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Table of Contents 1. Table of Conents........................................................................................... 1.2 2. Important Safety Instructions ...................................................................... 2.1 3. Installation................................................................................................... 3.1 Congratulations on your Pro-Stitcher® Purchase..................................................................... 3.1 Grounding.......................
To change the stitch order of multiple designs.................................................................... 4.8 To measure distances in a design or on the quilt................................................................ 4.8 Crosshairs................................................................................................................................. 4.9 5. Design Menu................................................................................................ 5.1 Design history..
To join vertically repeated designs.................................................................................... 5.20 Repeat Wrapping............................................................................................................... 5.20 To wrap rows..................................................................................................................... 5.21 To wrap columns.........................................................................................................
To adjust the quilting speed while quilting.......................................................................... 7.5 To adjust the auto jump threshold while quilting................................................................ 7.5 To adjust stitches per inch while quilting........................................................................... .7.6 To manage the tieoff settings while quilting....................................................................... .7.
To shutdown all software and power down the computer................................................. 8.9 To shutdown the software and computer, and then start up again.................................... 8.9 To exit Pro-Stitcher but keep the computer running........................................................... 8.9 To restart the Pro-Stitcher software from Windows............................................................ 8.9 9. Troubleshooting........................................................
2. Important Safety Instructions Save these instructions This machine is intended for household use. Disclaimer Baby Lock and its Representatives are in no way legally responsible or liable for damage to the Pro-Stitcher when used improperly or not in accordance with the guidelines stated in this manual or when used on machine quilting frames not recommended by Baby Lock.
Read these instructions before using the machine. To use the machine safely 1. Keep hands and loose clothing away from wheels, gears or other moving parts. 2. Turn the machine off and unplug the cord in the following cases: • when you have stopped using the machine • when you replace or remove the quilting machine needle or any other part • in case of failure when you use the machine • when you check or clean the machine • when you leave the machine unattended 3.
3. Installation Congratulations on your Pro-Stitcher® Purchase Baby Lock is proud to offer you user-friendly quilting machines and computer-guided machines with the latest technology and the best value for your money. Because the world of computer-guided quilting is constantly changing, we invite you to keep up with us by checking our website frequently for news, software updates and tutorials. Go to (www.babylock.com) for: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Grounding GROUNDED OUTLET BOXES TAB FOR GROUNDING SCREW METAL SCREW GROUNDING PIN ADAPTER (A) (B) (C) This product is for use on a nominal 120 V or nominal 220 V circuit, and has a grounding plug that looks like the plug illustrated in sketch A above. A temporary adapter, which looks like the adapter illustrated in sketches B and C, may be used to connect this plug to a 2-pole receptacle as shown in sketch B if a properly grounded outlet is not available.
D. Emergency base-plate repair kit 1 E. EZ Carriage 1 F. Computer bracket 1 G. Y-encoder circuit board 1 H. Y-axis mounting bracket assembly 1 I. Y power cord (10 foot) 1 J. Adhesive cable mounting clips 4 K. USB flash drive 1 L. Art & Stitch software 1 M. USB cable 1 N. Computer power cord 1 Pro-Stitcher User Manual Installation | 3.
O. Manual engagement/disengagement tool 1 P. Harness cable 1 Q. Pro-Stitcher tablet computer 1 ! NOTE: The model of the Pro-Stitcher computer may be different from the one pictured. 3.
Installation Tools required • • • • • • Power drill 4mm Allen wrench 5mm Allen wrench Slotted screwdriver (one large and one small) Phillips screwdriver (one large and one small) Manual engagement/disengagement tool (see Parts List, item O) Installation of the X-Rack and Y-Rack To install the X-Rack 1. Remove the blue 12-foot Flexirack (see Parts List, item A) and the Pro-Stitcher carriage (see Parts List, item E) from the box. 2. Place the Pro-Stitcher carriage on the frame.
3. Use the carriage as a guide and align the blue Flexirack with the white gear along the length of the table (see arrow at right), removing the pink protective layer and pressing downward on the blue Flexirack while moving down the entire length of the table. 4. Double check the alignment of the carriage white gear with the blue Flexirack by rolling the carriage along the entire length of the table. 5. Trim the Flexirack to length using a knife or wire cutters.
