Embroidery machine

thingiverse

So, what exactly is this and how does it work? A sewing machine part is any old or new sewing machine. The only changes made from the original are a stepper motor with a synchronized pulley system (chain/belt drive) and a more embroidery-friendly presser foot. It's recommended to use an older sewing machine because mounting the stepper motor to cast iron is way more convenient, and the prices are relatively cheap. The XY movement consists mainly of 3D printed parts - 12 pieces that are similar to those found in self-built 3D printers. Both axes use GT2 belts, NEMA17 steppers, and both directions are fully scalable. Synchronous movement comes from an Arduino-powered GRBL G-code interpreter. It's a bit of a mouthful, but basically the machine moves using G-code sent to the Arduino. It's not that complicated, and it's just a carrier like any other one when switching from system to system. Now we have movement and code, but how do we make nice shapes and export them to G-code? This isn't medieval sorcery; it's simply a matter of downloading Inkscape (https://inkscape.org/) and the Inkstitch extension (https://inkstitch.org/). With these tools, you can draw and create your own stitching patterns using Inkscape or import ready-made embroidery files to Inkscape and export them to G-code. Either way works really nicely. Help and examples on how to use the Inkstitch extension can be found at the address above. The end result should be very close to a hobby-level embroidery machine, just with slower speeds. After all, an embroidery machine is nothing more than an overgrown sewing machine. Machine parts are numbered 1-6, and there are four different sizes of hoops, including complete pieces for smaller printers. More details and build instructions can be found at https://inkstitch.org/tutorials/embroidery-machine/. A new video with improved speed is also available: https://youtu.be/nKCNEwH6C7w. Plywood box drawings are now included.