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How Bobbin Works? Sewing Machine Working Process Step By Step
Do you know how does a sewing machine work? Innovations and inventions have enabled the human population to live a practical and comfortable life. The invention of the wheel, discovering electricity and researching ways to produce energy etc has played a vital role in helping the societies to grow and thrive. One of the most beneficial inventions has been the discovery and development of the sewing machine.
Are The Sewing Machines Underrated?
You won’t see many folks talking about this; however, this invention has literally transformed the way we live and most importantly – the clothes we wear! Manual needle knitting took months and years to achieve a fully stitched fabric.
This was reduced to days and hours with the debut of sewing machines. And by sewing machines, we are not only referring to the household sewing machines.
We are also referring to the sewing machines that are used at industrial scales, such as heavy-duty sewing machines, embroidery machines and sewing machines for quilting etc.
How Does A Sewing Machine Work – Let’s see In A GIF
The basic working principle of sewing machines is very simple: two threads, one needle, up and down; stitch done. That’s it. However, when we look at sewing machines practically, they seem to be much more complicated than an as easier definition of a stitch!
They are made of many pieces which synchronously work together to form stitches. In this post, you’ll learn what those pieces are and what role they play in our sewing projects.
What Goes Into A Single Stitch?
In order to understand the mechanism, we’ll have to start with the build of a machine. Nowadays, the manual sewing machines aren’t in use. Even in the most underdeveloped and developing countries, the electric sewing machine has overridden the manual models.
This switch from manual to electrical machines mainly happened because of low electricity and machine production costs. The major component of all electrical sewing machines is the motor. The location of this motor is within the main frame of the machine and can be identified via the power cord.
The working mechanism of electrical or manual sewing machines involves a higher degree of mechanical and electrical design understanding. However, for your convenience, we’ve tried explaining using the easiest possible terms. Like manual knitting and sewing, the basic principle of a sewing machine is very simple. The machine basically has dual thread input that works up and down to form a simple stitch.
Although this looks fairly easy on the paper, the actual implementation of this principle involves perfect synchronization among the electrical, electronic and mechanical components. All these components are joined via camshafts and rotary gears to perform the function of stitching.
The Feed-dog is a small set of choppers that follow a synchronized up back and forth motion. The location of this part is right under the needle plate. And the main function is to heave the fabric as the needle performs a stitch.
The feed dog also has sideways movements that achieve the desired size of the stitch. Meanwhile, the needle is moved by a shaft that is connected directly with the motor.
The synchronization of the needle and feed-dog has to be perfect in order to get the desired size of the stitch. There’s a stitch-selector knob on the machine to adjust the size of stitches. Nowadays, the stitch adjuster can be easily adjusted to form any pattern such as a zig-zag stitch, overlock, chain stitch etc.
The Smart Sewing Machines!
The newer smart sewing machines come bundled with integrated smart chips to carry out the stitching and sewing process.
These new genre machines have smart dials to input stitch size value and also come with dedicated thread-cut buttons. Also, the needle up-and-down and reverse stitch pattern controls are onboard to make it very easy for the user to stitch fabrics.
How Are Industrial And Domestic Sewing Machines Different?
The industrial sewing machines are bigger versions of a domestic unit. However, the industrial sewing machines are usually heavy duty and are meant for a doing a dedicated task. For instance, the industrial unit for loop and straight stitching is entirely separate from a unit that performs overlocking.
Also, the industrial units usually have larger motors and have the ability to perform repetitive stitching tasks for a long time. Normally, the components of these machines aren’t fit-able in a single frame. That’s why these units are converted to a workstation with motors and power under the desk and unit mounted in a way to help the users work for hours without strain on their body.
Who invented The Sewing Machine?
The history of sewing goes as far 30000 BC when the humans of that time started making clothes from animal hides. However, it wasn’t until 4000 BC, that first threads of wool were knitted together to qualify for the first stitched fabric by humans. The history of the modern sewing machine goes as far as the year 1589. In this year, the first ever the machine for stitching wool stockings was invented by William Lee in Great Britain.
After this, there was a revolution in the sewing industry. A scientist from the western world came up with ideas and practical designs to make sewing and stitching machines easier to use and budget friendly. It was in 1851 that Isaac M. Singer came up with a practical and budget-friendly sewing machine design that was patented to him in the same year. After almost 100+ years, in 1978, Singer introduced the first computer-controlled sewing machine.
Specialized Sewing Machines?
Nowadays, the sewing machines have got smarter, lighter and affordable. From smart industrial sewing machines to household electric sewing machines for beginners, the evolution of these machines has been dramatically great.
Now you can find an all-purpose sewing machine or you can opt for a special sewing machine i.e. leather stitching machines, sewing machines for kids apparels etc.
The industrial sewing machines are heavily specialized as per their stitching needs.
Here Is The Video Explanation
In the End!
This brings us to the end of the write-up. It is the great ideas that change lives. The invention of sewing machines was done to make sewing, stitching, and knitting easier and profitable.
Today, the research is still ongoing to add ergonomic features in these units. However, the main purpose of the sewing machines remains stitching pieces of fabric into something usable.
