Experiment No.

2
Drive Mechanism of Thread Take-up Lever and Needle Bar in a Lock
Stitch Machine.

Abstract:
The purpose of this experiment was to drive the mechanism for thread take up lever and needle bar
in a lock stitch sewing machine. The thread take-up lever mechanism of a sewing machine has an
important role for proper stitch forming and smooth working of the machine. The dial was attached
to the crank shaft by setting it at 0. The thread take-up lever was set to highest position and the
distance of thread take-up lever and needle bar is noted. Graph was plotted to check the relative
movement of thread take-up lever and needle bar.
Drive Mechanism of Thread Take-up Lever and Needle Bar in a Lock Stitch Machine.
Muqaddas Javaid

Table of Contents
Abstract: ...........................................................................................................................................1
Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................2
1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................1
1.1. Objectives.................................................................................................................................1
1.2. Theory ......................................................................................................................................1
2. Equipment and Materials ............................................................................................................2
3. Method ........................................................................................................................................2
4. Results/ Conclusion.....................................................................................................................3
5. References ...................................................................................................................................6

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Drive Mechanism of Thread Take-up Lever and Needle Bar in a Lock Stitch Machine.

Muqaddas Javaid

1. Introduction

1.1. Objectives
• To drive the mechanism of thread take-up lever and needle bar in a lock stitch machine.
1.2. Theory
Single needle lockstitch machine
Single needle lock stitch sewing machines are generally used for sewing fabric, leather, etc.
particularly one that uses two threads such as an upper and a lower thread. The one side of the
needle has the eye and a sharp tip while the other side is attached to a needle bar that moves up
and down to form a stitch. The arm also secures a presser foot which presses the fabric while
sewing. The needle penetrates into the fabric from the top, to bring the needle thread through the
fabric to the bottom to form a stitch.

Figure 1. Single Needle Lock Stitch Machine

The needle thread in a spool is threaded through the thread guides, tensioning mechanism and into
the sewing needle eye. The bottom thread (bobbin thread) is wound onto the small package called
a bobbin before sewing and is secured inside a bobbin case. For stitch formation, the needle brings
the needle thread loop to the bottom of the fabric where a small hook on the bobbin case catches
it. As the bobbin hook rotates, it takes the needle thread around the bobbin to produce a stitch and
then the take-up lever takes back the extra loop of top thread to tighten the stitch. As the needle is
out of action of fabric, the feed dog comes above the throat plate, and pushes or moves the fabric
up against the presser foot for next stitch.

Working Principle
• The single needle lockstitch sewing machine is getting drive from the electric motor which is
mounted in sewing table. The main parts of the sewing machine are;
• Flywheel
• Eccentric or cam
• Needle bar
• Bobbin holder
• Feed dog
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Drive Mechanism of Thread Take-up Lever and Needle Bar in a Lock Stitch Machine.

Muqaddas Javaid

• Presser foot
• The flywheel is driven by motor belt and it drives the sewing machine main shaft. Another end
of the main shaft is connected with eccentric or cam, which drives the needle bar’s up and
down movements for every revolution and take-up lever.
• Every rotation of the main shaft moves the needle a full cycle of up and down movements.
• The main shaft is further connected with a bevel gear and two connecting rods to transfer the
motion to the bottom of the machine. The bevel gear rod is used to transfer the motion to the
bottom center shaft, which is the main shaft for connecting the bobbin shuttle mechanism. This
connection helps the bobbin shuttle to move. The bevel gear mechanism helps to transfer the
motion without any energy loss.
• Every one revolution of the main shaft is connected to every revolution of shuttle hook to make
one-unit stitch.
• The other two connecting rods from main shaft are used to connect with the feed dog, which
has a synchronized movement with needle and bobbin shuttle mechanism.
• The feed dog has to perform four stop motions for every cycle of stitch formation. The feed
dog gets drive from main shaft in two ways, one is rotation – to deliver the unit length of the
fabric for sewing and another motion is the up and down movements above the throat plate of
the sewing machine.
• One rod helps the feed dog to move up and down for the selected distance based on the settings
kept. The other rod is used to move the feed dog to and fro as required.
• Whenever, the stitch regulator is adjusted, the feed dog delivers the required amount of fabric
needed by adjusting the feed bracket. The revolution per minute of the feed dog is same as the
needle stroke.

2. Equipment and Materials

The materials required are;
• Timing dial
• Single Needle lock stitch machine
• Measuring scale

3. Method
• The timing dial was attached to the crank shaft.
• The dial was adjusted to the zero degree when the take up lever is at the top most position.
• The wheel of the machine was rotated by 10 degree every time.
• The distance of the take up lever and needle bar was noted from a fixed point.
• The angle was noted when the n
• The readings were noted and the relative displacement graph of thread take-up lever and needle
bar is made.

