XT Sewing poorly

[YDCustom]

First, I am so glad I have found this forum. I have been using Amayas for the last month with no previous commercial experience and while I've had some training there is still a lot I don't know or understand.
I'm having three perhaps related problems:

1) We have frequent thread breaks. This is in part due to the fact that we are using 100% cotton thread (and I'm in the process of replacing that, but I'm stuck with it til the end of the month). BUT I can run several copies of the same design and same thread without a problem and then we start getting thread breaks all over the place. I've replaced needles, changed which needle I was sewing on (as some seem to be worse than others) and changed bobbins. Anything else to try?
2) Yesterday, my XT started skipping a lot of stitches. It would go along doing satin stitch and then suddenly jump half an inch down the design, do a couple of stitches, jump again and then we'd have a thread break, bobbin break or get a big old tangle mess on the back of the work. What the heck? I'm not even sure where to begin troubleshooting that!
3) A bit after that, the left side of my satin stitch stopped catching the bobbin thread. So I had a line of teensy straight stitches at the right hand side of the design and nothing on the left. Ideas? Do I just need to call a tech?

[GF]

Hi YDCustom, the don't like seem like mechanical issues to me. It seems more like (a) the design itself is mis-matched with the wrong materials and settings

Problem #1 seems related to thread. Try slowing the machine way down and see if that helps.

Problem #2 seems like an issue with the design. Check the design at the point where it jumps down and skips, and edit any problems in your software.

Problem #3 also sounds like digitizing.

You may consider taking additional training classes for digitizing and slight revising. Every designs seems to need tweaking depending on the materials you are using. It's never a one design fits all ... to me, these issues seem to point to the digitized design and mis-matched settings for your machines and material.

Hope this helps.

GF

[YDCustom]

GF, Thanks for the feedback. I'll try slowing the machine down (we're already at 900 but I'll slow it down some more.) and see if that helps with the thread breaks.
As for the digitizing, I only do monogramming and I'm using the alphabets that came with DesignShop. Also, I ran 2 copies of this design without a problem and then the machine started with these shenanigans. Same materials, same thread, same machine, same design...

[GF]

For the Melco alphabets, you could call Melco's technical support and run through the settings needed for that. Sometimes checking and unchecking boxes like "short stitches on" and adjusting underlay settings is all that is needed for that. They also offer online webinars for lettering. If you only do monogramming, I highly recommend this webinar class they offer through Melco University.

[Rod or Sharon]

YD,

" First, I am so glad I have found this forum. I have been using Amayas".......

Does this mean you have more than one machine and it is happening on all of them?

How old are the machines...are they XT's or Big Red standard Amaya's?

When was the last time a "COMPLETE" lubrication sequence was done on the machine(s)?

When was the last time the needleplate(s) were removed and the area cleaned well and relubricated?

Where is the presser foot height at? Should be all the way down and up one or two?

What kind of backing are you using?

Are you using auto activ-feed, if so, what is the mimimun auto activ-feed setting set at?

Are the needles oriented properly, i.e., the groove on the front of the needle slightly turned to the "right"....5 to 10 degrees?

The cotton thread is definitly an issue...which leads to the question, exactly what size and "brand" of needle are you using and what weight is the cotton thread?

As you can see, these are just some of the questions I would ask of which there are many more....you have not supplied enough information for anyone to make a proper diagnois of your problem...my gut feeling, when reading your post is that it may be a lubrication issue.....especially with the threadfeed rollers, pinch rollers, reciprocator shaft, needlebars, rotary hook and Takeup Lever Cam Disk....but if we are talking more than one machine all exhibiting the same issue....back to GF and her suspicion of design issues....

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[YDCustom]

Hi Rod,

Sorry to not have given enough info. As I said, I've only been doing embroidery like this for a month now and I'm still woefully short on knowledge. I'm only having this problem on one of our 5 machines. I've actually been running the same design successfully (no thread breaks, even!) on another machine.

The machine in question is an Amaya XT.
We had a tech (Hugo) here at the beginning of March and he replaced our trimmers and some computer parts and did a complete servicing and lubrication.
We are using a 1.5oz tearaway backing on 100% cotton sheeting.
We have acti-feed set to auto and the thread settings set to the cotton thread default.
The needles are in frontways and are oriented properly.
The needles we are using are Organ size 70/10 sharps. The cotton thread is a Tex 20.
I have no idea about the presser foot - I believed my tech when he said he had it set right... I suppose I need to figure out how to check that!