! CAUTION: Do not use the larger drill bit included in the emergency repair kit, as this is the wrong size for the Flexirack clamps. ! NOTE: As an alternative, use one clamp at each end. Slide the lip of the clamp over the last gear of the blue Flexirack, drill a pilot hole, and screw in place. To install the Y-Rack 1. Carefully lay the quilting machine on its power pod side (the left side, looking from the front).
Y-encoder circuit board replacement Ü IMPORTANT: This step is required only if the circuit board on the Y-encoder is blue. If the Y-encoder has a black circuit board, skip ahead to the next step. Replace the Y-encoder circuit board with the one in the package (see Parts List, item G) if the circuit board is blue and does not have a 3-pin connector attached. It is held in place with one screw and five connecting pins. Replace this style Y-encoder circuit board.
4. Align the new Y-Encoder circuit board so the five pins on the encoder fit into the five-pin connector on the circuit board and gently push into position. The screw hole on the circuit board should match up with the hole in the encoder housing. 5. Replace the Phillips screw. 6. Plug the stitch regulator cable into the new Y-encoder circuit board. Pro-Stitcher User Manual Installation | 3.
To set up the Pro-Stitcher carriage 1. Place the Pro-Stitcher carriage on the frame system and untie the black twist ties that are binding the black cables in a loop. Drape the black cables over the back of the carriage. 2. Plug one branch of the Y-power cord (see Parts List, item I) into the power supply located toward the rear of the carriage. The other end of the power cord will be plugged into the quilting machine in step 6. 3.
6. The black cables attached to the Pro-Stitcher carriage should be routed up between the rear handles and the quilting machine, toward the right-hand side of the machine (looking at the machine from the back). Attach the cable clips (see Parts List, item J) and route the cable accordingly. Plug the other end of the power cord into the back of the quilting machine. Stitchregulator cable 7.
8. Once again verify that the y-axis gear engages the blue Flexirack for the y-axis. • Do this by looking from the back of the machine between the bottom of the quilting machine and the top of the carriage. If necessary, use the manual engagement/disengagement tool to move the gears so they engage.
To attach the tablet computer 1. Disconnect the front handlebar cable from the side of the machine’s head. Then remove the handlebars from the front of the quilting machine by removing the three hex-head bolts with a 5mm Allen wrench. If you’re having difficulty reaching the front handlebar cable, first remove two of the hex-head bolts and loosen the third bolt. Then, rotate the handlebar slightly to provide easier access to the handlebar cable. 2.
5. The black cable has three connections – two 9-pin serial connectors and one barrel connector for power. Insert the barrel connector into the center jack located on the bottom edge of the black box that is mounted to the back of the computer bracket. Attach the two 9-pin serial cables to the appropriate ports on the back of the same box, making sure cable connectors are plugged into their corresponding ports on the black box. 6. Remove the computer from its packaging.
7. With the computer installed in the bracket, connect the USB short cable (see Parts List, item M) between the USB port, on the top-left side of the computer (position A) and the black box on the back of the bracket (position E). A B 8. Also connect the computer power cord (see Parts List, item N) between the computer (position B) and the black box (position C). C D E 9.
To turn on and shut down Pro-Stitcher Check that the power cord is plugged into the power supply located at the back of the carriage. Then plug in the barrel-shaped power connector to the bottom of the black box behind the computer and the short power cord from the black box to the computer. If the cable is unplugged, the computer will continue to run on battery power until the charge has been used up.
Getting started with Pro-Stitcher To move the quilting machine after the software has been loaded • To move the quilting machine after the software has loaded, the motors should be disengaged. Press the Disable Motors button in the upper-right corner of the screen to disengage the motors. Note that the button changes to say Enable Motors. If you have the EZ Carriage Use the options on the Freehand screen to alternate between computerized quilting and free-motion quilting. • Choose Design, then Freehand.
Plug the USB flash drive into one of the USB ports on the left side of the black box mounted behind the Pro-Stitcher computer. Ü IMPORTANT: It is not necessary to power down Pro-Stitcher to install or remove the USB flash drive, but take care not to remove the flash drive while the system is saving to or loading from the drive. 3.
