loose thread

[GailForce Designs]

I need help! My machine had been going along fine, but now all of a sudden the thread won't stay threaded. I start a design and the thread comes out of the needle, but the machine doesn't recognize that its unthreaded and keeps going. I thought it was something with that needle so tried a different design using a different color on a different needle and the same thing happened again. Has anyone experienced this and what did you do to fix it?
Thanks,
Natalie

[Dorothy Compton]

Check your bobbin....it may not be catching the thread. This will typically happen close to the end of a bobbin. Just pull the bobbin thread a bit out and keep going. Hope this is the solution.

Dorothy Compton, Owner
Bee Embroidered
www.BeeEmbroidered.com
(916) 635-7467

[GailForce Designs]

The bobbin is 3/4s full, so not near the end of it at all. Any other suggestions of what to check?
Natalie

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Natalie,
We just had a member with a similar problem and their presser foot wasn't lowered all the way down. Have you checked this? Are your needles in straight forward? Is your bobbin tension too tight?
A few thoughts.
Ed Orantes

[GailForce Designs]

Hi Ed,
I adjusted the presser foot three times to see if that was it, it still did it at each height. My needles are in straight with a slight turn to the right. I had checked the bobbin with the "drop down" technique and it fell out of the case so I turned the screw a little bit just so it would stay in. Still having the problem -- anything else I should check?
Natalie

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Natalie,
When troubleshooting this type of problem, regardless of an Amaya or XT, the presser foot should be ALL the way down. So checking at various heights won't do any good.
As for your bobbin case, if the bobbin spool falls out of the bobbin case when checking tension, you are probably checking it with the thread in the little "pig tail spring". This is not the correct way to check this. When you hang it from the pig tail spring, the bobbin case is on an angle and this allows the spool to fall out. You must check your tension at the point just before you pass the bobbin thread through the pig tail spring. Tension should be at the point where the bobbin case doesn't drop on it's own but with the slightest up and down motion would cause it to slip down the thread a little and then when you stop, the bobbin case stops it's descent.

Ed Orantes
Melco Tech & Trainer
504-258-6260

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Natalie,
What do you consider a slight turn to the right with respect to your needles?
I've had customers who have said the exact same thing and slight for them was at a 45 degree angle. I tell all my customers to insert their needles straight forward. If the needle happens to turn to the right a hair, that's fine but if the needle happens to turn to the left, that's a major No No. Needles can sometimes rotate in the needle clamp when tightening due to how the screw is touching the needles. Others won't rotate at all. It is up to the operator of the machine to verify the needle is in straight forward.
Imagine for a moment... a small dog is jumping through a hoop. If the dog is perpendicular to the hoop, he will have the largest opening possible within the hoop. If you rotate the hoop on any angle, then the space within the hoop the dog has to jump through gets that much smaller.
The reason you've heard folks say to turn your needles slightly to the right is because thread in wound around the spool in a counter clockwise direction. This is universal for the industry. (I have seen some spools wound opposite) The winding of the thread can sometimes have an effect on it so that it wants to turn slightly to the right behind the needle when it's forming it's loop. So we as the operator turn the needle slightly to the right to move the loop of thread slightly to the left so that the loop of thread is perpendicular to the rotary hook as it's supposed to be.
In short, if your thread is new and straight, keep your needles straight. If your thread is curly (like when you are getting close to the end of a spool), then maybe rotate your needle a tiny bit to the right in an attempt to solve thread bread or thread fray problems.
Whewww. Now I'm out of breath!
Sorry to be so long winded.

Ed Orantes

[Rod or Sharon]

Natalie, when you check your bobbin, don't have the thread in the little pigtail--just into the slot. At that point, you should have to give a little jerk to get the bobbin to drop approx. 5-6 inches at a time---not loose so it falls.
Sharon

[Rod or Sharon]

Natalie,

At the start of this discussion you said..."but the machine doesn't recognize that its unthreaded and keeps going."

Nobody has mentioned going into Settings and checking to see if "Bobbin Thread Detection and/or All Thread Detection", has been unchecked.

The machine should not "keep running" if the thread pulls out. Either the threadbreak sensor is malfunctioning or the detections have been turned off.

And Ed mentioned something about """thread bread"""....hummmmm.....never thought thread could be used for that....must be one of those down South Louisiana things.

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Sorry Natalie,
I type too fast for my own good.
Ed

[smt by debbie]

Ed,

Never worry about being long winded. You and others are a wealth of information. I learn so much from your postings.

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Thanks Debbie.

[GailForce Designs]

Hi Ed,
To back up to Friday's discussion, let me answer your questions. I was adjusting the presser foot height because being the depth of the design changed. It was the background design, then text on top then stitching around the outside edge. So when doing the text it had to be raised one notch higher and then the outside edge had to go down two notches for it to be 'all the way down' on the material.
My slight right is literally a slight right, barely noticeable, but it is slightly right.
I did call Melco Tech Support on Friday and to answer Rod's thought we did check "Bobbin Thread Detection and/or All Thread Detection" and it was checked.
My only thought is, this all happened 32 bags into a 35 canvas bag run that had been going along smoothly, BUT I was using adhesive back stabilizer for the first time on my machine -- could that have caused the problem? I did read in the manual that if you use a spray adhesive, which I'm assuming my adhesive back stabilizer would have the same properties, that you may need to clean the rotary hook area with WD40. Does this sound like something I should try?
Thanks,
Natalie

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

Natalie,
Personally, I wouldn't spray WD40 in the rotary hook for the spray factor. It simply makes a mess.
It's true that the thread path (including rotary hook) must be smooth and clean as it was when the machine was new. If your machine is getting to a point where it's so nasty that it's affecting the sewing quality, then you do want to keep it clean. If I were to clean a rotary hook, I use a tooth brush, small straight bristle brush for picking, air compressor, and rotary hook oil. To get specific, I might rotate the rotary hook by hand while doing this cleaning as well.
If sticky stuff in your rotary hook is the cause for all your problems, then you've got a lot of sticky stuff where it doesn't belong. A little bit isn't going to give you consistent problems. Consider this, dust and lint will stick to the sticky stuff and eventually it won't be sticky because it will have a dry coating of dust. If there's a lot of this stuff rolling around, chances are the excess will be pushed to the side or work it's way out.

We've been talking on this subject long enough that I forgot your original problem.
Okay, I read the first post....
I have seen where if the machine's thread break detection doesn't respond you might have to do a forced download. This is not tricky at all. Click on "Tools", "Options", "Ethernet" and then check the box that says "Force Download". Turn off machine and software and then turn on software first, then turn on machine after you get the grey screen on the PC. Be sure to turn this feature off when we are done.
As for your thread coming out of the needle, I'm curious of your thread feed system.
If you give me a call in a couple of hours, I will be able to talk you through a couple of things.
Sincerely,
Ed Orantes
Melco Tech & Trainer
504-258-6260

[Joanna W.]

Natalie and Ed,
If you figure this out on the phone please post the results. I have been following eagerly because I'm having the same difficulty this weekend with the thread pulling out of the needle when I start to sew. I thought I had it figured out after get some loose thread out from under the needle plate but I'm still having the same problem.
Thank you!