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Drive Mechanism of Thread Take-up Lever and Needle Bar in a Lock Stitch Machine.

Muqaddas Javaid

4. Results/ Conclusion
Observations
Thread Thread
Take-up Take-up
Needle Lever Needle Lever
Movement Movement Angle Movement Movement
Angle (°) (cm) (cm) (°) (cm) (cm)

0 5.3 17.9 180 2.2 18.8

10 5.3 18.8 190 2.1 18.5
20 5.3 19.5 200 2.2 18.2
30 5.1 20 210 2.6 17.9
40 5.1 20.4 220 2.6 17.5
50 5 20.6 230 2.8 17.2
60 4.7 20.8 240 3.1 17
70 4.5 20.7 250 3.3 16.5
80 4.4 20.6 260 3.6 16.2
90 4.2 20.4 270 3.8 15.9
100 3.9 20.4 280 4 15.7
110 3.6 20.2 290 4.3 15.6
120 3.3 20.2 300 4.5 15.4
130 3.1 20 310 4.7 15.2
140 2.9 19.8 320 4.9 15.4
150 2.6 19.5 330 5 16
160 2.5 19.4 340 5.1 16.6
170 2.3 19.1 350 5.3 17.3
180 2.2 18.8 360 5.3 17.9
Table 1. Movement of Thread Take-up Lever and Needle Bar

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Drive Mechanism of Thread Take-up Lever and Needle Bar in a Lock Stitch Machine.

Muqaddas Javaid

Graph

Discussion

Correlate both graphs and discuss how both movements play their role to for a stitch.

When the sewing needle penetrates the fabric, the thread take-up lever moves downward. The
thread take-up lever is releasing thread. This released thread is drawn by the needle through needle
eye. The needle after reaching its lower most position begins to move upward while thread take-
up lever continues to move downward. In this stage, the take-up lever is providing thread to the
bobbin. The thread take-up lever after reaching the lowest position begins to rise and draws excess
thread through the needle eye and tightens the stitch into the fabric. As the thread take-up lever
begins its downward motion, the stitch formation is completed.

Show the degrees on the graph when the shuttle hook just starts forming the loop ad finishes
tucking the loop.

When the needle is at the lower most position the shuttle hook catches the thread and when the
needle reaches the highest position the stitch is formed. So, 200° is the angle when the shuttle
hook start forming the loop and 360° is the angle when it finishes tucking the loop.
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Drive Mechanism of Thread Take-up Lever and Needle Bar in a Lock Stitch Machine.

Muqaddas Javaid

What is the purpose of thread take up lever being stationary for some time during the whole
cycle?

The purpose of thread take-up lever being stationary for some time in a cycle during the stitch
formation is that it controls the thread tension for forming the good stitch. The thread take-up lever
is stationary to control the extra thread by giving the thread some tension. In this way no loose
stitch would be formed.

Can we measure the interval (in terms of degree) when thread take up lever is stationary
during its movement cycle? If yes, do it.

Yes, the interval can be measured when thread take up lever is stationary during its movement
cycle in term of degrees. The interval when thread take up lever is stationary is 90°-100° and 110°
to 120°.

The feeding amount of the thread take-up lever from highest dead point to lowest dead point
of the thread take-up lever is called the stroke of the thread take up lever. If the stroke is
increased or decreased what kind of effect you can precise on the seams.

When the stoke of needle bar is increased then less stitches per inch are formed and the seam can
be unraveled easily. There is loose tension in the thread.
When the stoke is decreased then there is puckering in the fabric because of a large amount of
tension.

Larger needle stroke is used for heavy weight fabric and small needle stroke is used for light weight
fabrics.

Write specification of the machine from DDL 8300N Bronchure.

Needle bar stroke: 30.7 mm

Maximum sewing speed: 5500 stitches/ in
Feed dog: 4-row
Lubrication: Automatic
Maximum stitch length: 5mm
Hook: Automatic lubricating full-rotary hook
Weight of the machine head: 28 kg
Lift of the Presser foot: By hand: 5.5 mm, by knee: 13mm

It is concluded that stitch is formed by the movement of both thread take-up lever and needle bar.
The single needle lockstitch sewing machine is getting drive from the electric motor. The flywheel
is driven by motor belt and it drives the sewing machine main shaft. Another end of the main shaft
is connected with eccentric or cam, which drives the needle bar’s up and down movements for
every revolution and take-up lever.

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Drive Mechanism of Thread Take-up Lever and Needle Bar in a Lock Stitch Machine.

Muqaddas Javaid

5. References
https://clothingindustry.blogspot.com/2018/02/single-needle-lockstitch-machine.html
https://www.slideshare.net/wwwniranga/six-major-elementsofsewing