Just bought a Juku LU-1508

[David916]

Hi everyone,

My name is Dave and this is my first post on the forum.  I am from Sacramento, CA and work as a new product developer and fabricator but have been sewing all my life and have wanted to get into leather work for many years now .  I finally took the leap and just purchased a walking foot sewing machine and it sews great.  I just wish I could upgrade it to do an automatic tac and possibly thread cutting.  Would anyone out there on this great forum know if I could pair a CP-18 control panel with my Juku LU-1508?  And if so, what servo motor control box would work with the CP-18?  My machine came with a clutch motor so I would need to buy a new servo and control box anyhow.   Also, is the thread cutter upgrade doable or is it too complex for this machine?

Any advice would be appreciated and I would certainly owe you one.

Cheers,

Dave

[Wizcrafts]

All I can tell you is that whatever motor you buy, it should be a digital motor (with LED readout and push buttons), not an analog servo (with a speed limiting knob or switch). Someone else will know more about this than I know.

[David916]

I appreciate you starting the path!

[Uwe]

The short answer unfortunately is “No, you can’t get there from here.”

You probably mean the Juki CP-180 control panel.

The CP-180 control panel only works with specific Juki OEM motor controllers on machines equipped with full-function features. The external control panels are just a convenient user-interface to change motor controller setting (essentially an external keyboard and bigger display.) The control panel itself does not add any functions to the machine, it just make it easier to control existing functions. For example, installing a control panel that has back-tack buttons would not add that feature to the machine. In general, everything you can do on the external control panel, you can also do directly using the buttons and display directly on the motor controller. Conversely, if the motors and control can’t already do it, adding the external control panel does not help.

So, unless your machine already is a full-function machine with pneumatic or solenoid-driven actuators and the OEM Juki motor controller (your LU-1508 is NOT one of those machines) then looking to add the CP-180 control panel makes no sense.

This Juki Series 1500 product sheet shows which models are available with full-function options (Juki usually uses the -7 extension in the model number): 

https://www.juki.co.jp/industrial_e/admin/pdata/filedata/333/lu1500n.pdf

Adding automatic thread cutting capability to a basic machine is also not a practical option because the feature requires several other automation options to be present as well. You can have automatic back-tack without a thread cutter, but you cannot have a thread cutter without automatic back-tack. 

If you need these automation functions, your only practical option is buying a full-function machine that already has all that (e.g. Juki  LU-1510N-7.) Attempting to add full-function features to a basic sewing machine is not a practical undertaking (there are some rare exceptions for machines that are “prepped” to add automation features with upgrade kits after the machine leaves the factory - the Durkopp Adler M-Type 867 comes to mind.)

One  “easy” automation feature you can add to a basic machine by means of a servo motor is needle positioning.

Edited March 30, 2021 by Uwe

[kgg]

If you go the digital servo motor route get a get a good one. They are not all equal. The most important thing to remember is the more coils it has the better like the Reliable Sewquiet 6000sm 12 coil or the Sailrite 12 coil version. The main caution is if you plan on adding a speed reducer and a needle positioner to the mix make sure the digital servo motor you planning on purchasing will work properly with those items. Not all do when coupled with a speed reducer.

Personally, l like to keep my setups as simple as possible, servo motor, belt, machine. The more electronic controls you add into the setup the more stuff can go wrong.

My rule of thumb is if I need better speed control, I may think about adding a speed reducer but if I need the addition torque that a speed reducer will provide then I need a bigger/ better/ different class of sewing machine.

Just my thoughts,

kgg

 

[David916]

Thank you Uwe and Kgg for the in-depth responses!  Definitely clears things up!

So here's what I'm thinking, since the LU-1510 requires an air compressor and is very pricey, I may just go with an electric version, in particular, the 2206RB-14-7-DD from Consew.  Anyone know if this would be a suitable all-electric alternative or is there something else out there that's better?

Thanks,

Dave

[Uwe]

The Consew 2206RB-14-7-DD looks like an interesting, fully integrated machine. I’d never even heard of it before today. It certainly looks impressively big and makes a nice stitch in the various YouTube video demos. 

The only downside I can extract from the spec sheets is that it’s Top+Bottom feed only, no Needle feed. Not a show stopper in itself, just something to be aware of before pressing that buy-it-now button.

[kgg]

The cost of a the Juki Lu-1510 is going to run about $6000 and the Consew 2206RB-14-7-DD is about $2100. My concern is what have they done to shave $4000. Unless you are going to really make use all the extra features they are just going to be a source for problems down the road and finding replacement parts maybe even more difficult. If you need the those extra features for what you are doing buy quality first, longevity second and resale value for when you want to replace it. That to me means buying a brand name (Juki, Alder). Buy Once, Cry Once.

Before investing in any machine invest in a road trip to a dealer and test drive it using your stuff.

kgg

[chrisash]

It's funny how we consider resale value on some  items yet never consider it for some of our most expensive purchases like Cars that loose 20% or more of buying price when you drive out from the garage you brought it from

[Constabulary]

21 minutes ago, chrisash said:

It's funny how we consider resale value on some  items yet never consider it for some of our most expensive purchases like Cars that loose 20% or more of buying price when you drive out from the garage you brought it from

I Never bought a new car - guess why? Same with sewing machines. Advantage of sewing machines is that at least some models remain "a certain value" no matter their age. It does not matter if your Singer 111w or Pfaff 545 is 30, 40 or 50 years old as long as they are looking "good", are functional and well setup. In best case in 10+ years you can get back what you paid for your used machine. But that's a different story.

 

14 hours ago, kgg said:

Personally, l like to keep my setups as simple as possible, servo motor, belt, machine. The more electronic controls you add into the setup the more stuff can go wrong.

I absolutely agree with that!