Melco EMT16, Melco OS V11 Quick Reference Manual

EMT16 & Melco OS V11

EMT16 & Melco OS V11 Classroom Notes & Quick Reference Guide

EMT16 & Melco OS V11 Classroom Notes & Quick Reference Guide

w w w . m e l c o u n i v e r s i t y . c o m

w w w . m e l c o u n i v e r s i t y . c o m

w w w . m e l c o u n i v e r s i t y . c o m

Contents

Page 3

Bobbins
Needle Types

4

Choosing A Needle

5

Changing Needles

6

Backings & Toppings

7

Backing & Topping Information

8

EMT16 Keypad

9

Loading Sequence

10

Adjusting Presser Foot

11

Hooping & Troubleshooting

12

Machine Maintenance

13

Applique & Color Sequence Commands

14

Embroidery File Formats

15

Cap Sewing Basics

16

Puff Foam Embroidery

17

Puff Foam Embroidery continued

18

Moving through a design & EMT16 Laser Alignment

19

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 2 Rev: 080515

We recommend continuous filament polyester bobbin thread.

Cleaning the bobbin case

Types of bobbins

Threading up the bobbin case

Testing the bobbin tension

Bobbin

Adjusting the bobbin tension

Reinserting the bobbin case

Bobbin tail

Thread

Threading the EMT16 Types of Thread

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 3 Rev: 080515

Needles

FRONT

SIDE

BACK

Needle Orientation

Needle Sizes

65/9 75/11 100/16

Smaller Larger

Scarf

Sharp Ball

Standard Titanium

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 4 Rev: 080515

Needle Points

Needle Coatings

Choosing a Needle

Choosing the appropriate needle for the job being run is extremely important to the success of
the embroidery. Different fabrics and threads will determine what needle should be used.

General Guidelines

 Ball Point needles are commonly used on knits. The idea behind this is for the slightly round-

ed tip of the needle to move the threads of the material out of the way. Common knit gar­ments include T-shirts and sweatshirts.

 Sharp point needles are sharper than ball points and are generally used on tightly woven

goods. Some good examples of tighter weaves would include canvas, denim, and twill.

 Combination points (SES or RG types) are a good choice for most fabrics and keep needle

changes to a minimum. This saves on labor costs.

 Titanium coated needles create less friction and heat when moving through a material. They

are a good choice for sewing on coated fabrics or embroidering with adhesive backings.

 Smaller needles can clean up the appearance of small lettering and fine details.
 Larger needles create larger holes which can help prevent thread breaks due to friction

when sewing an abrasive materials like a cotton duck jacket.

Fabric Type Needle Size Needle Type Coating

Coated Fabrics 80/12 Sharp Titanium optional

Corduroy 80/12 Sharp

Cotton Sheeting 70/10 - 80/12 Sharp

Denim 80/12 Sharp

Dress Shirt (Woven) 70/10 - 80/12 Sharp

Golf Shirt 70/10 - 80/12 Ball Point

Leather 70/10 - 80/12 Ball or Sharp Titanium optional

Lycra or Spandex 70/10 - 80/12 Ball Point

Nylon Windbreaker 70/10 - 80/12 Ball Point

Satin Jacket 70/10 - 80/12 Ball Point

Sweater (knit) 70/10 - 80/12 Ball Point

Terry Cloth 75/11 - 80/12 Ball or Sharp

Delicate Satins or Sheers 65/9 - 70/10 Ball Point

Twill Caps 75/11 - 80/12 Sharp

Note: These values are guidelines only, and you may need to adjust your needle usage ac­cording to the needs of the individual application.

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 5 Rev: 080515

Changing a Needle

When installing new needles, always use industrial grade needles recommended by Melco for use in
the EMT16.

How to Change a Needle

1. Make sure the safety grabber blade is in the back position before changing a needle. If it is not,
press the Adjustment and Center keys on the EMT16 keypad to move the grabber back.

2. Each needle has a needle clamp set screw that holds it in place.

3. Using a small flat-blade screwdriver, turn the needle clamp set screw counterclockwise about ½
turn, until the needle can slide down and out of the needle bar. Do not loosen too much or re­move the set screw. Loosen the screw just enough for the needle to be removed.

4. Embroidery needles have a front and a back side. The needle must be installed correctly or
the sewing quality may suffer. If you install the needle incorrectly, you my also get thread
breaks. The front of the needle has a long groove (thread guide), while the back has and
indented notch (scarf).

