Pfaff GrandQuilter 18.8 manual

Owner’s Manual[...]

2 Table of Contents Placing your machine on the carriage ...........................................................3 Remove the packing attached to your machine ...........................................3 Light Fixture ....................................................................................................4 Your Thread Stand .........[...]

3 Placing your m achine on the carriage. Prior to placing the machine on the carriage ens ure that you have the encoders attached to the carriage. You will find a rubber mat shipped with your m achine to help keep the machine from slipping on the m etal surface. Place the mat on the carriage before placing your machine on the carriage. When you pla[...]

4 Light Fixture To add your light fixture to your machine, Step 1. Loosen the nuts so that you can slide the lamp fixture into the space provided on the machine in the lamp support bracket. Step 2. Tighten the nuts on the ba se of the lamp to secure the lamp to the lamp support bracket on the side of your m achine. Step 3. Measure the cord so that [...]

5 Your Thread Stand Your Grand Quilter 18.8 comes with a four spool thread stand. Some assembly required. You will need to attach your thre ad stand to the side of your machine with the two screws provided. On the side of the machine you will see two screws where you will place the base of the thread stand. On the side of the thread stand you will [...]

6 Belt guard Your machine comes with a belt guard to prevent da m age to your motor sensor and protect you from getting caught in the belt. In the box you will find the plastic cove r and attached to the machine are the screws used to hold the belt guard in place. Step 1. Locate the screws on the machine there are two above the hand wheel and one c[...]

7 Attaching your handle bars with controllers There are two locations where you can connect your handl e bars with controllers to your Mega Quilter 18x8. These photos show the block that will hold the handle bars in place on your Mega Quilter 18x8. This block is on the front of the machine or the needle side of the machine and is used for free moti[...]

8 Connecting your Grand Quilter 18.8 to your Carriage Asse mbly (Deck) and Controls on the Handles For one year after the purchase of the Pfaff Gra ndQuilter 18.8 longarm sewing machine, we will repair or replace (at our option), without any co st to you for either parts or labor, any machine or part that proves to be defect ive in materials or wor[...]

9 What is the Tension Release Lever? The tension release lever raises the hopping foot and releases the tension on the thread. You can watch the tension disc pl ates open as you lift the lever. NEVER start sewing with the lever up. Because there is no tension on the thread the bottom stitches will be huge loops. How Do I Adjust the Height of the Ho[...]

10 Next you will adjust the walk by loosing this bolt so that you can move this part up and down. Loosen this bolt here To move this arm up. Note: (Machine is shipped with this in the lowest position.) More Walk (higher) Less Walk (lower) Replace the side cover af ter you tighten the bolt.[...]

11 Routine Cleaning and Oiling Routine cleaning and oiling is very im portant to the longevity of your qu ilting machine. Brush out the fuzz from around the hook and foot. Change your needle regular ly to avoid thread breakage, tension problems and needle breakage. A worn needle can m ean skipped st itches, shredded thread and a weakening of the ne[...]

12 Bobbin Winder and Bobbins A bobbin winder is included with your machine. The thread on a properly wound bobbin should be snug and have even layers of thread. A sloppy or mushy wound bobbin will result in poor stitch quality. Bobbin Thread Bobbin Thread Guide How do I wind a Bobbin? 1. Insert an empty bobbin on the bobbin winder spindle. 2. Place[...]

13 5. Wrap the thread around the bobbin cl ockwise three or four tim es 6. Push trip mechanism f orward until it snaps into position 7. Bobbin winder will start winding the bobbin once you press the start/ stop key. You can quilt while your bobbin is winding. Once it is full it will stop. 8. If you wind your bobbin only (When not quilting) ensure t[...]

14 Check the tension of the bobbi n by holding the loaded bobbin case in one hand. With one ha nd under the bobbin case, hold the tail of thread and watch as the thread flows out of the bobbin case. A slight bounce s hould cause the bobbin case to slide down the thread. If the thread slides out of the case as you pick it up, it needs more tension. [...]

