by David Trumble
Are you one of the elite, one of the special few, who enjoy doing embroidery?
Tashima and Happy are popular commercial brands, while Janome and Brother dominate the home market.
Many home embroidery machines combine computerized sewing machines with advanced embroidery features. Others are stand alone models that use one, two, or six needles.
Commercial units are stand alone multi-needle machines controlled by computers. Several machines may be ganged or networked together and controlled by a single computer. Or they may be individual machines. Their smaller home or cottage industry sisters include machines that use one, four, or six needles.
A central computer reads a digital design and sends instructions to the embroidery machine one stitch at a time. The movement of the frame and the needle work together to form the design. The machine sews one set of stitches ascribed to a given color. Then it stops. It aligns a new pre-threaded needle and continues to stitch.
I remember the first time we demonstrated a home embroidery machine. Everyone was awestruck by the machine sewing by itself. It is awesome what they can do, but they can be a bit ominous to the novice technician.
Another look at the embroidery machine, reveals that it is essentially a single stitch sewing machine with a moving hoop assembly. Each time another needle assembly engages, it forms another single stitch sewing machine.
When you think of your embroidery machine as a single stitch sewing machine, you can treat it the same way as you would a single stitch sewing machine.
The number one cause of malfunction and problems in your embroidery machine is dirt. More precisely, the problem is neglect. When dirt, gunk, and lint are permitted to collect, they cause problems. When you fail to remove dried out and crystallized lubricants, they cause problems. When you fail to keep your machine clean and properly lubricated, it will eventually fail.
The embroidery machine user should focus on servicing three areas of their machine: the bobbin area, each needle bar area, and the hoop assembly.
User service consists of cleaning these three areas every three to four hours of sewing. To loosen dirt and crusty deposits, you can use a probe or small brush. To remove loosened gunk, you can use an air compressor, canned air, or a specially equipped vacuum. When you have cleaned an area, lubricate the area with high quality sewing machine oil.
It is important to replace your embroidery needles frequently. Special titanium needles may last up to ten or twelve hours of use, but ordinary embroidery needles should be replaced every three to four hours. Avoid dull, bent, or needles with burrs.
When push comes to shove, rely on the experts. It is vital that you maintain your equipment in peak condition at all times, but at least once a year or ever 10,000,000 stitches have the experts provide thorough service. If the machine just wont work, rely on the pros.
Tags: central computer, commercial brands, elite one, embroidery features, gunk, home embroidery machine, home embroidery machines, janome, lint, lubricants, machine sewing, needle machines, needle work, needles, sewing machines, single computer, single stitch, stitch sewing machine, stitches, tashima