5. With the thread guide facing forward and the scarf facing back, slide the needle up and
into the needle clamp as far as it will go. The eye of the needle should be turned 5°to the
right. (There is an acceptable range of 0° - 20° to the right)

6. A needle orientation magnet may be used to help determine the angle of the needle eye.
This cylindrical magnet can be temporarily attached to the front of the needle just above
the eye. The end of the magnet will rest on the thread guide and stick out from the needle.
This will better indicate the angle of the eye. For reference, one minute is 6 degrees on a
clock face.

7. Re-tighten the needle clamp set screw to hold the needle in place.

 The needle breaks or is bent.
 The thread will consistently fray - this usually means there is a bur on the needle causing it to

fray a part of the thread.

 The needle is dull.
 Sewing conditions change, such as a change in fabric.

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 6 Rev: 080515

Reasons to Change a Needle

Backings and Toppings

Standard Backings

Cut Away Tear Away

Specialty Backings

Water Soluble Toppings and Backings

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 7 Rev: 080515

Other Toppings and Backings

More Backing and Topping Information

Appropriate backing is essential for embroidering most fabrics. Without backing, fabrics can slip
even when they are hooped tightly. Using the proper backing is directly linked to the produc­tion of consistently high quality embroidery. It is important to understand that many different
embroiderers with identical criteria may choose completely different backing and topping for­mulas and still achieve successful embroidery results. Experimentation and experience are es­sential in creating consistently high quality embroidery. New products are constantly being de­veloped and introduced. Find the combinations that work best for you.

Tear Away Backing

Tear away backing is a non-woven material that tears easily in any direction and can be easily
removed after embroidery. Tear away is extremely simple and fast to use, but the uses are lim­ited because it offers little support to unstable fabrics. Some examples of fabrics suitable for
tear away are cotton sheeting, woven dress shirts, denim, terry cloth, hats, and some satins. Be
aware that tear away can be a bit scratchy, and use on fabrics that will be worn against skin
may want to be avoided.

Cut Away Backing

Cut Away backing is a woven or non-woven material that must be cut form the fabric after the
embroidery is complete. This type of backing is used to support the embroidery on the fabric
during and after the embroidery process. It also prevents the fabric from stretching during em­broidery. Cut Away backings are generally used for unstable goods like knits. Examples of a knit
would be a t-shirt, golf shirt, sweater, or a sweatshirt.

Specialty Backings

Specialty backings such as poly mesh and nylon mesh are also options. While they may not be
as stable as traditional cut aways, they are much less visible through lighter weight garments.
They also tend to be softer than other backings.

Water soluble backing is also available for jobs that require that no backing be left after the comple­tion of the embroidery. Be aware that this would require a fairly stable garment as the backing will
be dissolved completely and offer no support once the garment has been laundered.

Toppings

Toppings are used to keep your stitches from falling into the nap of a lofty material like terry
cloth or polar fleece. It can also be used to clean up small lettering and the overall appear­ance of your embroidery. Most toppings are water-soluble and can be easily removed after
the embroidery is complete.

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 8 Rev: 080515

EMT16 Keypad

Step Back Step Forward

Center the Hoop on the machine

+

Trim Immediate

+

Move the hoop on the machine

+

Open/Close the Grabber

+

Trace the Design Within Selected Hoop

E-Stop

Move Needle Case

+

+

Change Sewing Speed

+

Hold to Turn on Laser

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 9 Rev: 080515

Procedure to Run the EMT16

1. Load Design Screen

Color Sequence Screen

3. Hoop Selection Screen

4. Garment Selection Screen

5. Set the Sewing Speed

6. Move & Rotate Screen (if need-

ed)

7. Center hoop (if needed)

8. Adjust Presser Foot Height

Must have a garment loaded

9. Trace Design

10.Check Pinch Rollers

11.GO

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 10 Rev: 080515

Adjusting the Presser Foot

The machine has an adjustable presser foot that can be set from 0.5mm to

3.5mm above the needle plate. The presser foot height should be changed
when the thickness of the material you are sewing changes dramatically. To
adjust the presser foot height, the software must be open, and your machine
must be on and communicating with it. A hoop with the fabric you
will be using should be installed.

