I am running some structured caps and I am breaking a lot of needles. I am looking for a better solution. Do the titanium really hold up better? Silicone spray? What size should I be using?
Thanks. I am new to embroidery sorry for all the questions.
Traditional problem when working structured caps.
There is a bunch of ares at consider;
1 HOOPING is your first focus. If you are getting any flagging (movement of the cap down from needle pressure because it rides above the needle plate). The cap needs to be riding over the needil plate or as close as possible, ideally right on the plate to mitigate this issue.
Most machines will have a different style needle plate for caps and flats. The cap plates are generally taller (higher).
A rube Goldberg fix.....We used to take a strip of plastic like the plastic you cut from real cheap flimsey school folders. The plastic is flexible and very slippery. Cut, fit, open a hole to comfortably clear needle and thread, lay over you needle plate and hold doen with electrical tape wrapped over the top of the piece.
POSSIBLE FIX....work on your hooping
THIS COULD BE A BIG HELP...if you have a cap press press the cap first to even up and soften the buckrum.
Structured caps are simply a PITA. The buckrums present multiple curves to the machine from one side to the other, top to bottom, and especially across the center seam. the cap to needle plate distance is constantly changing as the desigh sews across the cap.....PITA.
Buy good hoops there are two general types that come standard with common machines, 270 degree frames and wide cap frames pics below. EMS HOOPTECK make some nice cap frames but bring your checkbook
https://www.hooptechproducts.com/cap-frames/2 the cap style has a bunch to do with it. The thickness of the buckrum , stiffness of the buckrum even the weave of the buckrum is a factor, example buckrum weave like screen mesh... a 120 mesh print screen vs a 230 mesh print screen so to speak.
Sometimes it is more the cap style and construction than anything else.
Use 75-11 needles and SLOW DOWN YOUR MACHINE, the videos we see of some machine sewing caps at 800- 1000 RPM is BULL SQUIRT.
It doesent happen in our world.
Turn your needle about 3-5 degrees to the right when you are looking straight at the needle at the front of the machine.Normally we set the long groove of the needle straight forward but the thread actually rides down to the needle slightly offset to the right. This will help the thread path through the needle.
DIGITIZING IS BIG PLUS OR MINUS ..........
Cap designs are digitized real differently that flat designs. You generally cant pull a Dakota Collectibles motorcycle design generally designed for flats and throw it on a cap and get good results. There are exceptions but you have to have a whole bunch og the other factors going your way.
Thread...Polyester thread thread is far better than Rayon thread when it comes to caps.
We used initially Isocord brand and switched to Maderia. Isocord was a problem generally because the poly core was so strong the outer poly thread form would frizz away but the machime would keep running on the thread core stiching away a mess that was a nightmare to clean up.
At the end of it all there is one basic cosmic element about embroidered caps there are those in the universe that do them well and then there are those that simply cant get it right...WE were in the can't get it right group and stopped taking orders for STRUCTURED cap initially and then just caps in general.
Hope some of this drool helps .
mooseman
