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Needle movement when stopped in SR mode


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I have been struggling with trying to do accurate SID in Stictch Regulated mode, and having the needle continue to move when I pause to move the ruler. I have to turn the stitch off to get the needle to stop. The movement is totally irregular, sometimes one down one up, sometimes multiples.

Yesterday I tried adjusting the #8 screw, turned it at least one whole revolution and it made little difference. Do I need to keep adjusting this screw? Is there something else I should look at?

I just watched a video on YouTube of Angela quilting, and she even said when she stops in SR mode the needle stops! That's just what I need to happen!!

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When I stop in sr mode, the needle does stop but the slightest movement will cause it to jump up and down like it is very sensitive. I don't know if this helps, but that is my experience. Maybe mine has issues too. I just noticed you have a Millie, does yours have a  pause button. I use mine alot. I think it is my favorite feature after sr.

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I am not aware of a pause button. My millie is a 2008, maybe built before this feature.

If I hold the command button and click the blue(go) button on the right handle the needle stops but SR stays on, and I do use this to toggle the needle movement off and on,.

It's just when I am pausing, at a corner for instance, even if I am not touching the machine, the needle is just going up and down, sometimes slowly, sometimes fast, causing problems on the back mainly but also making unwanted stitches that show on the front also. A

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if my table is not completely level then my needle would continue to move if i stopped as the slight roll of the carriage would keep the machine moving.   i normally switch it off and  back on again when i restart for sid though incase i knock the machine.... 

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Okay, K, good to know I am not that out of date!

Jeannette, my table may be not completely level from end to end and I can see how that might be a problem.

Meanwhile I will try a little more adjustment of #8 screw to see if that helps, thanks Annie.

I do usually pause when moving my ruler these days since I have hit my ruler since doing more SID-- that is scary!

But when I stop for a second to take a breath, my fingers just don't react fast enough to hit the pause sequence, and those extra stitches are annoying.....

Thanks for the input! :))

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In my Millie, it is in the back on the right sidesaddle you are facing the back of the machine-- a little black plastic cover comes off, and inside is a tiny screw. Clockwise slows down the needle up/down and counter clockwise speeds up.

It is called the needle positioner in the manual, but I would not have known about it without this forum!!

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Ok, everyone, my machine an Utl 1 is doing the same thing. No matter how many turns (up to 35) does it make a difference. I still get the needle still doing its own thing, slowly up and down never stopping or not working at all. Just replaced the brushes, cleaned and now it sounds like the "carburetor" needs adjusting. It sounds like it is miss firing. Can the #8 screw go bad?

Thanks

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I was going to mention that maybe you had quilt glide and it was cycling, but your machine would be the same age as mine and I don't have it, I think it may have come out the next year 2009?  Yes keep adjusting that #8 screw until it does what you want it to..

 

By the way Anne, I like your new picture...:)

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I do not have quilt glide.

It is not the warm weather. It is cool here today, as usual-- I live on the coast of northern CA( the real northern CA:)) and the only time we get full sun in the spring is with a large dose of cold wind.

I did notice this morning when I started up that my up down was much slower but after a warm up it was faster again. So My adjustment yesterday did have some effect, just not on the random movement when in SR mode.

Sue, did you have this problem also, did changing a circuit board fix this for you? The problem you were trying to fix was a little different- that must have been really weird to turn off the stitching and have it continue!!

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Cathy,

 

I didn't do a good job of describing my problem!  It was the same as you describe, I would stop moving the machine but the needle would make a couple more stitches.  The board change cured the issue.  My Millie is a 2008 too.  I had spoken to Mark about it at a show and he made the diagnosis.  

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Well I guess I will call APQS tomorrow and talk to Amy. My machine had a spa treatment last July at the factory but I don't even remember if this was an issue back then.

I am pretty sure it contributed to my needle breakage that just happened because I had stopped to avoid the fat seam and it kept going, so I would really like to make this better.

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Cathy,

 

All machines with the stitch regulator are very sensitive to even the slightest bump to the table or nudge. That's why your machine is taking extra stitches. The #8 screw really doesn't have anything to do with the machine while the SR is engaged...it only affects the needle positioner, which operates when the sewing motor is off (which was Sue's problem). If your machine takes extra stitches AFTER you've turned off the SR and sewing motor by touching any colored button, then that's when you adjust the #8 screw.

