xs400 Report post Posted February 17, 2015 I recently bought a Juki 1541 and it came with a clutch motor. After destroying some of my work and becoming extremely frustrated I decided I would bite the bullet and research servo motors. I, obviously, would love to buy a servo motor but I am becoming increasingly more confused as to which one/ones would be a good buy for me. Can anyone guide me in the right direction? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pcox Report post Posted February 17, 2015 Call Bob at Toledo Ind sewing machine. I must have installed 20 or more of his servo motors in the last 2 years. Great control and an easy swap with a clutch motor. The price is right too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dwight Report post Posted February 17, 2015 Call Bob at Toledo Ind sewing machine. I must have installed 20 or more of his servo motors in the last 2 years. Great control and an easy swap with a clutch motor. The price is right too. I don't think you can go wrong with the above advice. I did my own with a servo motor from Toledo, . . . took about 1/2 hour, . . . worst part for me was getting down on the floor, . . . then getting back up again. Only unexpected minor hitch was the original belt was too long, . . . had to hit the hardware store for a different one. May God bless, Dwight Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colt W Knight Report post Posted February 18, 2015 Call Bob at Toledo Ind sewing machine. I must have installed 20 or more of his servo motors in the last 2 years. Great control and an easy swap with a clutch motor. The price is right too. I got my Servo from Bob. It ended up being a great purchase, and made sewing so much easier. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xs400 Report post Posted February 19, 2015 Awesome! Thanks for the help, guys! I will definitely call him as I am tired of the garbage I have now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoMama Report post Posted February 20, 2015 ...and when you get it, here's a thread to make it run even better with more control. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=55723&hl= Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michu Report post Posted February 21, 2015 (edited) I sew bags, some of which are VERY thick 'cuz I sew the veg tan base to the bag, through foam rubber, and multiple layers of leather. To do this, I've bought several leather sewing machines from the Leather Machine Co, each of which has servo motors. These are fantastic motors in that they're very strong and NEVER cause me any difficulty. The thing I like the most about these motors is that I can literally move at about a half-stitch at a time if I need to sew particularly carefully, and yet also sew and wind bobbins quickly... that kind of flexibility. The specs are that they're stronger than the usual 3/4 HP motors in that they are 600 watts, brushless, DC, take the smallest sips of electricity, etc. They've never broken on me, and I do absolutely NOTHING to maintain them. I swear they would enable my machines to sew through Chevy bumpers. I love their stuff. Never breaks. no maintenance. very flexible in their abilities. Can't go wrong with those motors. Go to LeatherMachineCo.com and click on their Motors tab on the side. Good luck! Pepper Edited February 21, 2015 by Michu Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Dawg Club Report post Posted February 21, 2015 I have a Reliable and Family servo motors. Both work good. I got the Family from Gregg @ Keystone for a great price and fast shipping. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tramps Leatherworking Report post Posted February 22, 2015 I have a Nick-O-Sew NKS-5500 servo motor on my Consew 227-R-2, great control, plenty of power, I love it... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bertil Report post Posted February 22, 2015 There are some pros and cons re different types of servos. Basically two main types. brush and brushless. With brush like the Family Sew you have an internal brake that you have to release by pressing the pedal a bit in order to hand jog the machine. On brushless, hand wheel is easily turned by hand and no foot on the pedal. Brushes wear over time and tend to consume more energy compared to brushless. On the other hand many brush motors have a nice dial to change the top speed. Many brushless have a push button system which is not so intuitive. On the other hand brushless have higher start up torque. Both have very good sewing control and are very quiet. I have an Enduro Pro 220V from Universal Sewing Supply (https://www.universalsewing.com) which I am more than happy with. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) Are "brushed motors" really servo motors? I thought servo motors always have these rare earth magnets or coils. I just ask because I`m not sure. Brushed sewing motors are very common over here. Moretti, EFKA, ELTE, Pfaff and so forth produced these for decades. They were called "Anlassermotor" (but a 1:1 translation may not make sense) I just have two of them flotation around. I always liked them (some more - some less) The power is not electronically controlled. They have a stack of contacts instead and the further you push the foot pedal the more contacts are touching each other and so the power is controlled. (I do not mean clutch motors) So does the fact that a motor is electronically controlled make it a servo motor? Edited February 22, 2015 by Constabulary Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colt W Knight Report post Posted February 22, 2015 The term servomotor encompasses a lot of different motor designs and can be brushless or brushed.brushless motors are more expensive. The feedback device and electrical controlare really what make it a servo motor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bertil Report post Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) Wikipedia has a good article about servos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servomotor I guess that the "Anlasser motor" is a stepper motor. Edited February 22, 2015 by Bertil Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xs400 Report post Posted February 22, 2015 ...and when you get it, here's a thread to make it run even better with more control. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=55723&hl= So, I got the Family Sew FS-550s. I read this thread that you recommended and uh....well, I will admit that I failed my circuits class the first time I took it. All of that read like instructions to perform brain surgery in Sumerian. I guess I will just rig up a speed reducer to get more control. It seems as though there is a small window on the slowest speed that will go slow and steady. It is hard to regulate because of the torque issue. I am making seats for motorcycles and I need that steady slow speed that we all want for that beautiful, not so cheap leather we bought. I appreciate so many of you filling me in on this stuff as I am new to the compound feed machines. What do you guys think?...Better to buy a speed reducer or make my own? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ole South Report post Posted February 22, 2015 Maybe some of the more experienced guys can chime in here... I'm curious too. Can we modify the opto-interrupter on the FS-550 like the Enduro to gain a longer acceleration ramp? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bertil Report post Posted February 23, 2015 Re Enduro they have changed it on the 2nd generation. I have an ENDURO PRO SM645-2P 220V and it works like a charm on low speed. Read my review and comments http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=61436. This machine would run on slowest max speed 100 rpm and with a 50 mm pulley and 100 mm hand wheel 50 stitches per min. Still you have the possibility to go very slow and have the torque and control. What I find very convenient is that you can easily turn the hand wheel without pressing down the foot pedal. Re Family Sew if you really want to keep to keep it: Go with a speed reducer. The motor is really not made to run at slow speed. Then it just matters how handy you are if you buy a ready made one or make one yourself. Search for speed reducer in the forum and you will find a lot of good ideas if you want to make one yourself. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ole South Report post Posted February 23, 2015 Ooops.... I should have read ALL the links in the preceding posts. JoMama and BDaz have a handle on this motor. XS don't be too intimidated by what you read. These guys have outlined two modifications that will allow you to fine tune your servo motor. One gives greater control limiting the high end speed and the other describes how to control how fast the motor reacts to the foot pedal, with the additional benefit of moving the control up top so it's easier to change! If you're tied into the bike scene I'm sure there's someone locally that can guide you along the way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cobra Steve Report post Posted February 23, 2015 We put speed reducers on all of our machines. We have found that using an actual pulley system along with a servo motor you get better control so whether you make your own, or buy one, you will b better off. Our servo motors also come with a 3 year warranty and our speed reducers have a lifetime warranty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted February 23, 2015 I have one machine that is powered directly by a FS-550 and another with a FS-550 going to a 3:1 speed reducer, then up to the machine. Both motors are fitted with 50mm pulleys and are unmodified. The direct powered machine has a maintainable slowest running speed of about 1.5 stitches per second. But, it is trivial for us to do single stitches and stop needle up or down. The other machine, with the reducer, can actually be kept at the blazing pace of one stitch in 10 to 12 seconds (it has a bigger flywheel pulley). The only practical use for such a slow speed is to watch exactly where the needle is going to hit, which is useful when doing repairs to previously sewn work. More useful is simply turning the speed limiter switch to the slowest setting and flooring it. This gives us a steady speed of one stitch per second. This is useful when I sew fishtails or other patterns onto belts and straps. In hindsight, I should have had a speed reducer installed on the other machine when I ordered it. Adding it on now will require repositioning the bobbin winder and possibly enlarging the belt slot in the custom cut table. Do I recommend speed reducers for leather sewers? You betcha! The ones now for sale from our member-dealers should all have ball bearings, rather than the old style sleeve bearings. If you are buying a new sewing machine and the dealer offers a speed reducer installation option, take it. You'll save yourself a lot of trouble later on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoMama Report post Posted February 26, 2015 I bought a speed reducer that looks like THIS one and it was a pain to install because you cannot tilt your machine back since the drive belt is no longer in line with the machine tilt pivot and machine pulley. I suggest getting one of THESE since it will save you at least $100 worth of headache. I wish I had. You will not have to cut a bigger slot in your table either. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted February 26, 2015 The speed reducer it self mostlikely is not the problem. The problem is the position of your SR. I have no problems with mine and I didn´t cut a wider or longer slot in my table. My SR is "home made" but pretty much the same "style". I only had to move the motor a bit to the back. So I would guess your setup is the problem and not the part. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoMama Report post Posted February 27, 2015 The speed reducer it self mostlikely is not the problem. The problem is the position of your SR. I have no problems with mine and I didn´t cut a wider or longer slot in my table. My SR is "home made" but pretty much the same "style". I only had to move the motor a bit to the back. So I would guess your setup is the problem and not the part. You guessed wrong. The problem is that the speed reducer I bought does not attach easily, when there is not enough table to move the motor back or forward. I had to make a couple spacers and move the motor down 5". If I had more table I could have moved it back 4". The speed reducer I now wish I had bought will fit any table, appears to bolt right up with no drilling needed and a lot less fidgeting with alignment, not to mention it uses sealed ball bearings instead of cheap bushings and keeps the motor over the pedal so your linkage is not at some goofy angle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tramps Leatherworking Report post Posted February 27, 2015 Well, if the OP isn't totally confused by now i'm amazed... Just get yourself a decent servo (shop around for the best deal) buy a ball bearing SR, I have this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Nick-O-Sew-NKS-SR2-3-6-9-Dual-Speed-Reducer/151545749209?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D28797%26meid%3Dbc151193770f4cb9b367fb8ec318f8f2%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D3%26sd%3D381157749794 mount them on your table, and enjoy... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SARK9 Report post Posted February 28, 2015 (edited) I've done several clutch motor/servo swaps and with the typical narrow industrial tables, my solution has been to install an offset plate that mounts to the original carriage bolts in your table, but offsets some new mounting studs to the right side to compensate for the extra width of the reducer pulley. This arrangement also lets the motor set back far enough that the large pulley won't interfere with the motor pulley, and allows normal use of the belt cutout and the tilt-back of the machine head. -DC Edited February 28, 2015 by SARK9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted February 28, 2015 @JoMama You are right, I forgot that my table is deeper than most others. So I was a bit on the wrong track! The idea of SARK9 is good. I think you also can do that with plywood and carriage bolts for the motor. Or use drive in nuts or threaded inserts instead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