4. Pro-Stitcher® Overview Pro-Stitcher runs on a touch screen computer with the Microsoft® Windows operating system. Because Pro-Stitcher runs in a Windows environment, you may notice things such as the Windows desktop. If you’re unfamiliar with the Windows operating system or computers in general, you’ll benefit by taking a class or finding other ways to learn more about the basics of Windows.
Overview of the Pro-Stitcher screen The Pro-Stitcher screen provides quick access to all functions. Tap the gray bar to open the on-screen keyboard. Press any menu heading to reveal the available functions. Design size in inches Name of current design file Position of the needle, or how far away from the Home position (x=0 and y=0) in the design Menu options The left side of the screen shows the available menus: Design, Quilt, Settings, and Shut Down.
Work Area The work area is the portion of the screen where you will load designs and work with them, in preparation for quilting. Size of current design Crosshairs show the position of the machine’s needle. The work area shows the current design. Design bounding box (blue) Area (purple) displays if an Area has been defined. The crosshairs represent the position of the quilting machine’s needle relative to the current design and will move as the quilting machine is moved when the carriage is engaged.
Help button The Grid and Ruler buttons are toggles. Press to turn on or off. Selected buttons and menu options are a darker color. The Pan, Zoom, Drag, and Select buttons cannot be selected at the same time. A gray button means the function is not currently available. Gray Buttons Depending on the menu or sub-menu item selected, there may be certain buttons that are grayed out. A gray button indicates that this function is not currently available.
• Press Help and then press the button or menu option for which you need help to display the Help pop-up box. Exit Help mode by pressing the Help button again or pressing the Close button (red X). To cycle the needle up or down to form a half stitch The Half Stitch button cycles the needle either to the up or the down position based on the current position of the needle. • Tap Half Stitch once to cycle the needle a half stitch.
To move the on-screen view Use Pan to move what you see on the work area. Pan does not reposition the design relative to the quilt. • Select Pan and then drag your finger across the screen. The current view moves with the movement of your finger. To view the design larger or smaller Use Zoom to view the design larger or smaller. Zoom does not reposition or resize the design. If you have grid lines displayed on-screen, you’ll see the grid lines also shrink or grow as you zoom the design.
Choose All to select all designs or None to cancel any selections. Selected designs appear in black with a blue bounding box around them. The checkmark next to the design name indicates it is selected. To select a single design • Select Single to select one design at a time. Touch any design in the work area or choose the name of the design from the pop-up that appears. Pro-Stitcher displays selected designs with black lines in the work area. Designs that aren’t selected designs appear with gray lines.
To name a group • Select Name to enter a descriptive name for the group to replace the group number assigned by Pro-Stitcher. Use the keyboard that appears to enter a name and then select OK to save the name or Cancel to close the name box. ! NOTE: If the keyboard opens on top of the box for entering the name, move it by touching the top area of the keyboard and dragging it to a new location on the screen.
2. Press Ruler and move the machine to begin measuring. The ruler gives you the distance in the horizontal (x) and the vertical (y) directions, as well as the direct angular distance (represented by the triangle symbol). 3. Press Ruler again to turn off the ruler. To reset the ruler starting point, press Ruler to turn off the ruler and then turn it back on after you have moved the crosshairs to where you want to begin measuring.
5. Design Menu The Design menu functions open, modify, position, and save quilting designs. Much of what you will do with Pro-Stitcher will be from this menu. After you select Design, two clusters of buttons appear in the lower-left and lower-right corners of the screen. Red dots mark the start of a jump, the point where Pro-Stitcher stops stitching so you can tie off the thread. Start (red) and stop (green) points Bounding box Design The purple dashed line shows the jumps (not stitched).
The item at the top of the list is the first function performed and the item at the bottom of the list is the most recent function. Use your finger to drag the list up or down to reveal more of the history. Press any of the history items to return the design to the state it was when that function was performed. To clear the history of recent functions • To clear the history of recent actions, select Clear History.
Machine Quilting Tip: Practical uses for Baseline Use the Baseline function to stitch a quilt with multiple, identical blocks. Mark the area of the first block, fit the design to the block using Skew or other functions to modify the design, and then baseline the design. Quilt the block. Clear the Area. The design will maintain its size and shape. Reposition the design to another block and quilt the design. Continue quilting the baselined design on the blocks throughout the quilt.
