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Sewing Machine Servo Motor Recommendation?

72K views 91 replies 11 participants last post by  GT500tow 
#1 ·
Looks like I'm going to switch from a clutch motor to a servo motor on my Adler 167--I just can't finesse it the way I'd like to when sewing.

I'm weighing two 3/4hp servo motors to use a replacement: One is a Consew CSM-550, the other is a Nick-O Sew NKS-5500.

The Consew (presumably) is backed by the Consew reputation, whereas I'm not too familiar with the Nick-O Sew name...Both are about the same price and have the same features except the Nick-O Sew has the speed control knob on the power switch box (which I like) whereas the Consew has it on the motor.

Any recommendations/testimonials for or against one or the other?

Thanks!
 
#52 ·
You need something to aim with to get good top stitching and good French seams. The inside edge of my presser foot is what I aim with. If I maintain that aiming point along the seam line, I get a nice stitch line 1/4" away from the seam line. You also have to remember that nobody will be looking at the stitching from as close up as you are while you're sewing it. The more comfortable you get with the machine, the easier it will become.
 
#53 ·
Thanks Dan. I took some scrap yesterday and practiced. I am already able to do better. I know I will never be able to do the things my friend could do. In the old days when people ordered seat covers Bob assembled his welt while he sewed the cover. Do't think I will be doing that but I just love to watch a true craftsman at work whether he is a trimmer or brick mason. Thanks for the encouragement

John L
 
#54 ·
Most experienced sewers do their welts as they assemble the work. That saves an extra stitch line in the work, which is not a big deal with cloth, but can be with vinyl, Ultraleather and leather. It's not a big deal, but it does save some time.
 
#57 ·
Well I just re-read this whole thread again. I was about to order the Consew servo motor but the Reliable is just too hard to beat plus it was on sale at Amazon so I ordered one. They are temporarily out of stock so I don't know when it will arrive. Soon I hope. I don't do a lot of upholstery work but it will be nice to be able to speed the learning curve.

I didn't learn to drive at 5 mph.....I think I did more burn outs and **** raising before I learned to drive sensibly..haha So now that I have successfuly sewed a finger and made a few other mistakes maybe I can slow down and do some serious learning. Sort of like putting it in drive and easing into the gas pedal instead of low gear and flooring it. haha

I'm look at doing my door panels, carpeting and trunk for starters.

Any good ideas for using the old clutch motor??? maybe a bench grinder??
 
#59 ·
Unfortunately, the clutch motor is a dinosaur. It has and had one specific purpose, which was to operate an industrial sewing machine. The infinite control electronics offers has eliminated mechanical processes as the system of choice for connecting and disconnecting a load from a motor. There are no good uses for the clutch motor now, other than holding a door open or being an extremely heavy paper weight.
 
#60 ·
I just hate it when something that operates perfectly becomes useless. Being a mechanical engineer I've scratch my head trying to come up with some use for it but I hate to admit I have no use for it either. It's not even a very good boat anchor...even free. I'll probably have to pay to have it recycled. haha :(

I guess the only thing I can feel good about is that I got my servo motor for $30 less than beachbum. It was on sale on Amazon.:thumbup:
 
#61 ·
Hey bentwings. Thats a pretty good deal. Are you getting free shipping? The place I got mine from has free shipping. Also the one at Amazon doesnt look like it includes the 50mm pulley. Mine came with the 90mm and 50mm. With the 50mm pulley installed I sewed through 8 layers of vinyl and no hesitation. The pulley is $33 with shipping. :cool:
 
#62 ·
It was supposed to be free shipping but I just got the invoice and there is a $10 and change charge so it worked out to $177 to the door. It has not shipped yet.
Extra smaller pulley?? good question... I don't know. I have a couple of pulleys that I tried on the clutch motor. These have .75 in. bores so I will have to come up with a bushing. Apparently the servo has a metric shaft so possibly a 5/8 bore pulley could be bored out. Not a big deal for me. I can see the extra mechanical advantage of the smaller pulley but I really don't think it is necessary. Just because someone said the clutch motor would sew thru plywood I tried 4 layers of vinyl and a piece of 1/8 aircraft ply and asside from a horrible noise it didn't even slow down. It did cost me a needle. The servo is supposed the be even more powerful.