 

It won't help with the extra stitches you're getting when you simply reposition your ruler without actually turning off the machine with a colored button. (That's why your machine's needle up/down is slower now when you turn on the machine first thing...you may need to readjust that again.) The ideal "needle up / down" timing is a one-second interval between down and up (or vice versa) once the machine is warm. If yours is slower than that now, readjust the #8 screw by turning it counterclockwise about a half turn (or a bit more if needed.)

 

You DO have a pause feature on your machine. When you engage the SR, (left handle--command-green) and then the sewing motor (right handle--command-blue), the machine will continue to stitch whenever it senses any movement (and for those customers with a Bliss table, it is extremely sensitive.) But you can "pause" the sewing motor without canceling the stitch regulator so that you can adjust your ruler without extra stitches.

 

To do that, hold the "command" button in on the RIGHT handle first, and then tap the blue button on the right handle. This shuts off the sewing motor, but leaves the SR active. To begin quilting again, just hold in the right handle command button again, and then tap the blue button once more.

 

Lynn,

 

Just checking in with you about your Ultimate I....its "#8 screw" is different from those you find on a Millennium or other machine. We want to be sure you're adjusting the correct one on your circuit board (adjusting the wrong one can affect the power module and other circuit board functions.) I'm going to send you a document that should help.

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Hi Sue, Can you tell me if you replaced the board or had it done? Just wondering if I can do or need to find someone in Portland area to fix it:)

 

My husband replaced the board.  It wasn't difficult I could have done it myself but I decided to make use of my resident engineer!

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Thank you, Dawn, from your answer i don't think i need a new circuit board.

I think my adjustment is okay, and maybe I need a little more, because when I am warmed up it is less than a second from down to up in particular, but also from up to down .

I try to "pause" whenever I stop in SR mode, especially when I am doing ruler work. I was hoping that the sensitivity could be controlled or adjusted.

If I take my hands off the handles, and the needle still moves up and down, does that mean I need to do a better job of leveling my table?

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Hi Cathy,

 

I apologize...I just re-read through all the posts and I see that you HAVE been using the pause sequence. And here I went and explained it all again for you...so sorry!

 

If you have NOT used the pause sequence and the needle takes extra stitches, it can be several things (especially if your table is "blissed"). It can be caused by:

 

* Table drift from unlevelness

* Cord pull

* Bumping the table, rollers, or machine

* Any nudging by the ruler

 

The only way to decrease that sensitivity is to somehow keep the machine from moving (which kind of defeats the purpose of something like Bliss.) But it can be done "mechanically"...a person can actually lower the leveler bar a little more so that the quilt sandwich rubs on the machine throat a little more to create friction. Or you can lay a "resistor" on the quilt to make it push on the machine. (I met a gal at MQX this weekend who rolled a piece of muslin the length of her table into a "tube" that she laid inside the throat of the machine just next to the leveler bar. It made the quilt rub against the machine's throat enough to increase friction and restrict movement.)

 

Hope that gives you some options!

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Thanks everyone for all of the suggestions, I really appreciate the help this forum gives!

Kath, I know I rest against my backing roller also, so this is most likely a problem.

Dawn, don't apologize, I am usually thinking I made a post when I didn't so I just assumed I hadn't said that I used it, just that I knew about it LOL.

I have been wondering about my cords pulling. I did not get overhead wiring and it didn't take me long to have issues with dragging the power cord along the back. Then I added some lighting that has a cord, it was supposed to be temporary, but i still have it and rely on it, and that has compounded the drag. I am constantly adjusting it, so it could definitely be an issue. I think this is a subject for a different post though.

I guess I have never noticed the sensitivity before because I have not been doing much SID. I just have to get better at the button action. Half the time I mean to hit the right yellow button and hit the blue instead- instead of one stitch, MANY!!!

I do think the added weight at the back near the leveler bar helps. I have a rice hull bag ( which I can use for my neck also) that I have put on the back for small work, but didn't think of it for SID. I have watched some Sharon Schamber videos that show her using this technique.

It does strike me a funny that I am yearning for Bliss but can't even handle my m&m wheels!

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