To work with design files Pro-Stitcher reads five file types: .hqf, .hqp, .qli, .txt, and .tap. Pro-Stitcher cannot read encrypted files or .txt files that were created for computerized quilting systems with proprietary formats. Open, close, save, and duplicate design files To access recently used designs • Choose Recent to see a list of the most recent designs you have opened. Then select the design you want to use.
Use these buttons to navigate among folders on the current drive or to open folders on a USB drive. Designs are organized into four folders: block designs, continuous line designs, corner designs, and triangle designs. Select a design and then choose Delete File to remove it from your computer. Choose Refresh to reload the thumbnails in the selected folder. Select a design and press Open to load it or press Cancel to exit.
To save designs or projects to a new folder • To save the design or project to a new folder, browse to the desired folder using the folder tabs on the left side of the design library. Alternatively, use the navigation buttons at the top of the screen to move among folders and drives. Copies and pastes the selected design. Displays information about the selected design. Resets the design to its original design settings. Loads Pro-Stitcher software updates you’ve downloaded to a USB drive.
To load a Pro-Stitcher software update As updates for the Pro-Stitcher software become available, download the update file from the Baby Lock website, www.babylock.com. • Select the Upgrades/Updates link at the top of the page. Then select Pro-Stitcher Software Update. Follow the instructions for downloading the latest update, save the update file to a USB flash drive, and plug the USB flash drive into a USB port on the Pro-Stitcher computer.
Create and use areas A quilting area is a portion of the Pro-Stitcher screen that represents an area on the quilt. Within this area, you can place designs, repeat them, stretch them, skew them, crop them, and so forth, knowing that everything within the defined area on the screen will match up with the corresponding area on the quilt. A purple line shows the defined area. Shows how many points you have defined for the area. Select to clear a defined area. Use 2-Corner to easily create rectangular areas.
2. A purple dot displays on the screen to indicate the first corner. Move the quilting machine so the needle lines up with the opposite corner of the desired area on the quilt. 3. Select 2-Corner again. A purple rectangle indicates the quilting area. To override the width or height of an area The width and height of the area appear in the number boxes on the screen. You can modify these values to create an area beyond what the quilting machine can reach.
Multi-Point For more complex areas, use Multi-Point to mark multiple points to create triangles, hexagons, octagons, or any shape with three or more points. To create an area with multiple points 1. M ove the quilting machine so the needle lines up with one corner of the desired area on the quilt. It may be necessary to press the Disable Motors button at the top-right corner of the screen. Press Multi-Point. 2.
Rotate designs • Select Design and then Rotate to see the options for rotating designs. Number box Flips the design vertically. Flips the design horizontally. Resets the rotation back to zero. Rotates the design 45° clockwise or counterclockwise. Rotates the design 1° or 0.1° clockwise or counterclockwise. Original design Design rotated 45° clockwise Design rotated 45° counterclockwise Design mirrored Design flipped Pro-Stitcher User Manual Design Menu | 5.
In addition to using the rotation buttons, press the number box and enter a rotation value on the number pad. Enter a positive number to rotate the design clockwise or a negative number to rate the design counterclockwise. 2-Point Rotation 2-Point Rotation uses the quilting machine to identify a line that represents the rotation angle. You’ll set a start point and an end point to create a line that represents the angle to which the design will align. To rotate a design according to an angle on the quilt 1.
To fine tune the angle of rotation • Redefine either the start point or the end point as necessary by moving the quilting machine to a new location and pressing either 2 Point Start or 2 Point End, depending on which end of the line needs to be repositioned. ! NOTE: A start point on the left followed by an end point on the right (i.e. a straight line with start on the left and end on the right) is a 0° rotation, or no rotation. A start point on the right and an end point on the left (i.e.
Rotation of repeated designs Repeated designs can be rotated individually or treated as a single design and rotated as a set. To rotate repeated designs individually • Before rotating, select Single. Then select one of the rotate buttons. Each individual design will be rotated (or mirrored or flipped). Rotates repeated designs individually. To rotate repeated designs as a group • Before rotating, select Group. Then select one of the rotate buttons.
