First machine arrives Monday, what else do I need?

Congrats!!

If you visit the Madeira site and go to backings (tear away) they have done a pretty good idea of explaining the use for each... so you can choose only the ones that make sense for the items you sew.. same with needles and any other supplies you may need. Do not over buy.. just buy what you need as you need it until you know what you are doing.. then you can buy in bulk as your finances allow it. Otherwise I think you will end up with lots of extra stuff that just sits around.... way more expensive in the long term than any short term extra shipping costs.

I commend you on choosing Madeira.. I KNOW I KNOW there are tons of cheaper options out there, but sorry, using Madeira for us has taken our supplies out of the quality equation... we can concentrate on other aspects of our operation, not whether the thread is bad or tied together in knots, etc. Penny wise and Pound foolish I guess is the saying?

Shop organization is the real fun part.. watch your operator... then try to place tables and materials in areas that make sense. Sounds like you have a specific item you generally sew... so the ergonomics should be pretty straight forward once you have spend a few days in production.. it will just become obvious.. like, hey, why isnt this here or why is that way over there. etc. common sense. You may find it better to make your own hooping stand specific to your product...

Aren't you supposed to get free training when you buy a new Barudan?

I use 3 ounce or more cutaway (whatever is on sale) on my nylon stuff that I do. It all depends on the stitch counts but I have high stitch counts. I like to use thick backing as the results are better IMO. You're going to need tear away if you do hats or stuff that you don't want the backing to show. Other things to consider, water soluble topping (shirts or loose woven fabrics), needles, nips, bent tip embroidery scissors, a good pair of general scissors, rulers and t squares, sharpie markers to correct minor defects, etc.. If you don't have a compressor pick up some of those dust off cans to blow out the machine and thread the tubes when the thread runs out (never happens....).

Things nice to have are hoop tech clamps in various sizes as well as some fast frames for use with adhesive stabilizer. Then you'll discover the hooping board (I still don't have one), magnetic frames, and the durkee weird size hoops.

Looks like you've picked your thread. I primarily used isacord and rapos but I started bring in my own thread to cut costs so if you need bobbins or thread I sell it at a very reasonable price. Most of my production stuff goes from 20K-70K stitches. I've noticed no more thread breaks than with isacord. Rapos seems to break more so I don't use it anymore. I run a C series single head and 2 six head barudan's with a single head ZSK thrown into the mix.

Forgot the 6 inch bent needle tweezers. Got to have those to help thread the machine or pull the thread from the cut bar when you pull the thread for a change.

Now after you buy all this stuff you'll get frustrated in a couple of months and sell the package to us on the board for 1/4 of the price....:D

Get different types of backing to test samples on so you can see the difference especially on performance wear. That seems to be a common struggle for some. Make sure to get solvy. It is great for running small detail and small text on knit hats, towels, fleece etc...
Ask plenty of questions here as you go along. We are here to help. You can also email me if you have questions.
BJ
Digitizing Above the Rest
Bjbabs24@yahoo.com

Magnetic bobbins! Much better quality and more efficient.

When ordering from Madeira ask for a backing sample kit, they will provide that for free and then you can test with the material you are embroidering. I think in your case using the clear backing might work. But I would suggest at the least using the tear away, it can be picked out to leave the back clean looking of backing material. But I have to say embroidery on the back side does not look good no matter what you do, using bobbins of the same color might help and to be honest where do you even get bobbin thread of the same colors as top thread?

I do commend you for hiring the tech for training, many people dive in head first and rely on forum help bit it is not the best way to go. Only so much can be explained on line, hands on is far superior because an embroidery machine is quite complex and the variables are immense.

Don't know your location or general pay structure for that area but here ten an hour would only get you someone capable of hooping garments. For someone that is an operator and also knowledgeable of editing software ten is not near enough. If the person is also able to trouble shoot the machine and perform basic fixes then they are worth quite a bit.

In theory the both side flag is a idea but I don't see how the back side of it is going to be appealing at all. Maybe you should use some 70-200D for lining the flag (one side only) or 2 pieces sewn the same put together. If you went the applique method with a run stitch or satin stitch same color you could get away with it.

On thread buy individual cones unless colors aren't that important. I sell thread if you're interested...dkmonogramming.com .

