Finally got a tacker... now about those patterns?

[hackish 8]

Purchased a Brother KE-430D electronic tacker. It does not have any center start tacker patterns from the factory. I've been trying to contact PD to see if they can make theirs available but all I have been able to get is a word document that describes them. It would be nice to get legit patterns so I can ensure they're correct rather than trying to build them myself and running the risk that I didn't get the ratio or size quite correct.

My machine takes a CF file but I do know how to load them off eprom data. Is this something that anyone has available?

-Michael

[PhreeZone 20]

Mark Lancaster sells all the patterns ready to load up if you want to get ahold of him.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[hackish 8]

Mark deals in Juki. If I had purchased a 1900 then I would have bought the chip from him. I spent a few hours and hacked the file format for my machine. I'm not going to spend $2500 for some simple software from Brother. I'd just rather get the correct patterns directly from the manufacturer.

-Michael

[masterrigger1 2]

Quote

Mark deals in Juki.

To be more correct, I actually deal mostly with the Juki brand.
I have actually do own a Brother 430-E that I just never never use and have programmed a couple of others in the past.

MEL

Skyworks Parachute Service, LLC
www.Skyworksparachuteservice.com

[hackish 8]

Mel,

Do you have the set of patterns from PD or is it something you made yourself? I've been trying to get the files from PD. My machine takes a CF card so I wouldn't even have to burn them on a chip.

Since I ain't paying $3000 for some software from Brother I spent a few minutes and wrote some excel formulas to generate a file. The result seems reasonable but I've never worked on a machine like this to know if it's the maximum potential or not.



-Michael

[councilman24 37]

Each bar tack starts with some straght stitches underneath and some tying stitches at the end. A 42 stitch bar tack has 7 running stitches (straight) 32 covering (zig zag) and 3 tying. 18mm x 1.5 mm is normal for 725 spectra. Much tighter than yours. Or maybe not. But I don't see the straight stitches in yours. maybe I do see them Can't really see them in my photo either.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[masterrigger1 2]

Micheal,
All of my tacks are of my design.

Basically, I went with textile industry standards when making them while at the same time, leaned into similar patterns that other manufacturers where using at that time.

When we started introducing the first competition line sets made with Technora, I experimented with several different tacks over the years.
This resulted some of the tacks you now see on the Daedalus and Icarus canopies.

To answer your question,"Do you have the set of patterns from PD", that answer is two fold.
I do have the specs on them, but I do not use them.

Remember this when designing tacks;

It is NOT a bartack unless it has three components and also uses a single continuous thread for all three components.

1.It must have the running stitch which is the "bar". The "bar" is the backbone of the whole tack. It usually makes three passes east to west before starting the covering stitch.

2.The covering Stitch covers the running stitch which both protects it and strengthens it by making stitches somewhat perpendicular to the bar.

3.The tying stitch which is usually three needle penetrations (two stitches) in exactly the same place. This locks the thread tails down and prevents them from fraying later on.

The tying will only work properly when you use the machines knives. If you remove the machines knives and trim with scissors, the tails will be too short to tie on the next bartack.

This is why people that remove the knives usually prefer a center start-center stop tack even though a left start-left stop bartack is actually stronger.


Lastly remember this.If it is something other than listed above, it is simply a "tack" or "pattern tack". That is what they are called in the needle trade at least.


MEL

Skyworks Parachute Service, LLC
www.Skyworksparachuteservice.com

[hackish 8]

councilman24

Each bar tack starts with some straght stitches underneath and some tying stitches at the end. A 42 stitch bar tack has 7 running stitches (straight) 32 covering (zig zag) and 3 tying. 18mm x 1.5 mm is normal for 725 spectra. Much tighter than yours. Or maybe not. But I don't see the straight stitches in yours. maybe I do see them Can't really see them in my photo either.

Yep they're in there. I should have pulled out a proper macro lens. PD has been kind enough to send me some of the patterns they use so I will load them tomorrow but they really are very similar.

-Michael

[hackish 8]

As usual Mel, your posts are brimming with info. In fact I was really curious as to why the PD design called for only a single pass on the bar while all the tacks in the machine although end stop have the 3 passes you describe. I assume some may be to speed up each cycle but on the other side they're not exactly failing.

Next step I suppose is to build a custom clamp with adjustable line stoppers.

-Michael