[Cronko]

John,

I´ve been thinking the same thing about the material...the paper/cardboard doesn´t feel very permanent even if it`s easy to do all over if/when it fails.
I was thinking of some kind of plastic while working on my machine, but was too excited to get it done in a hurry...so I went the paper-way

Maybe it´s possible to cut strips from some translucent plastic lids or cans, and then try to paint them in different thickness/gradients?? I guess a guy that can handle an airbrush could do this easily, but that´s way beyond my skills
Or perhaps take a strip of plastic and try to sand/file it down to a wedge-shape in order to get it to let more light to pass through it?? If someone is willing to try and comes up with a more permanent solution, it would be intreresting to read about it.

I agree...it´s amazing that the factory didn´t do this to begin with, but I guess they are trying to cut costs in China too these days??

[SafeAirOne]

Arrgh...it's past 10PM and I just got home from work but now I want to crack open my SQ5000 and attempt this mod.

From the beginning I have had a thick piece of white sheet styrene in mind for use as the diffuser; I've got a bunch of it left over from another project.

I still can't believe that this went largely unnoticed on the very original forum it was posted on!

Ok...I'll be back in an hour or two (runs off to get his camera and styrene).

[SafeAirOne]

...(runs back to the computer) That was fast! I actually finished a half an hour ago, so it takes about a half an hour to do this mod if you take 3 tries to get it right.

I found the thick piece of styrene (about 1/32") to be too thick, but I had a piece of thin styrene...maybe .010" or so that I spray painted a black stripe on. I also shaped the styrene so that it would gradually and increasingly block the light source as the pedal was pressed.

The results were unbelieveable! This was what I was expecting when I bought the SQ5000! A nice, gradual build up in speed from 1 to the programmed speed over the full range of the actuating lever.

In the end, the thickness or translucense of the diffuser I made probably didn't matter a whole lot--I found that the diffuser I made was mostly the same shade of gray and that the gentile speed control was due primarily to the way I cut the diffuser so that it would more gradually (than the original) block the light the further it was rotated into the light sensor.

I know that this was the principle of operation of the original factory diffuser, but they got the shape wrong...That arc cut into the diffuser is much too sharp--it needs to be a long, gradual arc. I think you could probably cut the original diffuser so that it blocked light transmission more gradually, but I didn't want to test this out by making any permanent changes to anything because my servo motor is still under warranty.

Thanks again to Larry for cluing us in on this!

Spray Painted Styrene:


New Diffueser Stuck To Old Diffuser Using Ultra-Sticky Seamstick Canvas Basting Tape:

[Cronko]

SafeAirOne,

Nice to see that it worked out so good for you with the plastic. Altering the shape of the plastic strip instead of the translucency makes it even easier
Looking at the pictures of your control-arm, I see that the factory have tried to change it a little from the earlier model. On my SewQuiet 4000 the arm is just a square piece of steel, while your SewQuiet 5000 at least have a radius on it.
Now it´s time to run and find some plastic....

[SWFLholsters]

Originally Posted by SafeAirOne

...

The results were unbelieveable! This was what I was expecting when I bought the SQ5000! A nice, gradual build up in speed from 1 to the programmed speed over the full range of the actuating lever.

Excellent news, now we know the popular SewQuiet 5000 works and the list grows by one.

SewQuiet 5000
SewQuiet 4000
Skyrit TN-411 (looks very similar to a Consew)
Enduro Pro SM600-1

I just did a production run of a project last night and I am in kats *** heaven with my machine. Until last night I had only tested the mod on scraps but last night was a true test and man what a difference, the smooth control was absolutely incredible.

This project is a mix of go slow and accurate to long straights and prior to this I would just leave the speed at 3 and limp along on the straight stretches. Not anymore, now I can slowly build up speed to a controllable high speed for the straights and come to a crawl for the tight spots. Productiviy increase here I come.

I'm off to catch some Z'zz have a great day all.

[SafeAirOne]

When I tested it after buttoning it up last night, I was hitting a max of "11" with the machine set to 15 so today I popped it open and adjusted the shape and position of my...I was calling it a diffuser, but it's more of a light blocker...so that I could hit "15" at full travel..

Here's the size, shape and position of the light blocker that did it for me--It starts after a half centimeter of lever travel, will hold a speed of "1" all day long and will hit "15" at the end of travel with a steady, predictable graduation in speed. NOTE that the arm is rotated away from the sensor just to take this pic--I positioned it correctly after the photo:

THE FACTORY SHOULD BE MAKING THE LIGHT BLOCKERS IN THIS SHAPE:

[SafeAirOne]

FWIW, last week I sent The Reliable Corporation an e-mail extolling the virtues of this better way to control the speed on their SewQuiet line of servo motors. In fact, it was mostly an e-mail of me going gaga over it and a link to this thread (and therefore Larry's site and the original "discovery" by DDHAL).

Susan, their Customer Service Rep, forwarded it on to their Service Manager, Nathan.

Even though they don't produce the motors or the parts, it'd be nice to see them have some 'correct' speed control arms made up and offered to users.

[John long]

Just got back from the NSRA Street Rod Nationals. Could not wait to play with this. I used an old worn out "bondo spreader" which was a little too transparent. I added 3 layers of masking tape and shaded it with a pencil and then one last layer of masking tape. I had not seen the last few posts or I might have gone with SafeAirOnes's method but this truly worked great also.

Here are some pictures of what I did with excellent results.

[Qwerty27807]

It seems like I might give this a try using plastic from a gallon milk jug, sharpie marker, and a hot glue gun.

Plan B might be to use layers of duct tape to make a "flag" for the arm.

I'm having the problem where every so often, even though it is set at "3", my SQ5000 will surge to full speed for a split second on starting. Not every time, but enough to **** me off.

[hdflame]

I'm expecting a new Cobra Class 4 in about 2-3 weeks so I can't wait to try this out.

My current Highlead/servo motor combo works fine for me and it isn't one of the digital speed controllers anyway.

Like someone said earlier, I've learned way more on here than I was learning hanging out at the upholstery shop tearing down furniture!

Bobby
Home Page

[John long]

Originally Posted by Qwerty27807

It seems like I might give this a try using plastic from a gallon milk jug, sharpie marker, and a hot glue gun.

Plan B might be to use layers of duct tape to make a "flag" for the arm.

I'm having the problem where every so often, even though it is set at "3", my SQ5000 will surge to full speed for a split second on starting. Not every time, but enough to **** me off.

Several of us have complained about the surge at low speed settings with the 5000. Between installing the small pulley and doing this modification that issue is pretty well eliminated. I am extremely pleased with my machine at this point.

John L

[beachbum jim]

I just received the Sew Quiet SQ5000. Looks like they already made the modification. I was ready to do it my self but after depressing the lever on the bench, it slowly sped up and got faster as you pressed down on it. The thing works GREAT!

[John long]

Originally Posted by beachbum jim

I just received the Sew Quiet SQ5000. Looks like they already made the modification. I was ready to do it my self but after depressing the lever on the bench, it slowly sped up and got faster as you pressed down on it. The thing works GREAT!

Jim, I think you will love the SQ5000. Even if it turns out you need to make the modification. You will know after you install the motor and run it under load. It is very easy to do. Good luck.

John L