Industrial sewing machines

What to consider when buying an industrial sewing machine

When buying an industrial sewing machine, there are some things to consider before buying, so you buy the best machine for your needs.

What is an industrial sewing machine?
Industrial sewing machines differ from so-called home sewing machines in many ways. An industrial sewing machine is specially built for long-term, professional sewing and thus to last longer, with better quality parts and engines. While home sewing machines may contain parts of plastic, the industrial sewing machine gears, cranksticks, casings and body are made of high-quality metals, such as cast iron or aluminum.

Different types of industrial sewing machines
There are four main types of industrial sewing machines. The difference between them is based on the design of the arm and pillar. These four types are:

Flatbed machine:
The most common type, these machines are similar to the home sewing machine in appearance. Most often used to sew flat pieces of fabric together.

Free arm machine:
These machines have a narrow, horizontal arm as opposed to the flatbed machine. This allows material to be carried around and under the arm and thus you can sew cylindrical pieces of fabric, such as cuffs. The machine type is also useful for sewing bulky objects such as saddles and shoes. The diameter of the arm can vary from 5 cm to 16 cm.

Pillar machine:
These machines have coils, feeders and/or grapples in a vertical pillar. The height of the pillar varies from 10 cm to 45 cm. The pillar machine is useful when sewing hard-to-reach surfaces, for example when sewing boots and gloves.

"Feed-off-the-arm":
This is the least common group. The material is fed along a horizontal arm. This construction limits the length of the seam that can be sewn to the length of the arm, but is useful for sewing, for example, sleeves and shoulder seams.

Things to consider when buying an industrial sewing machine
Once you have decided which type of industrial sewing machine best suits your needs, the next step is to choose how many and what type of feed the machine should have. Different industrial sewing machines have different ways of feeding the material. Machines with many different feeds tend to be more expensive.

The most common feed types:

Subfeeding:
The feeder is located under the sewing surface. This is probably the most common feeding type.

Needle feeding:
The needle itself acts as a feeder, minimizing the slip of the fabric and allowing you to sew several layers of fabric.

Climbing foot:
The immobile presser foot is replaced with a foot that moves together with the feed, which facilitates sewing on thick, porous or fluffy materials.

Puller feed:
The puller grabs the material and helps to pull it straight at sewing. Good when sewing large, heavy materials, such as canvas, or for very thin materials, such as thin curtains.

Other things to consider
The use of an industrial sewing machine is an important factor to consider. For example, some machines are equipped with automatic functions, others can be programmable. In addition, the machine must be sewn into the type of material for which it is to be used. It is likely that higher quality machines will be needed for sewing medium thick and thick materials, while slightly simpler machines may be sufficient for sewing in lighter materials.

The stitch type should also be considered before buying an industrial sewing machine. There are several dozen different stitch types, from one to several threads. Single stitches are the most common stitch type in industrial sewing and include shuttle seam, chain seam, overlock and cover stitch.

Another important thing to investigate is the size and speed of the sewing machine. More expensive machines will be able to sew more stitches per minute. Larger machines provide a larger space under the presser foot and a larger sewing surface. It is important that the size and speed of the machine meet your needs and expectations.

If you are unsure what kind of machine you need, you are welcome to contact us and we will help you with that.

Welding machines

Instead of sewing the material together, it can be joined by welding. Welding can be done with hot air, heat wedge or ultrasound. Ultrasonic welding or gluing with ultrasound provides a strong and very durable joint and is especially suitable when you want to avoid holes after a sewing machine needle. Industries where welding of materials are used include awning seam, blind manufacturing, sails, chapels, filters and non-woven materials. Welding is also used to seal seams with tape on waterproof and water resistant materials, such as rainwear, outerwear, tents, etc.

Ultrasound

Joining materials by using ultrasound is a fairly new technique. Ultrasonic welding or gluing with ultrasound provides a strong and very durable joint and is especially suitable for products where you want to avoid holes after a sewing machine needle.

Examples of this can be:

• Awning manufacturing
• Filter manufacturing
• In healthcare
• In the clothing industry
• Tents and sleeping bags, etc.m. to be waterproof
• Sail
• Chapel

In the clothing industry, welding and gluing with ultrasound is becoming more and more common. Especially when it comes to the manufacture of underwear, sportswear, casual clothing and outdoor clothing, the technology is used by many well-known brands.

Joining with the help of ultrasound provides a product design with more flexibility, efficiency and creativity. We work with customers in the awning sewing, blind manufacturing, sails, chapels, filters and non-woven materials.