Composition and classification of sewing machines

A sewing machine is a machine that uses one or more sewing threads to form one or more stitches on the seam material, interweaving or stitching one or more layers of seam material.

The sewing machine can sew fabrics such as cotton, linen, silk, wool, artificial fibers, as well as leather, plastic, paper, and other products. The stitches produced are neat, beautiful, flat, and firm, with fast sewing speed and easy use. And derived artistic forms such as hand embroidery and computer embroidery from it.

A typical sewing machine consists of four parts: the head, base, transmission, and accessories.

The machine head is the main part of a sewing machine. It is composed of four mechanisms: piercing, hooking, thread picking, and feeding, as well as auxiliary mechanisms such as winding, pressing, and tooth dropping. The movements of each mechanism are reasonably coordinated and work in a cyclic manner to sew the seam material together.

The machine base is divided into two forms: a platform and a chassis. The platen of the platen type machine seat serves as a support for the machine head and is used as a workbench during sewing operations. There are various styles of tabletops, including one or more bucket folding style, cabinet style, writing desk style, etc. The chassis of the chassis type machine seat plays a role in supporting and storing the machine head, making the sewing machine easy to carry and store.

The transmission part of a sewing machine is composed of components such as a frame, a hand crank, or an electric motor. The rack is the pillar of the machine, supporting the platform and foot pedal. When in use, the operator steps on the foot pedal, drives the pulley to rotate through the crank, and then drives the machine head to rotate through the belt. Most hand crankers or electric motors are directly installed on the machine head.

The accessories of a sewing machine include needles, shuttle cores, screwdrivers, oil pots, etc.

There are many classification methods for sewing machines, and the most common one is to distinguish them by stitch and purpose. The stitching of sewing machines can be classified into two types: lock stitch and chain stitch. Lock stitch is the most common, consisting of two stitches intertwined like a rope, with the interweaving point in the middle of the seam material. From the cross-sectional view of the stitching, the two stitches are like two locks locking each other, hence it is called a lock stitch. This type of stitch is used in sewing materials such as cotton, wool, or leather with low shrinkage, and the shape of the front and back is the same, like a dashed line. The stitch distribution is dense, and the fastness of sewing generally exceeds that of manual sewing.

Chain stitch is formed by the self connection or interconnection of the thread loops of the suture. Commonly used types include single thread chain, double thread chain, and three thread wrapped stitch. The characteristic of this type of stitching is that it is elastic and can expand and contract with the seam material without breaking the seam line. It is suitable for clothing made of elastic fabrics or products and clothing blanks that are prone to looseness when sewing.

In addition, sewing machines can be divided into household, industrial, and service industry machines according to their purpose, and can also be divided into manual sewing machines, foot sewing machines, and electric sewing machines according to their driving form.