Magnetic bobbins are fancy but they are a solution looking for a problem. Every tech I've talked too says to run the cardboard without the backlash spring. I roll cardboard every day all day. We're talking 175 bag tops of 50K stitches just in a 2 week period. Filtec would eat your lunch on that. What ever you decide, a toya (sp?) tension gauge will help until you get the "feel" of it.

If you plan on running your wound bobbins for the same color, you'll either need to order pre wound bobbins in the same color or get a consew automatic winder. They are expensive but winding them individually will cost you a fortune if you're going to run that many using the same color.

Why is a magnetic bobbin a "solution looking for a problem"?

Before we switched from card board backed bobbins we ran into sewing issues when the bobbin got near the end, with the magnetics the tension remains the same from the beginning to the end of the spool, so quality never changes.

Sewing with the same color bobbin as the top color will give you a similar result on the backside... from a distance. But look at any embroidery you have.. the satins on the top side are nice and smooth.. now look at the backside.. you will see the satin is in 3 parts...not smooth..(the center part is your bobbin) . if it weren't nylon you could crank up your bobbin tension and create just a seam down the middle of every satin on the back, but still wont be pretty up close.

So I guess it just depends on how picky your client is about what they see on the back?

So, there is no variance in the strength of the magnet or the tightness of how the bobbin is wound? Can the magnet adjust it's pull from start to finish since it will be spinning faster at the beginning than the end of the bobbin? There will be a point where the optimum pull of the magnet and spin of the bobbin would be most effective. When a machine stops abruptly the standard bobbin on a machine keeps spinning slightly. That is why the backlash spring is there. It minimizes the effect of the spin after the machine stops. Metal on metal contact (standard bobbin) with lubrication will cause the bobbin to spin slightly after the machine stops. That is how sewing machines are engineered. This occurs with no sided, cardboard sided, plastic sided, metal, and even magnetic.

Tension of the bobbin is determined by the tension adjustment of the bobbin case as well as how tightly the bobbin is would. If a bobbin is wound correctly the tension will remain roughly the same through the pull of the bobbin simply because it slows down when the core gets smaller. I have found on barudan machines that the finger holding the hook basket has to be centered with the needle. If not that causes extreme tension problems.

Does filtec make a nice magnetic bobbin, sure. Do I want to pay $30 for a box of bobbins, no. When we run patterns I record how many we can do before bobbin changes. Then we pull the bobbins before they run out and replace them when putting a item back on the machine. I toss them with some thread still on it. Saves me time and money especially on hats.

You've got your way and I've got mine. Neither is wrong. The industry techs state that the tension is correct in the bobbin when you hold the thread and dangle the bobbin while moving the thread up and down that the case should move down slightly with each movement up and down. I ignore that and run it slightly tighter to make a tighter stitch. I also run the take up spring tighter than most to minimize looping.

It's all about preference. I did leather manufacturing for 20 years before getting into embroidery so I have some experience with sewing machines.

We ran card board for many years and always suffered stitch quality if the bobbins were allowed to near the end. And we suffered back spin.

Once switching to magnetic stitching quality was 100% till the end of the bobbin and the machine will stop and alert. Never once has my operator complained of back spin since switching.

Yes we both have our ways, the OP asked which is more head ache free regardless of $$. My answer is magnetic bobbins and it is true. Maybe I am stepping on your toes because you are also trying to sell card board sided bobbins, sorry but that is not the purpose of this forum especially when the OP wanted an honest answer.

As for techs and their opinion, we employ a tech once a year and all praise the magnetic bobbin over the old card board ones.

Yes emb machines are designed to work the way you described, magnetic bobbins do not take away from that they enhance the performance of the bobbin.

I guess the sewing industry as a whole couldn't function right for 100 years before the magic of magnetic bobbins? Shame on me for mentioning I sell thread. I'll check with you first next time since your experience and tech obviously take precedence over any other opinion.

I like the attitude.

Lets make this point extra clear for you.

THE OP ASKED FOR THE BEST BOBBIN TYPE TO USE without regard to the cost. I told him magnetic because it will give him the least head aches.

You tho seem to feel he should have the same knowledge and experience as you and be able to run card board sided bobbins as well as you can.

Again OP wanted to know the best bobbin for the money not what someones resume is.

Me being a real world embroider for 15 years on large machines think i have the right to tell him what has worked better for us, as a production based embroidery business.

By all means do so. You've stated your opinion exhibiting the attitude first my friend.

TO the OP, ask your Barudan guy which bobbins he[I]suggest that you use.[/I]