Will Leather Sewing Machines Ever Go High-Tech?

[NewfoundlandLaw]

Hey All

As a newbie to leather working, I have purchased 2 new heavy duty leather machines in the past year. The first was a Cobra Class 4 and the second was a TechSew 2750 Pro.  
 

While I absolutely love the quality and bullet proof nature of these machines, I often use a Brother SE600 to attach edge strips to the top lip of my bags. (Usually simple binding edges.)  Switching from the SE600 to one of my dedicated leather machines makes me feel like I've gone back in time 100 years.  This gets even worse when I use my mother-in-laws Bernina 570QE with crazy options like digitally adjustable pressure controls.

 

Do you guys/gals think heavy-duty compound walking foot machines will ever go "high-tech" with LCD screens, multi position programmable foot controllers and dozens of stitch options?  I was originally hesitant with high-tech sewing machines, but after using the SE600 and the Bernina 570QE, I have to say that things like automatic stitch locking and thread cutting sure are nice   

 

[mikesc]

I hope not..
I have auto thread cutting , auto back stitching to lock threads at the beginning and end of runs on my old Juki DLU 490-4..
I have removed the auto thread cutting and disabled the auto backstitching etc..
re the LCD panels, automation etc..those are available on high speed garment industrials..and on some of the "non clone" heavy duty machines..
When they ( the LCD panels, or the circuit boars and chip, or the automation )go wrong..replacing them can cost half the cost of a new version of the same machine..and parts such as these are rarely "in stock" and have to come from..

China..and that means..that just like almost everything at the moment..it is gonna be a long long wait..as the factories are shut..due to Covid 19..and that could happen again..and again..and again etc

If you bring manufacturing "home"..allow for 3 to 5 years minimum to set up the factories..tooling up and training skilled workers to make what is used to make the machines..

While I absolutely love the quality and bullet proof nature of these machines, I often use a Brother SE600 to attach edge strips to the top lip of my bags. (Usually simple binding edges.) Switching from the SE600 to one of my dedicated leather machines makes me feel like I've gone back in time 100 years. This gets even worse when I use my mother-in-laws Bernina 570QE with crazy options like digitally adjustable pressure controls.

Where were they made ?..Where are the spare parts for them held ? ..China.. Cross your fingers that nothing more than a needle breaks on them..otherwise you'll be in for a very very long wait.

[mikesc]

Some the Juki industrial line up many with all the lCDs and automation that you could want.far more than on domestic machines..

Apparel
Juki Industrial Apparel Machines

Leather flat beds
Juki Industrial Leather Machines..flat bed models

You'll find more such as cylinder models etc in the side navigation there..Adler and other manufacturers have similar..and machines can be made for specific applications

Edited February 26, 2020 by mikesc

[Gunnarsson]

The more technology you put in a machine, the more things in it can (and will) fail. Manufacturers will only supply the parts for so long (remember, they make a living from selling new machines) so a complicated machine is bound to die as parts become unavailable or it breaks down too often so the machine becomes unusable in a production setting.

There are >100 year old sewing machines out there still going strong, and many parts in such a machine can be refurbished or replaced if you just can work metal. The moment you add computers and such specialised electronics to a machine you limit it's life span to how long you build the electronics to last, and intend to supply it as spare parts (which may be not at all, for some chinese manufacturers). Ten, perhaps twenty years?

There are servo motors with needle positioning, adjustable max speed and so on, so you can get some technology even on "dumb" stone age machines. It will also break eventually, but the thing about sewing machine motors is that you can get a new universal one to replace it tomorrow.

There are of course machines that have to have computers, such as embroidery machines. A friend has (or had) an older one, I think it uses floppy discs to transfer the design from computer to sewing machine. The machine itself is probably easy to keep running, but the day the electronics fail it's most likely going to the dumpster. 

[Constabulary]

2nd what  Gunnarsson said. If you run a "sewing business" with lots of output some electronic or computerized feature are probably nice and time (money) saving and machines are often written off after 5 years. If you have a small business or you are a hobbyist keep the things simple. Simple things are living longer most of the time and cause less trouble - often you can fix the simple things by your self and the more complicated the things (sewing machines) are the more you have to "outsource" the service and repairs.

KISS - keep it stupid simple!

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Constabulary

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

I thought this was going to be another 'I invented the bobbinless lockstitch' topic.  

[Kcstott]

I thought never hand stitching again was high tech? 
seriously though, there are very high tech machines out there but they look nothing like a conventional sewing machine. Kinda like a production printing press looks nothing like a desk top printer. 
I think things are advanced enough for what I need. 
mid like to see better speed control on the servo motors but that’s just me. 

[BigSiouxSaddlery]

I'm going to echo the others and say "I sure hope not!"  If you used one of the many heavy leather stitchers still in use today that are a hundred years old, you'd think your new machines ARE high tech.  The difference is these new machines, particularly the Chinese so-called clones, with the same amount of use as the vintage ones saw, will not be sewing a hundred years from now.

[Kcstott]

3 hours ago, BigSiouxSaddlery said:

I'm going to echo the others and say "I sure hope not!"  If you used one of the many heavy leather stitchers still in use today that are a hundred years old, you'd think your new machines ARE high tech.  The difference is these new machines, particularly the Chinese so-called clones, with the same amount of use as the vintage ones saw, will not be sewing a hundred years from now.

The company I work for Solar Turbines San Diego manufactures some very large round pieces of exotic metal and supper alloy parts. Not to mention the run of the mill cast iron and stainless. We have machines that are 50 years old or older retrofitted with NC control (now CNC for the younger crowd) the older machines are typically more reliable than the newer ones outside of the Mori Seki and Mazaks and operators that crash them. but that's not the machines fault. The reason any new machine typically doesn't last as long as the older ones is very simple. Labor and materials 50 or 100 years ago was far cheeper than is is today. Labor is also not valued as much as it was 50 or 100 years ago. How many people wear hand made shoes anymore? when was the last time you commissioned anything? Leather craft has proven there is still a respect for finely crafted goods. Industrial machines are considered disposable by the people that buy them. They typically are disposable when you run them at 150% of their capacity and delay maintenance due to production needs. Any good machine will appear to be a POS to someone that doesn't know any better. I don't know what it would take to make a Cobra Class 4 last 100 years but with proper maintenance im sure it could. 

 

[chuck123wapati]

High tech isn't the answer, I haven't seen anything it really  helped for the consumer.