Crop Menu Use Crop menu functions in conjunction with areas. After modifying a design as needed, mark an area that represents the region to be cropped. • ! Select Design and then Crop. OTE: If the Crop panel buttons at the bottom of the screen are grayed out, an area hasn’t yet been N defined. Define the area to be cropped before using any of the Crop functions. Purple lines show the star-shaped multipoint area.
Crop designs based on areas or start and end points To crop everything outside the defined area Turns off any crop adjustments you’ve made to the design. • Crops everything outside the defined area. Select Outside to crop away everything outside the defined Area and keep everything within that Area. To crop everything inside the defined area Crops everything within the defined area. • Select Inside to crop away everything inside the defined area and keep everything outside the area.
4. Select Design and then Crop. 5. Select Start-End to crop away the design before the start point and after the end point. Save the design to a new file name so you can use it again in the future. Pro-Stitcher User Manual Design Menu | 5.
Repeat Menu The Repeat Main function provides several options for repeating a design. • Select Design, Repeat, and then Main. The Repeat Wrapping function provides several options for wrapping, or offsetting, designs. Most of these options can be done with or without a defined area. • Select Design, Repeat, and then Wrapping. Using a defined area in conjunction with the Repeat options will stretch, skew, or fit the desired number of repeats within that area.
To stretch a design to fill an area You can stretch a design to fit either the width or the height of an area. • First define an area and then choose either the Stretch Width or the Stretch Height button. Stretches the design to fit the width of the area. Calculates the optimal number of repeats both vertically and horizontally. Stretches the design to fit the height of the area.
To join vertically repeated designs Repeated Baptist Fan design has been joined vertically and horizontally with Point 2 Point. • ! To link designs vertically, ensure the start and end points are at the same horizontal coordinate. Then select Vertical Point 2 Point to align the designs such that the end point of the first design matches up with the start point of the next design.
To wrap rows Shifts every other row of repeated designs by half of the width of the design. Shifts every other row by 1/8 inch to the right or left. • To shift every other row of repeated designs (beginning with the second row) by half of the width of the design, select the 1/2 button. • Select the right arrow button to shift the row to the right by 1/8 inch. Select the left arrow button to shift the row to the left by 1/8 inch.
To horizontally wrap the design window Choose from the options along the bottom of the screen to specify how to wrap the designs window horizontally. • To shift all rows horizontally by half of the width of the design, select the 1/2 button. Shifts all rows of repeated designs by 1/8 inch to the right or left. Shifts all rows of repeated designs by half of the width of the design. • Select the right arrow button to shift all rows to the right by 1/8 inch.
• Or touch the number box under Window and use the number pad to enter a decimal value to shift the repeated designs. For example, to move all rows up by one inch, enter 1. To move all rows down by one inch, enter -1. When you select Enter, the rows all shift accordingly. To manually wrap the design window • To manually reposition the design, choose the Drag button. Use your finger (or move the machine) to drag the design to your desired wrapping position.
Resize Menu • To open the resize options, select Design and then Resize. Choose one of the four height and width buttons and then press the Plus Sign or Minus Sign to resize, or enter a resize value in the number box. Height and Width buttons Returns the design to its original size. Ensures the design’s aspect ratio remains constant as you adjust height or width.
This original width of this rotated design was increased. Blue line shows the original x-axis, or original width of a rotated design. Select to adjust original width. • ! To stretch or shrink the design along the original X axis rather than how it is oriented on the screen, select the Original Width button (with the blue angled line) and then press the Plus Sign (+) to increase or Minus Sign (–) to decrease the size of the design.
Skew / Align Menu After you create an area, use the skew and align options to fit the design within the area. These options with convex areas (e.g. triangles, rectangles, and hexagons) of three or more points. Pro-Stitcher does not skew or align designs to a concave area (e.g. stars and crosses). • Select Design and then Skew/Align. Forces a design to stretch to fill an area. Any further actions will also stretch to the limits of the area.
To vertically align blocks within an area Align Top: Aligns the top of the design’s bounding box with the top of the area (pictured). Align Center: Aligns the vertical center of the design’s bounding box with the vertical center of the area. Align Bottom: Aligns the bottom of the design’s bounding box with the lowest point of the area.