15 Machine Part Names ( Please note: the takeup lev er guard has been removed for a clea r view for pictures only. Neve r run the machin e without the g uar d in place, ex treme head injury may occur. Th is guard is not a handl e. Do not place your hand in th is area, your fing ers will get pinched) This is a diagram of the side of your long arm m [...]

16 The Control Unit The control unit is shown here. To activate the Auto Stitch Press the Auto Stitch Button a nd ensure that the light under the button is on. Now to start press the start/ stop button this can be found on either controller. As the machine is m oved movement is detected and the speed of the machine will adjust to keep the stitch le[...]

17 Figure 1 Threading Overview How Do I Thread the Machine? 1. Place a cone of thread on the thread holder. Figure 1 2. Pull thread through eyel et above the cone of thread. Make sure the eyelet is di rectly above the thread cone. Figure 1 Please note: the takeup lever guard has been re moved for a clear view fo r pictures only. Never run the machi[...]

18 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 3. Thread upper thread guide as shown in pictur e. Figure 2 4. Weave thread as shown on three hole thread guide. Figure 3 5. Take thread between the two tension discs from back to front all the way around. Up and over the check spring. Be sure the thread is going betwee n the discs and go far enough to catch the check [...]

19 Takeup lever guard removed for photos only. Never run the machine without the guard in place, extreme head inju ry may occur. This guard is not a handle keep your hand clear as your fingers can get pinched. Figure 5 Figure 6 6. Thread runs under silver angle br acket. See picture for details. Figure 4 7. Bring the thread up through the thread gu[...]

20 TIP: Use the old needle to hold the new needle in place while you tighten the screw. By placing the point of the old needle into the eye of the new needle you can see how straight you are placing the scarf of the needle. How Do I Change the Needle? A 134RSAN needle (size 18) will be installed on your Gr and Quilter 18.8 from the factory. When it[...]

21 Tip: A general rule of thumb is that if the stitch looks bad on the top it is the bottom tension. If the stitch looks bad on the bottom is the upper tension. The upper and lower threads play tug of war with each other. How Do I Make Adjustments to Make the Perfect Stitch? Understanding how your long arm machine makes a stitch w ill help you m ak[...]

22 Tension, tension, tension… This probably causes more problem s than anything else. You need correct tension on the top and bottom threads but you also must have co rrect tension on the quilt held between the bars. You should be able to gently ro ck the belly bar where the b acking fabric is attached. This allows enough movement of your quilt l[...]

23 Quilt Top Puckers Is your backing fabric stretched too tight? While the b acking fabric needs to lie flat and without wrinkles, stretching it too tight can m ake the quilt top pucker. After stitching and releasing the backing fabric the top will pucker. The top tension is too tight. Adjust th e tension disc small turns counter clockw ise. Repeat[...]

24 Check spring replacement/Tension Knob Fig 1: Tension Assembly with broken Spring (old tension knob) Fig 4: Remove assembly from machine. Be careful of release pi n (see fig 6) Fig 7: Loosen screw only DO NOT REMOVE Fig 10: Remove spring Fig 2: Tension Assembly with good spring (new Tension knob) Fig 5: Machine with tension assembly removed Fig 8[...]

25 Fig 13: New Spring, This is what was broken Fig 16: New spring in place Fig 19: give the tension assembly a twist until you f eel resistance on the check spring Fig 22: Once in ensure that your check spring is at 11:00 (refer to fig 26 for correct placement) Fig 14: Insert New Spring Fig 17: Insert the tension assembly back in barrel Fig 20: Tig[...]

26 Fig 25: Tighten screw on your machine. Fig 26: Tension assembly back in place with new check spring at 11:00 Fig 27: For fine adjustment of check spring insert screwdriver turn clockwise for more tension Timing between needle and rotating hook Remove the two needle plate screws You will also need to remove the three from your machine. Face plate[...]

27 Turn the hand wheel to locate the needle at it ’s Loosen Needle bar connecting screw A. lowest position. Note: correct needle position is This will allow you to raise and lower when you can see a small portion of the eye of needle bar for correct location. Note: the needle. This picture shows correct location. Check all phot os before making a[...]

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