Megan

[Rod or Sharon]

Megan,

Hugo is a very good tech with considerable experience behind him.

I would still add some oil to the reciprocator shaft and the needle bars and possibly some grease to the red pinch rollers. Oil the rotary hook at the start of every day.

I would try a larger needle, like a 75/11 Organ Sharp.

Yes, you need to immediately learn about presser foot settings. It is an important feature on these machines. To visually see the presser foot move...go into Tools, Maintenance, Head Timing and click on Bottom Center. then turn the cog wheel, located behind the needlecase on the left side of the machine to visually see the presser foot move. Rotating the cog wheel counter-clockwise will lower the foot and turning it clockwise will raise it. Again, I am assuming that you are running Ver9 software? If not, Ver7 has a Maintenance tab in the toolbar...use that one.

99+ percent of your sewing can/will be done with the presser foot all the way down and up either 1 or 2 clicks. It's soul purpose in life is to hold the material down until the needle breaks free of the material on it's next upstroke. If the material is allowed to raise with the needle, it is called "flagging" and cause all kinds of grief with fraying and thread breakage....

Check and double check the orientation of the needles with a lighted magnifying glass.

Has this machine had any needle strikes on a hoop? broken needles? If so, it is possible that the hook timing may have been affected...?

Rod Springer
Amaya Tech & Trainer

[gcannon]

I would try (no-I definitely would) use standard thread feed when using cotton thread, which is very fragile especially when an Amaya gets ahold of it. I would start from the default settings that are in OS to refer to, and go from there. Under new situations I always run lots of samples>make adjustments>more samples>got it right>"commit to the cloth" & run a garment. I know samples cut into the maintenance timers "time", but to get the stuff right, I don't mind.

[The Embroidery Authority - OLD]

The eye of the needle will always be a percentage of the width of the shaft of the needle itself. Hence, a smaller needle will have a smaller eye.
I don't know anything about "Tex 20" but if the name implies that the thread is a 20 weight, it's definitely larger than the thread that should be used on these machines. 40 weight is industry standard.
If the thread gets too thick, both the eye of the needle and the rotary hook may need to be changed to accomodate the thread size.
If I were you, I wouldn't be learning how to embroider with new machines and uncommon thread. Switch back to standard commercial embroidery thread and see if your problem goes away. If so, talk with a higher authority about what to do in order to sew with your unique thread.
Good luck with that!

Ed Orantes
Melco Tech & Trainer

[Judy]

Hi there....jumping in with my two Lincoln coins.

Embroidery thread that is 40 weight is also tex 27 (just depends on what you use to gauge or measure it). Tex 20 would be THINNER, probably more like 60 weight. 60 weight embroidery thread is a pain in and of itself, but is great for ultra fine details. I can't imagine how fragile tex 20 cotton must be to handle! The normal thread you'll be using is 40 wt, or tex 27, embroidery thread. If you use something other than embroidery thread, you will be a-m-a-z-e-d at the amount of lint that will accumulate, because embroidery thread is lower lint than sewing thread. If you absolutely need a cotton thread, use rayon embroidery thread, 40 weight, which is a highly processed cotton.

[gcannon]

Judy- that makes sense. I just think we would need to slow waaay down- generally, we run at 1150, but I would probably start around 850 with this thread we have been talking about.

[oldkush]

Don't know if YDCustom is using cotton thread because of a particular job requirement but generally speaking, regular cotton thread is not a great choice for embroidery and can sometimes be a challenge for even seasoned embroiderers.

A quality digitized design and a well adjusted embroidery machine go a long way to making stitching with cotton easier.

Some embroiderers will use cotton thread for specific embroidery like lace but aside from that rayon or poly would be a better choice .... with poly being the most popular now.


Bob

[Gabi Kat]

I'd slow to 450-500. 850 is still too fast.
and keep the vacuum handy to keep the cotton dust down. And try a 65/9 needle.

[Juli in Kona]

Don't you need a BIGGER needle?

[Gabi Kat]

If the thread is "like" 60 weight Madriera recomends 65/9. I have had no problems "so far" using for details and small lettering on knits jersey, interlock and pique.