1. Adjusting the presser foot is easiest with the needle case moved
to needle 16. It is not necessary, but it makes the adjustment gear
easier to see. If the machine is not on needle #16, the gear can still
be accessed. Do not attempt to move the needle case during the
following steps.

2. In the software, press the settings button.

3. Make sure that only the material is under the needle, for the next
step will command the machine to lower the needle.

4. Press the Lower Presser Foot button.

5. Locate the presser foot eccentric (gear) behind the needle case.

6. Turn the gear with your fingers to adjust the presser foot height up
or down as needed.

7. Set the presser foot height over an unsewn section of the fabric.
Set the presser foot so that it is just touching the material.

8. Once adjusted, press the raise presser foot button in the software.

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 11 Rev: 080515

Hooping

 Round hoops give the most even tension of all the hoop shapes.

 Wooden hoops will have registration marks on them. These help main-

tain the shape and hold of the hoop.

 Many wooden hoops are double-high, meaning their sides are twice

as tall as normal hoops. They help grip slick or bulky goods because of
the larger surface area and slight tooth the wood provides.

 Choose the smallest hoop that the design will fit in without going over

the hoop limitations (the dotted line in EMT16 Melco OS).

 Adjust the hoop tension before hooping the final garment. If you ad-

just the tension of the hoop while the garment is in it, you will increase
your chances of “hoop burn” and create ripples in the garment.

Sew out Troubleshooting

After you complete your first sew out of a design, it is a good idea to examine the quality of the
piece and how well it sewed. Reassess the hooping, backing, and machine settings. A few ad­justments now can save you from frustrations later on.

Symptom Possible Solutions

Thread breaks Slow down the EMT16. Make sure the piece is hooped properly. Adjust

presser foot. Check bobbin tension. Check needle orientation. Oil the
rotary hook.

Bobbin pulled to top Check bobbin tension. Slow down the EMT16. Adjust presser foot.

Registration loss Check hooping tension. Slow down the EMT16.

Fabric is puckering Avoid stretching or pulling the fabric too much when hooping it.

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 12 Rev: 080515

Maintenance

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 13 Rev: 080515

Appliqué Command

Color Sequence Commands

Sequence for Sewing Appliqué

1. Locator Stitch
Color 1

Pause Puff Micro Chenille Recursive

2. Place Appliqué

Appliqué Command

3. Tack-down Stitch 4. Cover Stitch

Color 2

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 14 Rev: 080515

Embroidery File Formats

Wire Frame (Outline) Files

.cnd - older Melco condensed format
.ofm - DesignShop and native format

cnd & ofm

 Elements are outlined shapes that con-

tain element properties like density,
stitch length, and stitch direction.

 Shapes can be edited.

 cnd files saved from DSV9 save as a

manual stitch

ofm only

 Contains lettering properties. You can

change spelling, font, size, or any other
property of the lettering.

 Notes are available.

 Color information is available.

Scaling a Wire Frame File
You can usually scale a wire frame file up
or down in size about 25%.

Stitch Files

.exp - Melco expanded stitch file
.dst - Tajima stitch file

Stitch files do not contain properties. They are
just plotted out needle penetrations. The col­ors that show up will be the default colors.

If you open an ofm and see expanded data
in the project view, it is plotted stitch infor­mation. You can save stitch files as ofms to
keep notes and color information, but they
will still be expanded data.

Scaling a Stitch File
Stitch files can usually be scaled 10% up or
down in size, but with the assistance of the
Expanded Stitch Processor, you can push
that to about 25%.

Expanded Stitch Processor
Converts stitch files to wireframe in order to
maintain densities when scaled. This may
change the fill patterns in some designs.

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 15 Rev: 080515

Sewing Caps

1. Load the Design

2. Set the Color Sequence

3. Select the Hoop

(Driver color / Cap Frame)

4. Set the Sewing Speed

5. Select Hat as the Garment Type

6. Set the Design Orientation

Flip upside-down for caps.

7. Center Cap (Center Hoop won’t work)

Careful - you may not be able to use the

laser to do this. Line up with the needle.

X

Y

Measurements for Caps

X = Distance from bill to start of real curve

Y = Center point for design

X - 1” = safe zone

X - ½” = actual sew field

8. Trace Design

9. Adjust Presser Foot

10. Check that Pinch Rollers are

down

Sew Order for Cap Designs

11. GO!

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 16 Rev: 080515

1. Bottom  Up

2. Center  Out

3. Finish as you go

3-D Foam Digitizing and Embroidering Help

General tips:

1. The type of garment or finished product you’re working with should be evaluated for design
with 3-D foam. Stay away from unstable fabrics such as pique. The more stable the fabric,
the better. Examples are denim shirts, sweatshirts, jackets and caps. This process would al­so be nice for bags, aprons and other stable surfaces.

