Help with a CNC sewing machine - paid or barter!

Hi,

Thanks for looking at this post. I'm new to this Arduino stuff but it seems fairly straight forward but I just don't have the time to research or write code and am looking for someone to help me with part selection and programming. I'll do the construction and testing on my side, just need your expertise. I own a sportswear company so can trade product for your service or pay a fee. This is what I would like to do:

Control an XY table on a sewing machine so I can sew a repetitive pattern 2" x 4" (basically a rectangle with an X in it)

Here's the information I have so far:

  1. Motor drive on sewing machine is DC and uses a potentiometer to control speed. I will use a digital potentiometer like the AD5206 Digital Potentiometer to control the speed of the machine.

  2. I will be using a pair of stepper motors to drive an XY table

  3. A relay will be used to activate the electronic thread cutter on the sewing machine

  4. An optical sensor will sense the starting position of the needle. If it is not in the correct position, the program will not start. The machine will be manually moved so the needle is in the correct position before beginning. It would be cool to use the digital potentiometer to start the machine very slow until the optical sensor triggers for the needle to be in the correct position. Seems possible, just some coding I think.

  5. A program will need to be written for the movement of the stitch I want

  6. A big button to start everything going

Here's the sequence of how everything will start:

  1. On power, XY table will move into home position.

  2. Fabric will be clamped in (I don't require Arduino for this)

  3. Hit the big button to start everything

  4. Optical sensor will check the position of the needle. If not in the correct position, it will jog the machine slowly until the needle is in the correct position. Once in the correct position, the XY table will move to start the sewing.

  5. The speed of the machine and the XY table will be in sync. If the sewing starts slow, then the XY table will move slow, if the sewing is quick then the XY table will move quick. The reason we need this is the stitches need to be a consistent distance and this will prevent the needle to be embedded into the fabric and the XY table moving causing the needle to break. pattern is sewn at this point

  6. Relay activated and the automatic thread cutter is activated

  7. XY table moves into the home position.

That about sums up the project. I need help on selecting the correct boards and components although I have a very good idea already and someone to write the program for me with a simple GUI interface. I'm located in Hong Kong.

Thanks for your time and email me at info@avidasportswear.com if you are interested in the project.

Thanks
Henry

32K memory of an Arduino won't cut it. (pardon the pun)

You can contact the program of this author and see if Mach3 can be modified for your purpose.
http://www.machsupport.com/