SEWING SPEED for a single head 15 color Machine

It is ture the more detail your job the better you are to slow down little you will get better result and less thread breaks that way. I have found the if I am running little slower maybe 800's i have less down time by fixing my threads.

I haven't heard a general rule. It depends on what is being embroidered, the type of stitching, whether it is a single or multi head, how well the machine is maintained and what you consider to be acceptable quality. A single head will run faster than most multis, flats faster than caps, fill stitches faster than satin, standard items (shirts) faster than hard to hoop pieces (bags), standard sized detail faster than very small text or detail. Some brands such as ZSK and Amaya are known for running fast.

Eric,

So true, we do the same thing for testing a design. All designs are a rule unto themselves. There is nothing exact in trying to advise someone on what speed to run, we run at what I stated above and plug along without nary a trouble spot. :D :D ;)

Here is our take on setting the Maximum Sewing Speed on your machine. Using our Tajimas as examples, max on our 4 head is 1000, 2 head is 1200 and single is 1200.

These machines are investments in the future, they are mechanical objects, they have many moving parts, they require lubrication, they create heat and each has it's own quirks.
We also sew on many types of material, pique, twill, vinyl, caps (structured and unstructured 5 & 6 panel), canvas, cordura and a few others. All of these materials in conjunction with different backings, toppings, stitch patterns and lengths create different problems. We have found that 95% of our sewing is done at 850 spm heavier materials,high detailed and caps are ran slower @ 750 - 800, thse have been the most consistent speeds for all our sewing. Yes the lighter materials such as the pique & twill sew at higher speed but we look after our machines probably more than most shops do. We have weekly, bi-weekly, monthly scheduled maintenance that takes priority over orders! In 3.5 years we have only had 1 head on the 4 head down for more than 72 hours and this was due to a shipping problem. All other problems have been fixed within 1 - 2 hours or less.

These machines are just like any other, run them at their maximum and more stress is built up causing problems, run at a steady cruise you will have very few if any major problems as long as you take the time to maintain your investment. Just like a car, sure it will run 120 mph but mileage will suffer as will reliability over the car ran at 60 mph. That is FACT! Your decision, ours is 850 spm or slower depending on product and we are happy with the results. ;)

Without being redundant, as to everyone above, they ALL make good points. It depends on the machine, the design, the thread, and most of all the material being sewn on.

I run my Barudan Multi-heads at about 900spm for most flats, and about 750ish for most caps. Sometimes a little faster or a little slower depending on the situation.

Let me just offer one point. Run your machines as fast as you think you can. By that I mean, if you've got a standard flat (e.g. Polo, Hoodie, etc) Start your machine at about 800ish, which any good commercial machine should have no issue doing, if it sews fine, try your next one at 850, if its fine go to 900, then once you start to notice quality of performace issues (thread breaks, reg issues, etc) then you know you went to fast, and back it down a little.

This is pretty much what I do for all my jobs, You will get used to the designs and what you can/can't get away with.

Just my $.02.

Thread is another variable, my experience with poly thread is that you get good results running between 750-800 for flat and 700-750 for caps. Machines can run as fast as 1200 but keep in mind that sooner or later machine will fail and will cause you down time.