2. The portion of the design that will be puffed must be the last section to sew. You will be lay­ing down a piece of 3-D foam, so all flat sections of the embroidery must be sewn first.

3. The needle penetrations perforate the foam and allow for the excess to be pulled away
upon completion of the sewing.

4. In addition to being the last section to sew, the segment of the design that will take on the
raised appearance must be hefty enough to allow the foam to work its magic. Only satin
stitches will give the raised puff look. A satin stitch width of between 3mm and 11mm
should be used.

5. Alphabet text can be used as a starting point for puff letters, but they must be modified to
work with Foam due to the “open ends” of traditional alphabet letter stitching.

Digitizing Tips:

1. Set your walk stitch and edge walk underlay stitch lengths to 20 – 25 pts. (2 – 2.5 mm). It is
important to use a shorter stitch length for the edge walk stitching. This helps to cut the
foam aiding in the excess removal process.

2. Digitize the satin cover stitching using a very heavy density, about 1.5 to 1.7 pts. A heavier
than normal cover stitching is used to insure that none of the foam peeks through the foam.
Also, overlapping the satin stitches in areas where any two sections of the stitches meet at
perpendicular or parallel angles will help ensure that the foam does not push through the
top of these seams.

3. Close any open satin stitch ends with a capping or pinching method. This is important be­cause needle penetrations are required around the entire perimeter of the foam satin top
stitching in order to get the excess foam to separate. Sample pictures of both of these
open end treatment methods are shown at the end of this document.

4. Increase the “Use Fill for stitch lines greater than” parameter in the Top Stitching properties

tab to 300 pts. This will disable the “Auto fill” wide satin stitches feature of DesignShop. We
don’t want this active for puff.

Use 5 tie-in and 5 tie-off stitches to make sure that the thread is securely locked down.

Embroidering tips:

1. Leave the presser foot at the usual setting for the non-puff colors in the design, but raise it
all of the way to its highest setting for the puff colors. This will better define the raised edges
of the puff embroidery.

2. Insert the Hold command in the color sequence just be­fore the puff color. This will stop the machine so you can
set the foam piece on top of the garment. Applique
pause also works, but there is really not a need to have
the hoop feed out since the foam is cut oversized and
doesn’t have to be placed accurately.

3. Drag the puff icon on top of the puff color in the color
sequence in MOS. This will give you the sewing proper­ties required.

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 17 Rev: 080515

1. Don’t tear off the foam until after the puff color is finished. If you get foam “crumbs”
peeking through the embroidery, you can make them shrink away by using a heat gun.

2. Slow the machine to 900 SPM, or so for the puff color.

3. A larger needle, such and an 80/12, helps to make larger perforations so the foam tears
off more easily.

4. Thread and foam colors should match. Fewer stitches can be used to cover the foam
without it showing through. Foam comes in about 15 different colors, so match as closely
as possible.

5. The foam is washable but avoid over-drying in a hot dryer. Do not dry clean garments
that have puff embroidery. Doing so will dissolve the foam.

6. The foam is usually available in several thicknesses 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 mm.

Capping method for closing open satin stitch ends

Pinching method for closing open satin stitch ends

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 18 Rev: 080515

Moving Through a Design

EMT16 Laser Alignment

EMT16 has a laser alignment feature. This feature allows you to line up an embroidery design to
a mark, such as a stripe, on the garment. To do this, you use the hoop and the arrow keys to
move the laser to your first reference point, like the top of stripe on the left side. Press the laser
and an arrow key to confirm this point. Move the laser with the hoop and arrow keys to your
second reference point. Press the laser and an arrow key to confirm this point. Now, press the
laser and the center key. The design will align to the line created by your two reference points.
The placement of the design along the line will depend on the arrow keys used to input the ref­erence points. The three variations follow.



1. Laser + Left

2. Laser + Right

+

+





1. Laser + Left

2. Laser + Left

+

+





1. Laser + Right

2. Laser + Left



+

+

+

EMT16_MOS_v11_EMT16_Handout.pub 19 Rev: 080515

+

+