be covered unless the terms of warranty changed-our reciprocator broke in half and it was well into the 2nd year-warranty covered it completely.
When he removed the part-it was obvious there was a flaw in the casting so there was no question about 'operator error'-it was 'fer shure' a defective part.
Never hurts to ask! And read the warranty fine print.

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Manufacturing Defect, no problem. That's what the warranty is for.
If customer makes a mistake and sews into the hoop and the reciprocator breaks, then that's a Melco call.
I'm all for helpin' a brother out when possible but we customers (I own two Amayas also) make mistakes, we can't expect Melco to pay the costs associated. It was clear to me that he had set the hoop size to one that was larger than what was on the machine. This was common practice when sewing on older machines such as the EMC line, but tracing the design within the hoop before sewing was always a necessity. Can't begin to tell you how many bent or broken presser feet I have changed as a result of this habit.
I look forward to the day that the machine will be able to detect what hoop is actually on the machine at any given time. I understand some of the home machines have this incorporated into them,... maybe someday we'll see it on Amaya's too.
As for helpin' out a brother, as others can attest, call me anytime and I'll do my best to help out.
Ed Orantes
Melco Tech & Trainer
504-258-6260

[Judy]

AMEN to the hoop size detection thing! I had it on my Singer XL1000 in 2002. What a shock I had when I got the Amaya and it wasn't there! It was sheer luck I didn't spend a small fortune once or twice.

[signman]

One thing I picked up from in training, and because we switch between hats and hoops and speedframe, any design gets automatically traced first.
Cross our fingers we don't forget and cause damage but it's gotten to be a good habit.

[Jeff Shaw]

Well everyone, thanks for all of your replys you have been helpful. Yes it is the Reciprocator Assembly which did break and it is not covered under warranty because it was my error. A very costly mistake for me to learn on the first time embroidering. Well that is life, as long as we learn.

Thanks again, I do have Brian Kirk coming in a week to take care of it.

Jeff