Actually I'm trying to get to the skill level that I won't need the very small pulley. Dan advocates just using the hand wheel for tight spaces and I'm already comfortable with that. It will be nice to be able to poke along at my own pace instead of the zip, stop, zip, stop that the clutch motor requires.
 
#64 ·
Thats a great deal...I have been sewing with a clutch motor for nearly 30 yrs off and on, and the servo makes a world of difference.
I understand what Dan is saying about not needing the smaller pulley and using the hand wheel to go stitch by stitch. But, my machine with the 50mm pulley installed and the servo set at 12 will easily go from stitch by stitch to faster than you need to sew. Just bump the pedal and you have one stitch. Today I was sewing together two pieces of 1/2" foam backed vinyl with a 6" radius. I never had to touch the hand wheel. Believe me, you will not need any more speed than what you will get using the 50mm pulley. I used to have to hold pressure on the hand wheel to get it going slow and to keep the clutch motor from running too fast. Hey, you be the judge!!!
 
#66 ·
Well I finall got the new Reliable servo motor. It installed pretty easily. I had to get a new belt as the old one was too short. The new one is 3 3/4 inches longer for the record. My new motor has the 90mm pulley. It is a very complete kit, I didn't have to get anything extra except a belt.

I haven't really had time to explore it completely but so far it works pretty well. The "ratio arm" for lack of a better term is a bit short so I will either make a bit longer arm or mount the link closer to the treadle center to make it less sensitive. I did try various speeds. I'm on 15 right at the moment. The instructions are a bit vague so I just tried vaious ones. It sews about 1 stich per sec then jumps to probably 5 then goes up pretty fast from there. If you move the arm slowly by hand you can get progressive speed but it is very sensitive. You need a steady foot and some patience but it is far better than the clutch motor. The bottom line is I just need to practice more I think. Maybe I'll just bowwow a bit of technology from the race car and make a "throttle stop".. haha

I'm not sure what the 50mm pulley will do. I think the initial speed will be slower to the point of being too slow and the "jump" speed will still be not linear enough but better.

Somewhere there was a thread about a convesrion or modification to the servo switch to make it smoother and more linear but i haven't been able to find it.

It has plenty of power even going very slow.

I have one other question that maybe should be in a separate thread but here it is: There is a pin on the tensioner that apparently wears a little and make the tension adjustment very sensitive. I tried to buy one of these at a local sewing machine repair store and they didn't know what I needed at all. I've tried to find it as a part number but again can't find it.
Consew 226-R

Can anyone help??
 
#69 · (Edited)
"I have one other question that maybe should be in a separate thread but here it is: There is a pin on the tensioner that apparently wears a little and make the tension adjustment very sensitive. I tried to buy one of these at a local sewing machine repair store and they didn't know what I needed at all. I've tried to find it as a part number but again can't find it.
Consew 226-R"

Where is this pin? Usually, when there's anything wrong with the tension, you just buy a whole new tension assembly. They're not very expensive, under $10. Here is a link for a new tension: http://www.ebay.com/itm/THREAD-TENS...440?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c29b5bc98
 
#70 ·
The Internet is the only way to go in my opinion for what we use. I live in NYC and its difficult to find anything out in the street for a walking foot. What I have found our is that most if the companies here who do sell replacement parts for our machines would rather you order it on line anyhow. They really don't advertise their locations too often. We had one guy here named Joseph Gutman who had it all. His place was old - our dream come true! Anyhow, he packed up and left. Boy, was I upset.
 
#71 ·
There is an undocumented "soft start" function on the SewQuiet 4000 and SewQuiet 5000. This is the "S.1" function, which is show in this graphic:



I have my S.1 set at "1", which makes it a little less jumpy.

I have not done the modification originally found on leatherworkers.net (which has now been updated to use stacked post-it notes for optical density instead of pencil lines.) My warranty is up soon, so this may be a weekend project.

