Earlier this week I was running some hats on my four-head Barudan. The machine ran the first 840 stitches in red just fine. After that it color-changed to white (like it's supposed to) and with that first stitch the needle on the second head broke in two different places. I turned that head off and finished running the other three so I could look at the second head. After examining everything closely and not seeing anything out of place, I put that hat back on to see if it was a fluke thing, but the needle broke again with the first stitch. After at least a half-hour of close examination and two more broken needles I called tech support. After asking all the expected questions he still wasn't sure what it might have been, so he had me put the normal arms back on and sew on a couple sheets of backing to see if the needle would still break on something flat. It began sewing just fine, so I put a new hat back on and it began sewing like normal. It is now running just fine. However, I'm still unsure as to what the original problem was, so I was curious to see if anyone here could figure it out.
(and yes, I did check the hat and there was nothing inside it that could have broken the needle)
Re: Needle breaking question
I don't see any Barudans in my area but in my experience with Tajimas, Prodigis, etc. I have seen this problem crop up. Based on what you have said it sounds like there may have been a cluster of thread under the plate that released when you ran the backing. Once released it sews normally. You might check the gap between the finger and the basket of your hook. If it is very close it can tend to do what you described especially in a stitch dense area.
At any rate it does not sound like you have a problem with your machine--probably thread coupled with the perfect spot to show itself.
Re: Needle breaking question
My shop is nearly 100% Barudan, and as we say ...
it was one of "those" things.
Jay is probably right, it was a funny thing, with the right time and situation to present itself. How tough were the cap's ... Those new Carhardt "bull-denim" caps are atrocious, they eat needles like whoa.
On a side-note, did you find the broken piece of needle? Maybe when you were restarting you were hitting the broken piece that may have still been lodged in the cap, just a thought?
At any rate, glad you got it worked out!