March 14th, 2011, 08:22 PM
|
#1 (permalink)
|
Junior Member
- Join Date:
- Sep 2009
- Location:
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts:
- 19
- Liked:
- 0 times
|
Rotary hook wear
So I am not a newbie to machine maintenance by any means. I have several Melco AMAYA's and have always maintained them myself. Over the years, I have pretty much removed every part possible on one or another of my machines. I've bolted on motors, belts, sensors, and disassembled heads to replace needle bar packs (mostly because my employees destroyed something, not because it was worn out). I've even thwarted Melco's attempt to sell me an $1100 circuit board by soldering on a new 50 cent part from Digikey (I think it actually totaled up to $10 because I ordered 10 of them plus shipping). All this without a single minute of tech training but using a heap of common sense.
That being said, there is one question I haven't been able to satisfy with simple experience and I need some advice. I have a couple machines approaching 500 million stitches and one sews great while the other sews like crap. I've cleaned it, oiled it, retimed it, checked every possible setting and adjustment to no avail. It just doesn't sew well. It likes to skip stitches and break thread under the needle plate. Its not unbearable but its obviously not operating properly either. Do rotary hooks wear out? I've been all over the net reading websites and blogs with no definitive answers. Machine manufacturers are quick to recommend selling you a new $100 hook but I prefer to keep my $100 if possible. The problem is, at this point I may be shooting my business in the foot with lost productivity over a simple $100 part. I have already ordered the part (in fact I ordered two so I have a spare on hand) but at this point its more curiosity than anything.
Do rotary hooks wear out? Do they have a recommended replacement interval? I know they're technically a consumable part but is this something I should be looking for more regularly? Are the teflon coated hooks really better than the standard hooks? Do they sew better? Do they last longer?
Someone with more tech experience than me come to my rescue. Satisfy my curiosity please!
|
|
|