The modification makes the control more "linear", rather than the almost logarithmic ramp-up of the stock unit. Read about it here:

http://www.swflholsters.com/358/sewing-servo-motor-diy-smoother-speed-control-mod-paper-gradient/

Watch a very thorough video by the same guy who did the above write-up, including a demonstration of the smooth ramp-up before/after mod here:

Servo Motor: DIY Smoother Speed Control MOD - YouTube

Watch a video comparing the slow speed control of a SewQuiet 5000 to a clutch motor here:

SewQuiet 5000 vs. a clutch motor « Sewing Dude

Good luck.
 
#72 ·
Thanks a lot for the info. Looks like I'll have to take the motor back out and check out this modification. Not a big deal.

Thanks Dan for the link.
I also will do a search for the tensioner. Might as well get it right from the start. They actually have a phone listed so I'll call Monday and order this. Free shipping too.!!

Here is the belt number I used....purchased from O'reiley's.. MasterPro V-Belt 7448 (15448) 3/8 x 45 3/8
 
#76 ·
#75 · (Edited)
I looked at the video on the Sewing Dude blog, and would like to point out a couple things. Yes, the servo motor is twice as expensive, but if you sew for a living, turn your machine on in the morning and turn it off at the end of the day, it won't be long before your electrical savings will pay for the servo. I personally don't like the clutch motor even though I sewed with one for almost 30 years. I absolutely hate listening to the motor constantly running, so for that reason alone I prefer the servo.

I don't think this was properly explained on the blog:

When you use the treadle with the clutch motor, you are actually "slipping" or "feathering" the clutch to control the speed the sewing machine runs at, you are not controlling the speed of the motor in any way. When in use, a clutch motor is constantly running, and it is running at its full speed. Some motors are re-connectable to be able to run at different speeds, but clutch motors have no bells and whistles, they are very plain Jane and very utilitarian. He also talks about "adjusting" the clutch motor. The only thing you can do is replace the clutch when it wears out, and for the price of a new clutch motor, I'd recommend just replacing the whole assembly, not just the replacing the clutch.
 
#78 ·
When I bought my machine back in 1989-90. I didnt know anything about industrial sewing machines or clutch motors. It wasnt until a few years ago I discovered they make two different speed clutch motors. One is 1720/1740 rpm, this is for heavy duty upholstery work. The other is 3460/3480 rpm and is used for light weight garment/sail making. My machine had the 3480 rpm clutch motor and it was like sewing with your sewing machine powered by a top fuel dragster engine. It was very hard to control and sewing straight lines was nearly impossible.
The new SQ5000 powering my Adler 267 is pure luxury. With the 50mm pulley I dont have to use the hand wheel to start or to stitch slow enough around tight corners, and it is still fast enough to sew long straight lines.
 
#79 ·
. ".......With the 50mm pulley I dont have to use the hand wheel to start or to stitch slow enough around tight corners, and it is still fast enough to sew long straight lines.
The correct way to start sewing is by holding the thread with your left hand and using the hand wheel to penetrate what you are sewing. This prevents the thread from tangling or jamming. It is not a sign of weakness or lack of skill to use the hand wheel, it is there for a reason.
 
#82 ·
I wasn't questioning your skill level or anything else, just pointing out to others who read this that don't have more than beginner skills with the sewing machine that avoiding using the hand wheel is not a positive and that there is a reason the hand wheel is there. You put the 50 MM pulley on your motor to slow it down 40%, and that's fine, but others who read this may not understand.
 
#85 ·
I always read this thread with interest but have not posted lately because I did not feel I had anything more to contribute.

What I noticed most about changing to a 50mm pulley on my Adler 267 was the increased power at lower speeds. The smaller pulley does cut the speed in half but also doubles the mechanical advantage of the motor giving you much more control at lower speed. The machine will still run as fast as you will ever need.

Dan is the professional and his advise is always right on. I am just offering my observations as a guy who does his personal sewing and has made this change. It has really been a good thing for me.

John L
 
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