sewing machine from heaven

[gene]

This will be old news for the machine experts on this board. For me it was a little trip to heaven.

I saw a sewing machine the other day. They wouldn't let me touch it. LOL

It was a Juki universal feed. It had a servo motor on the lift foot. You tap the knee bar with your knee and the lift foot goes up. Tap again and it goes down.

It had a true servo motor on the machine, not a variable speed motor. Fully computerized. I think he said $5,500.00 just for the motor.

Tap a spot on the foot pedal, and it sews at a pre-determined speed. Another spot increases the speed. Again 4 times for 4 different pre-determined speeds.

Tap a spot on the foot pedal and it stops, with the needle in the down position. Tap the knee bar, the lifter goes up. Turn your fabric. Tap the knee bar. Tap the foot pedal and off you go.

Tap the foot pedal to stop - the needle is down. Tap again and the needle and lift foot goes up to pull the fabric out.

It is designed to be able to sew without ever taking your hands off the material. Obviously made for people who sew all day long.

The guy showing me it said it increased productivity 20% the first week and the sewing folks were less tired.

It was awesome to watch!


Also, when you stop your machine to pull out the material, if you put the thread take-up lever at the top position, the two threads will come out easily. There will be no need to rock the fly wheel back and forth. I didn't know this. I always wondered why sometimes the thread came out easily and other times it didn't.

"Learn to sew your cushions right, that will be the hardest part of upholstery." Al Chambers, Upholsterer.

gene

[Mike8560]

Sounds like s cool machine 
I'll stick with my trusty 111w for now  $5500 motor bow mi h was the head I wonder.

[baileyuph]

Interesting Gene,
I have never seen this type of automation, still it is concievable.  The capability just explained is very close to not requiring an operator.  I have read where domestic seaming doesn't require operator control of the fabric to make a perfect seam allowance.  All that is accomplished by a scanning device.  These are expensive domestic machines that do it all, embroidery too.

Therefore, mark and cut the fabric, with scanners and programming the rest will be taken care of.  Not a bad way to go, it would eliminate the labor, hence the foreign advantage also.  

Given the cost, I suppose ammortization would require running the system 24 and 7.  But, that would be doable, no overtime, lunch, or potty breaks.   ;)

Did you see this in reality or on TV?

Doyle

[fragged8]

sounds much like my machine :-)
juki 2210 union special.

[Cheryl]

Well...  thats fine and dandy...  tap tap tap.. kind like the  new smart phones...  touch, touch ,touch..    what happens if you get flustered and go taptapTapTApTAP - TAPTAPTAP TAP!  while muttering "STOP D*#&'$*  ??

just curious..

[bobbin]

My 2 "work horses" are full function machines.  I was turned on to the wonders of automation in a garment factory in the early '80s and vowed I was going that route when it was time to replace equipment.  Until you've worked on one you simply can't imagine how great they are.  Trust me on this. 

[gene]

Yes, I did see this machine in person. The guy said 36 were recently installed in a company and they would pay for themselves in 3 months with that increased production. I don't know if they are running 24/7.

It is absolutely amazing what can be automated today.

I wish there had been a forum on line when this new fangled thing called a pneumatic staple gun came out. I would love to have been able to go back and read the comments from all the upholsterers who new only of tacks. It would probably be similar to the horse and buggy owners when cars started taking over the roads.

gene

[Darren Henry]

In my former life Master took the other apprentice and I over to Canada West's western boot factory for a tour ( he knew the owner). The machines that sew those elaborate patterns in the shaft of a western boot were all semi-auto. An operator had to load the piece of leather into a frame and select which colour was being sewn next, then they walked away and the machine laid 'em down at about 5 000 SPM. The needles were oil cooled it was going that fast.

BUT I'm siding with Cheryl on this one; What happens to your fingers if a good fiddle song comes on the radio or some one slams the door behind you and startles you?

[bobbin]

If you're at the skill level most of us here are, Darren, nothing.  Sure, sometimes I heel back too far and trigger the automatic trim but not very often.  And funnily enough, that usually happens when I've had to do a long stint of really repetitive operations at work on that trusty stone-age survivor, the Consew 255-RB.  Work, I'm sad to say, it's unsuited for!  When I get home and sit in front of my own machines I'm reminded that there is an easier, faster, quieter way to get the work done. 

Don't get me wrong, I have some really cherry, very old machines and they perform reliably but there is no comparison to what's new and "state of the art".  And yes, they are expensive to purchase, but when you really think about how long you'll use your primary machine before it will have to be replaced wouldn't the amortization of your primary tool over time make good sense?  And you can buy some really sweet "full function" machinery that is technically "used" but has been wonderfully maintained and will perform flawlessly for you.  I'm always on the prowl for a "deal".  But it you never make the effort to find out about what's new out there you will never know how easy things can be.  Learning about new things doesn't have to mean that you must abandon all that is familiar to you nor does it mean that you aren't capable in either a technical or professional aspect.    I work for someone who thinks that way and it's a drag. 

Setting automatic tack, stitch counter, automatic trimmers to suit the task at hand is the height of efficiency.  I loathe using that poor ol' Consew for some tedious operation when I know the proper machine is sitting in my own shop.  Gene, your post was "spot on"!  And I wish I could  individually "beam" you guys here to "play for an afternoon".   You'd dig it!

[fragged8]

mine has underbed thread trimmers but to be honest I don't use it
as the tails left are really short and the thread slips out of the needle
when you start again.

I also rarely use the self back tack or forward tack.

being able to set the max SPM is good, the air lift foot is fantastic and the needle down facility
is a god send, the only trouble is sometimes i get nipped by the
air foot when it comes down hehehe 

I yelp like a puppy when it happens :-)

Rich

[bobbin]

Yeah, Rich, that really "gets your attention", doesn't it?!  Ouch!

As for the too short tails and unthreading after trimming; that's a pretty simple adjustment involving a little "wannabe" tension disc located above the normal 2 discs on my 1541.  If you play around with it using your manual as a guideline you'll be able to correct the shortcoming quickly.  I play with it routinely, depending on thread weight and the amount of "tail" that will be OK for the work I'm doing.  Easy-peasy and worth some time on your part!

I know what you mean about the automatic tack function, sometimes I use it, other times not; depends entirely on what operation I'm performing.  I particularly like the automatic touch back feature on my machine.  All I have to do is lift a finger and touch the button once and the machine automatically steps back exactly one stitch.  Very handy!  I never have to use the wheel and when I'm at work I find myself looking for the touch back feature repeatedly!

Fiddle with that adjustment, automatic trim is the balls!  It's fast, it's a no-brainer. 

[Mojo]

Let me tell you about " My Machine ".

It sews forward and backward real well. ( I have a hell of a time with that operation ).

End of my discussion. If my machine does anything else could someone please let me know ?

:)

Chris

[Grebo]

Well...  thats fine and dandy...  tap tap tap.. kind like the  new smart phones...  touch, touch ,touch..    what happens if you get flustered and go taptapTapTApTAP - TAPTAPTAP TAP!  while muttering "STOP D*#&'$*  ??

just curious..

Know what you mean..  ;D    A bit like keyboards & computers, they don't like it  :-X