[amayausers.com] Re: Rayon vs. Poly thread?
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- Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2011 15:36:51 UT
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Hi Jim,
I don't have any problems with stitching at speeds up to 1,500 spm (average
1,300 spm) with Madeira Rayon. There is no difference in stitch quality
whether I slow the speed down to a maximum of 1,200 spm or 1,500 spm. However,
as you know, the Amaya OS is smart enough to know when to slow or speed
stitching up. If it can stitch at 1,500 spm for running stitches it will.
However, when you stitch at these speeds, make sure everything on your Amaya is
sufficiently lubricated. I never wait for the maintenance timers to prompt me
to oil something. I usually oil my bobbin hook at every other bobbin change.
I perform the 2,000,000 and 4,000,000 Lubrication Maintenance once a week when
I run the Amaya XT 12-18 hours every day. It is better to err on the slightly
over lubrication side than under lubrication.
In response to your questions:
1) No, the stitches are consistently tight and perfect. The tension of the top
threads is controlled in Amaya OS Thread Feed, Material Thickness, etc. If I
could upload pictures of some of my projects on this list that I have done with
these varieties of threads, you would be impressed. I think I mentioned, that
when Brad Costan, my Amaya technician, saw some of my work, he was in awe and
was very impressed. His comments were that if he hadn't seen my work in person
and I had told him I was doing these things over the phone, he would have
thought I was full of bull. He said that in all his years of servicing Amaya
XTs (he is the only one for California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico I think
he told me), he has never seen anyone do the things that I do with my Amaya XT.
If someone is skeptical about my claims, I invite them to ask Brad themselves.
I bought and use my Amaya XT for a hobby. I did not buy it to stitch out hats,
T-shirts, jackets, etc., like the majority of Amaya XT owners use it for. I
push my Amaya XT to the limits. Melco claims it can do these things and I have
it live up to its name. Brad says that he tells his customers to settle down
on using one type of thread on the same size spools for all sixteen needles.
Life's too short for me. I can have as many as six different thread types
loaded for a job on my Amaya. It works for me!
2) No, the bobbin thread does not show on the design. Stitches are perfectly
balanced.
3) I always use a 75/11 Organ Titanium needle for Isacord, Madeira Rayon,
Mettler Metrosene Plus and other similarly weight thread. For heavier weight
thread (thicker than 40 wt.) I use 80/12 to 110/18 Organ Titanium needles,
depending on weight of thread. If you want to use a variety of threads, you
need to have a variety of needles.
4) Yes, I learned that stacked-wound thread does not feed as well as
cross-wound thread (as in Isacord, Madeira. For the few spools that I have
used that are stacked-wound, I would manually unwind the spool to the side
before it enters the thread posts. Thread has to have little or no resistance
when being unwound from the cone before passing through the cone posts.
Not all thread cones of the same type of thread will exactly perform the same.
For one particular cone of Superior Thread Perfect Quilter Cotton 17 wt. which
I used a 100/16 needle for, there was some resistance when it unwound from the
cross-wound cone. I needed to manually unwind it as it was passing through the
cone posts to avoid thread breaks. But, the prior cone of the same thread that
I used stitched out at 1,500 spm with little or no thread breaks without me
having to manually unwind it.
I've learned from experience what the root causes for thread breaks could be
and how to rectify them. I've gotten pretty good at it. Some of the things I
consider are:
1. Needle Eye Position. The loop of the top thread that is formed by the
needle eye position has to be large enough for the hook to catch it. That is
why Melco recommends that you install your needles at the 5 degree orientation.
Start with that, but you may have to adjust the orientation from anywhere to
-2 degrees to 8 degrees depending on the type of thread you are using and how
tightly your thread is wound (i.e., cones with a core narrower than a mini-king
spool). For example, for the Mettler Metrosene Plus on the narrow spools, I
orient my needles at 0-1 degrees to maximize the loop for the hook. When Brad
examined each of the needles I was using Mettler Metrosene Plus on, he said
that the majority of the 12 needles were at 0 degree orientation. That works
for this thread stitching at up to 1,500 spm.
2. Bobbin Tension. If it is too tight, it will cut the top thread like a knife
no matter how slow you stitch.
3. Quality of thread. If it is bad thread, throw it away! It is not worth
your time to constantly stop and rethread.
4. Thread Feed. Make sure there is no resistance when the thread is unwound
from the thread cones.
5. Thread Path. Make sure the thread paths of the top and especially the
bobbin case and hook area are clean, clean and clean. I keep a hand-held
vacuum with one of those computer keyboard attachments to clean the hook area
of debris. A business card is always close at hand to clear the gunk that may
accumulate under the bobbin tension plate.
6. Proper Lubrication. Make sure the red thread rollers have sufficient
lubrication. If they are dry, you have thread wrap around them and have other
thread breakage problems.
Hmmm, I wonder if there is anything I missed.
Cheers,
Ed "Kanga" Roux
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