have you seen this issue before? any ideas? (pic)

[shellyky]

hey guys, on my newest "used" machine 1504 (2006 or 2007 i think), i'm experiencing this issue on  1, maybe 2 heads of the 4... intermittently....

PHOTO:


its just a normal fill...i did not make this file, it was done for me and it sews well on my other machines.  it will be sewing fine then all of a sudden on a needle "up", i see it's got about 4-5 strings of top thread attached to it, then it escalates into a couple lines of blobs that i have to cut out then resew...it usually makes it 2-3 more lines before i get more blobs like that happen...i couldn't even salvage this one, i had to just call it a loss and shut that head off.  id adjusted tensions on top and bobbin, i've replaced the needle (i like to sew with 80's since i do a lot of hats).  this design is currently on a twill dickies workshirt with cutaway, what you see is about 12" x 2".  it sews on a coat with no problems on the other machines even so its not a substrate issue.

Any ideas on what is causing this? its driving me nuts.  any help is appreciated.

[Denis Kolar]

Could it be bad cone of thred?

[mooseman]

there are many reasons why this could be happening.
try the following preferasbly one at a time so you can ID the root source of the problem.
#1 cahage the needle, possibly the eye area has defects roughness etc.

#2 when you install the needle rotate the thread groove in the needle front to the right about 8 - 10 degrees.

#3 check the pressure foot if it is not dropping down far enough the material will flag / bounce from the energy of the needle causing the thread to frey / fly / float . there is a guage for this, you should have one with your machine

#3A is you hoop bent or bowed this will cause the material to flagg or bounce resulting in what you describe. Possible the hoop is good but the machine frane arm is bent at that station, do a visual compare one to another acreoo all 4 heads.

#4 watch the thread as it sews, if you see a loose loop of thread between the angle hook and the needle eye the tension is off. Most likely you can correct this with the tension knob on top of the head, not the main tension and not the one on the thread rack the one in the middle.

#5 do a tension test looking or the magic 1/3 , 1/3 , 1/3 columns on the back of the material. compare the bad needle tension against a good needle on another head they should be the same.

#6 needle depth, again there is a guage for setting the needle depth, you should have one with the machine.

#7 sewing speed what speed are you sewing. We find our 4 head (1504, 2004 vintage) reactd really different when the speed is changed. there is a element called float on any mechanical device that recriprocates like a sewing machine and sometimes changing the speed slightly cam make all the difference.

#8 change the bobbin case, mark them 1- 4 and swap them and see if the problem follows the bobbin case. mark them first so you can return them to original locations just to keep from really messing things up.

#9 the dreaded hook timing and clearance. if the hook is too close to the needle you will get what you describe. If it too far away you will get missed stitches. Hook timing is an art and take a careful touch but can easily be addressed.

You can get maintenance instruction on most of the mechanical stuff above from the web site for SWF including the hook timing.

here is an example
http://www.swfeast.com/en/machinefaqs.asp?page=6
scroll down for PDF  details.
lastly Yahoo has a group SWF OWNERS where you can go and post stuff like this . there is some good experience there ( some wackos too ) and often SWF techs chime in.

Hope this helps
mooseman

[shellyky]

thanks mooseman....i did post it to the SWF yahoo group, it must need to be approved because i didn't see it yet.  i know there are a couple techs on there...

well it sounds like ive addressed most everything you listed at some point, and like i assumed, it could literally be anything LOL looks like i've got a big undertaking to address what the issue really is.... i'll check into that timing as well as the depth things and new bobbin cases maybe...my tensions appeared to be close enough on my H tests that i did when the machine came in here and i havent moved them much since then.  This machine is in good condition but it has been thru the ringer, previous owner didn't seem to take care of it as well as i would have liked.

[Parker 1]

#9 is more than likely the problem.  The machine appears to be out of time (Clearances are off causing the bobbn to not be picked up. 

[mooseman]

After owing this SWF thing from brand new i am not overly impressed. We do take very good care of it and it has low hours on it but they sure are a PITA seem like we are always chasing some issue. Fortunetaly we do very little embroidery these days and use the single head whenever we can.
based on what you say about condition i would focus on the mechanicals of the needls depth, presser foot and mostly the hook timing ESPECIALLY if you see a lot of hit marks on the hoops from the needle operation. this could have easily thrown timing off or simply bent something that acts up at the RPM you tend to run at.
By the way we suggest 650 to 750 RPM max for that kind of stitch, i know the machine will modify speed down as required and possibly this feature has been changed to boos production speed.  the SWF multi heads simply can not handle faster than that regardless of what the manufacturer says.
mooseman

[inkman996]

Timing Timing Timing! Atleast that is my first guess. It could be made even worse depending on the material as well.

[Denis Kolar]

If there is a mechanical issue, it would happen most of the time, and not every once in a while.
If you did not check the thread, id does not matter how stupid it sounds, check it again.

My tech told me that a big number of issues start with a bad thread. I had an issue with my machine on needle 3. Changed tension, needles, timing, bobbin, and nothing helped. I stopped using that needle for a few weeks because I had scheduled appointment for yearly maintenance. Tech came, asked for a different thread cone and it was fine after he changed it

Do not overlook the smallest things.

Good luck

[shellyky]

the SWF multi heads simply can not handle faster than that regardless of what the manufacturer says.
mooseman

you got that right, this year 1504 takes off like a beast at 750 (i never sew over that), compared to my other 1504 at 750 which is a year newer...so i usually sew it 100 lower than evertyhing else...about 650.  fills come in at 540 i think...  another thing that i had an issue with on a couple of colors, the needles are not centered in the presser foot---is this a big deal? i assumed it was but im not sure how to go about changing presser foot (if that is the fix)

I was told this machine had a tech gone over it before i purchased it. And indeed it had looked like it was freshly greased but who knows if they checked mechanicals...i can tell it's hit hoops as some of them are scratched up.  ive never hit a hoop in my life.

[shellyky]

If there is a mechanical issue, it would happen most of the time, and not every once in a while.
If you did not check the thread, id does not matter how stupid it sounds, check it again.

i'm in the middle of switching from ROYAL to MADERIA....i got a couple test cones, it seems to be night and day.  Also, with my new WILCOM files, these machines sew 30-50% better/fewer stops....

[shellyky]

that head's blue presser foot seems to be higher than the rest...i just checked that....so thats interesting.

[Doug B]

  I agree that it is a timing issue.

[shellyky]

  I agree that it is a timing issue.

if i'm out of time, can it be only on one head?

[Parker 1]

  I agree that it is a timing issue.

if i'm out of time, can it be only on one head?

YES.

[jasonl]

you should be able to look at the hook and see if its out of time, and if it is, you can set it yourself, no need for a tech.  there are numerous videos and tutorials on the web that will help you.  thats how i learned to set time on tajimas.