5. Select the Vertical Alignment Align Top button. To skew a design to fit an area 1. Load a design and then create a diamond-shaped area. 2. Rotate the design (Design, Rotate) to fit the area. This design was rotated 45 degrees. 3. Choose Design, Skew/Align. Select Skew. 5.
Freehand Menu Pro-Stitcher can record the movement of the quilting machine. For example, record your own all-over background designs across the width of the quilt. Or record your signature so you can quilt your signature into your quilts. This screen also enables you to quickly switch from using Pro-Stitcher to free-motion quilting. • Select Design and then Freehand. Depending on your Pro-Stitcher configuration, you will see a different screen.
To switch to free-motion quilting • Ü Manually raise the levers to switch from using computer-guided quilting to free-motion quilting. To return to using Pro-Stitcher, manually lower the levers. IMPORTANT: If you have a newer version of the firmware running on your quilting machine, you will have two additional buttons. Select the Machine button and free-motion quilt as desired. When you are ready to once again quilt with Pro-Stitcher, select Motors.
Machine Quilting Tip: Record stitch-in-the-ditch quilting lines Move the quilting machine to the beginning of the quilt ditch and select Mark to record the first point of the line. Then move the machine to another point further down the ditch and press Mark again. Continue marking points along the ditch to record straight lines between each marked point. The marked ditch design can then be stitched or saved to stitch at different places on the quilt.
Reposition Menu The main way to reposition a design for quilting is to create an area based on your quilt and then to use the Reposition or Skew/Align tools to position the design relative to that area. However, you can use the reposition functions even if you haven’t defined an area. ! NOTE: You can’t use the Skew and Align functions with the Reposition functions.
Positions the bottom-right corner of the design at the intersection of the crosshairs. Positions the bottom-left corner of the design at the intersection of the crosshairs. Positions the center of the design at the intersection of the crosshairs. Pro-Stitcher User Manual Design Menu | 5.
To reposition a design based on the Home location The Home location of a design is the point in the design where x=0 and y=0. It may be the start point of the design, but other times it may be in the middle or any other point in the design. Some digital designers use the Home location for positioning. • Move the quilting machine needle to a position on the quilt where you want the Home location to quilt. Press the Home button to reposition the design relative to the Home location.
To reposition a design up, down, left, or right • To reposition the design a specific amount in any of the four directions, enter a distance (in inches) in the Nudge number box and then press the appropriate arrow to nudge the design up, down, left, or right. This is especially useful if you want to nudge the design in minute increments. Machine Quilting Tip: To nudge the design in tiny increments By default the nudge distance is set to one tenth (.10) of an inch.
6. Art & Stitch Art & Stitch is comprehensive quilting-design software for creating and modifying quilting designs. It is included with Pro-Stitcher. Pro-Stitcher can pass designs quickly and easily into Art & Stitch so you can use any of the Art & Stitch tools to modify the design however necessary. Art & Stitch automatically loads and runs in the background when Pro-Stitcher starts, so passing files from Pro-Stitcher to Art & Stitch happens very quickly. To pass a design to Art & Stitch 1.
unintentionally writing over a design. To avoid this, always save the design with a new working name when it is directly loaded in Art & Stitch. Licensing When using Art & Stitch for the first time, the quilter must enter some information to activate the license. Refer to the instructions in the Art & Stitch software box for offline activation.
4. If you are prompted to Repair or Uninstall the Art & Stitch software, it is best to uninstall first and then run the installation program again to install the new version. ! NOTE: To access the file browser after the Pro-Stitcher software is closed, either attach a keyboard or press the keyboard icon at the top left-hand corner of the screen to open the pop-up keyboard.
7. Quilt Menu The functions on the quilt menu enable you to quilt your designs. The Run button is available to start the stitching from any quilt function. • After the design has been formatted, positioned, and is ready to be stitched, select Quilt and then Run. If everything looks good, press Proceed to begin stitching. Otherwise, press Cancel.
In addition to doing a manual check, use the two Trace options to verify the position of the design’s bounding box or the defined area relative to the quilt. A dot indicates the start point for the area. The design’s bounding box To verify the position of the design’s bounding box on the quilt • Select Trace Box and then Run. Pro-Stitcher moves the machine around the perimeter of the design, following the blue bounding box.
