Swf ?

Eric · January 26th, 2009, 10:36 PM

Ok, before i profess my utter disgust for SWF as a company, and as a machine. I am wondering if anyone else out there has my problem, or has any ideas.

I don't consider myself a newbie to the embroidery world by any means, I know machines, I happen to be a certified brother technician but decided to give an SWF a shot. I purchased a brand new single head, 15 needle compact machine. SWF-1501C with the intentions of buying a 4 or 6 head if I was satisfied, good thing I tried it out first.

I keep getting thread pull-outs, I mean bad, on a job with 10 color changes, it pulls out at least twice, and not always in the same spot. I get a thread pull out at least once every 4 or 5 changes. The same design sews without a hiccup 99% of the time on my other machines. Now for the facts:
Not always the same needles
Not always the same spot nor the same job.
The tensions are perfect, my H tests are fabulous
The hook timing is mint, so is the needle spacing.
Presser foot depth is exact,
The holder seems to be straight, the picker is level, and not hitting.
The inching speed has been slowed down almost as slow as it goes
The tail length has been increased.
Bobbin case replaced, tried bypassing the pigtail.

I am TOTALLY out of ideas!!! Anyone have any insight?

I keep calling SWF they just don't care!!! I keep getting blown off and told that my tensions must be off. They just won't help me. Unfortunately, I paid cash for the machine on October 1st of 2008 and according to my attorney anything after 90 days doesn't make my odds favorable in winning a suit for my money back. I guess this is what i get for giving a company I thought to be reputable the benefit of the doubt.

I would be eternally grateful for ANY ideas!
Thanks!
-- Eric

gkrieg · January 27th, 2009, 09:45 PM

you have to determine if the cause is the thrd trimming too short or the inching stitches having a problem locking the upper and lower thread together. let me know what you find, and don't worry, I'm sure this problem will be resolved.

designs@centralmonogrammi · January 27th, 2009, 10:01 PM

I would have to agree that the problem is tensions.
The H test is not very telling. The tensions balanced at any tightness.
I suggest balancing the tensions at a light setting.

The next Question is how long is the tail after the trim?
Is the length consistent with each trim?

Next thing to remember. The 1501C is nothing like the SWF multi heads.
Different in every way. I'm not a fan of the 1501C but have run my 1504
for many years with no problems. It's like comparing a Melco to a Tajima.

Eric · January 28th, 2009, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by designs@centralmonogrammi

Next thing to remember. The 1501C is nothing like the SWF multi heads.
Different in every way. I'm not a fan of the 1501C but have run my 1504
for many years with no problems. It's like comparing a Melco to a Tajima.

Thats what everyone tells me, the single compacts are awful machines. I have a 2 head tajima, and it runs incredible and its almost 10 years old. I wanted to buy a new 4 head, but I just can't justify tajima's almost $60k price tag for one, no matter how good they are. I want an 4 head swf but I grabbed a single compact to judge, bad move I guess. I will try to lighten everything all around.

Thanks for your help.

taniaa · January 30th, 2009, 07:39 PM

The SWF service tech tells me I need a new main board, $1300 and he says the 1501's are bad about that and then agreed that it makes you not want to buy another one. Pretty bad when your service guy does not recommend his own brand. I am pretty disgusted as well.

dangig · February 1st, 2009, 01:05 AM

lets back this all up now.. first of all those swf single heads pick them up and throw them in the garbage. tension may be off a little bit, but on every needle??? give me a break. i know people with those single head swf's theyre nothing like a hassle. Same as the melco amaya. people raved about those ones too. 2 single head machines set me back almost 50k!! it was the board it was static electricity it was this it was that.. it was junk! only 2 good single heads on the market. Tajima or Barudan. People can disagree but everyone owning these machines like myself can back this up those two machines are the best.

my opinion sell that piece of crap before it buries you in repair bills. take a little beating. justifying a tajima should never be bad. i have now only tajima and barudans. ive been down the road of melco, swf, happy,zsk, trying to save a few grand here and there. i lost more money trying to save on machines. the money i put out is ridiculous. stay with what you know works!. i run a 15 head barudan, 2 6 head barudans, and 3 single heads. a 18 head tajima 3 6 head tajima a 4 head and a 2 head. my tajimas are 10 yrs plus! on one of them ive had 1 service call. i rammed a needle into the rotary hook. so technically never broken.. the barudans are zn's 98 models around.. not too many problems either normal wear and tear.

Nick Mattina · February 3rd, 2009, 07:01 PM

My guess is to check the picker or the solenoid that drives the picker and ensure the system is moving freely (sometimes the solenoid can just be tight).

I would bet that your picker (fork in front of the hook/bobbin case) is bent, marred, or broken. There are 4 adjustments - up, down, in, and out. It should be level at the top, and when pressed in towards the bobbin case - it should not touch but be close. Remember, the point of the picker is for the thread to draw a triangle. Specifically, when the blade opens and closes, the distance of the tail is controlled by the picker. So it is logical to assume that your inconsistency is somewhere in this system. Typically, if the picker is not bent - you can correct this issue with lowering the fork (keep the same angle), thereby mechanically increasing the tail length.

Otherwise, the solenoid can be replaced rather easily, its under the throat plate on the cylinder arm (long plate behind the needle plate).

Most machines out there these days are similar in operation, construction, and ability. I disagree that there are "good" machines and "bad" machines. As long as the company has been selling for more than 5 years, you can bet your "bad" machine is more just out of adjustment. Your issue sounds like an adjustment.

Take a deep breath and analyze it. You may or may not care for the company but machines can typically be corrected - trust me, I've been doing this my whole life.

gkrieg · February 5th, 2009, 08:47 AM

Since you believe all mechanical settings are correct,see if there is a return stitches setting in the machine parameters. After a trim, the machine should emb. a tiny triangle during inching to lock upper and lower thrd. I see random pullouts on multiheads caused by this. Check to see if your computer software has a default parameter regarding return stitching.

Eric · February 9th, 2009, 12:22 AM

Thanks to everyone for your input ... I am happy to report I have solved my problem!

It was very simple ... I traded the damn thing for a barudan!

Viola! my problems are solved, purrrs like a kitten

Worn Id · February 9th, 2009, 01:49 PM

ROFLMBO!!

I was in KC this past week, and I stopped by the SWF booth... wasn't too impressed with them, glad I did not even put them into consideration!!

have a great one!
Laurie