Move the quilting machine with Pro-Stitcher The Move function moves the quilting machine in any of the eight directions indicated by the on-screen arrows. Control the speed by pressing either the Plus Sign or the Minus Sign, or entering a value (up to 50) in the number box. Press and hold one of the arrow keys to move the machine in that direction. Select Stitch to stitch as the machine moves. Select Continuous and select an arrow key to move the machine. Press Stop to end movement or stitching.
Pro-Stitcher as a horizontal or vertical channel lock If you use the channel lock feature in Pro-Stitcher, you will be able to stitch horizontal and vertical lines that are perfectly square with Pro-Stitcher and the frame. To stitch a horizontal or vertical line with the channel lock • Select Horizontal Channel Lock to lock Pro-Stitcher so it stitches only in a horizontal direction.
Adjust commonly used settings just before quilting if necessary. Select the Stitch button to stitch the design on the quilt. Disable the Stitch button to trace the design without stitching. To adjust commonly used stitch settings • Select Quilt and then select Stitch on the menu. Turn on or off the starting or ending tieoffs and choose how to do pullups. For more information about tieoffs and pullups, see Control how ProStitcher performs tie-offs in chapter 8, Settings Menu.
Change the auto jump threshold by entering a number or using the Plus Sign to increase or the Minus Sign to decrease. • Select the Auto Jump box to specify the maximum length (in inches) of a jump, or gap in a design path. A number pad appears on the screen for you to enter the number, then press Enter. Alternately, use the Plus Sign (+) to increase or Minus Sign (–) to decrease the number.
Select to tie off at the end of stitching. Select to tie off at the beginning of stitching. • Choose whether to tie off with a tacking stitch or with micro stitches. Choose Tie-Off Start or Tie-Off End to indicate your preference for tieoffs. Choose whether to use a tacking stitch or micro stitches for the tieoffs. If you do not select either tieoff option, you will need to manually do the tieoffs.
Turns off the pause delay setting. • Choose Seconds or Inches and then enter a value in the number box to specify how much Pro-Stitcher will stitch before pausing for you to trim the threads. Specify how far or how long Pro-Stitcher will stitch before pausing for you to trim the threads. Choose either Seconds or Inches. Then touch the number box, enter a number into the number pad that appears, and then press Enter.
• Move the machine and crosshairs to the desired location and press the Current Point button under Reposition. If the Start Point has been altered during a Pause, pressing Resume will cause the ProStitcher to resume from the adjusted Start Point rather than the Current Point. To see how far into a design the machine has stitched • After pausing the quilting, select Quilt and then select Status. Pro-Stitcher displays the line segment being stitched and the distance traveled (in inches).
Drag the top scroll bar to move the start point to a new position in the design. Drag the bottom scroll bar to move the end point to a new position in the design. To begin quilting from a point other than the design’s start point • Position the needle where you want to begin stitching and select Start Auto. The point in the design that is closest to the crosshairs will be the new start point. Alternately, drag the top scroll bar to move the start point to a new position in the design.
Machine Quilting Tip: Recovering from a thread break or bobbin change If the thread breaks while stitching, press Pause. Fix the problem by rethreading the machine or changing the bobbin. Select the Quilt menu and then select the New Start/ End function. Then press the Start Auto button. Press Disable Motors. Move the machine’s needle to the place on the quilt where you want to begin stitching again. The crosshairs on the screen will move to the corresponding position on the design.
8. Settings Menu Before stitching any design, it is always a good idea to double-check the settings. Some quilters may find settings that will work for everything they do and never go back to change them. However, most will likely find that different projects will require different settings. Make a habit of checking these settings before quilting any design. Control how fast Pro-Stitcher operates The Speed setting sets how fast the Pro-Stitcher carriage will move through the quilting design.
To set the Auto Jump threshold • Press the Plus Sign (+) to increase or Minus Sign (–) to decrease the Auto Jump threshold by .5 inch. Alternately, touch the number box and type a value directly and press Enter. ! NOTE: If the jump distance is less than the Auto Jump threshold (number of inches entered in the Auto Jump box), Pro-Stitcher does not pause for you to trim the thread before jumping to the next start point.
Control how Pro-Stitcher performs tie-offs By tieing off at the beginning and ending of stitching, the stitches will be secure and will not come undone. The Tie Off feature enables you to select your preferred method for how and when Pro-Stitcher performs tie-offs. • Select Settings, Tie Off. Select Tie-Off End to perform a tie-off at the end of each segment in the design. Select Tie-Off Start to perform a tie-off at the beginning of each segment in the design. Specify how many tieoff stitches are done.
To select the method of tie-off stitch: Micro or Tack • Press Tack to select the Tack method of tie-off. The Tack method forms the selected number of stitches forward into the design and then back to the start point before beginning to stitch the design, thus doubling the number of stitches selected. • Press Micro to select the Micro method of tie-off. The Micro method forms the set number of tie-off stitches forward into the design and then begins stitching from there.
To turn on automatic bobbin-thread pullups • ! Press Pull-Up Auto for Pro-Stitcher to shift the quilting machine to the right a few inches after pulling up the bobbin thread so you can grab both threads. Press Resume to continue quilting the design. NOTE: If Pull-Up Auto is not selected, but Pull-Up On is selected, the quilting machine will take a stitch at the start point and then disable the motors. This enables you to manually push the quilting machine aside to pull up the bobbin thread.
Advanced Menu The Advanced Menu contains options that you will rarely need to use. Many are used by technicians as they help to diagnose any issues you may experience with Pro-Stitcher. General Options • Select Settings, Advanced, General. To verify settings before quilting • Press the button next to Verify Settings Before Quilt to have Pro-Stitcher display a pop-up box with all of the current settings. This gives you the opportunity to verify that everything is set up properly before stitching.
If the Pro-Stitcher computer cannot communicate with the motors for any reason, it will be indicated by a lightning bolt icon at the top right-hand corner of the screen. • Press Reconnect Motors or the Motor Error button in the top right-hand corner of the screen to reestablish communications between the Pro-Stitcher computer and the motors. To reconnect the machine You may need to reestablish communications between Pro-Stitcher and the quilting machine.
Calibrate Options If the touch screen is not calibrated properly, the cursor will not move to the points you touch on the ProStitcher computer screen. Resolve this by recalibrating the touch screen. • Select Settings, Advanced, Calibrate. To calibrate the Pro-Stitcher computer screen • ! Press Calibrate Screen and follow the onscreen calibration instructions.
Logging Options The logging options are for troubleshooting Pro-Stitcher by a technician. • Select Settings, Advanced, Logging About This option shows version information for the Pro-Stitcher software. Shut Down Three shutdown options are available on the Shut Down menu. To shutdown all software and power down the computer • Select Shutdown from the menu. Then select the Shutdown button. You should do a full shutdown when done using Pro-Stitcher.
9. Troubleshooting Problem/Symptom No display on the touch-screen monitor LED near the battery symbol at the top left-hand side of the screen is blue and the Windows button at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen is NOT lit. LED near the battery symbol at the top lefthand side of the screen is NOT lit and the Windows button at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen is NOT lit. The Windows button is Orange or Blue. Corrective Measure The Pro-Stitcher computer is powered off.
Problem/Symptom Corrective Measure The Pro-Stitcher stitches, but the stitch lengths The problem can be narrowed to a specific encoder vary and the quilting machine slows down or wheel by running the quilting machine manually. Start even stops in some directions. the quilting machine from the handlebars in Stitch Regulated mode and only move the machine left and right. Then try only moving front and back.
Problem/Symptom Corrective Measure Lubrication required between white gears and blue rack When the Pro-Stitcher carriages are engaged, Lubricate the teeth of the white plastic gears for both squeaking can be heard as the machine is the X and the Y axes by applying a small amount of pushed or driven. silicone lubricant to the teeth of the white gears. Do not use a solvent-based or an oil-based lubricant (such as WD-40 or sewing machine oil) as this will attract dust and eventually clog the gears.
Problem/Symptom Jumps between repeated patterns Use of any of the Repeat options results in a jump between each pattern Corrective Measure When using the Repeat functions, if the start and/or stop points are within the block of the pattern (i.e. they are not located at the left and right-hand sides of the pattern block) and/or not at the same height, there will be a jump between each repeat of the pattern. This can be corrected by selecting the Point 2 Point box in the Repeat screen.
