Distorted Areas, Problems Creating an Area and Distorted Quilting

How does the Pro-Stitcher create an area?

Your Pro-Stitcher has white gears that extend from the two motors mounted in the carriage.  These two gears each ride in a track.  The front gear rides in a blue track that is mounted at the front of the quilting frame’s tabletop.  The side white gear also rides in a blue track.  (Please note:  The Handi Quilter Infinity Longarm Machine uses a black track with a slightly different setup, but the principle is the same.)  This blue track is mounted on the bottom of a silver bar that is attached to the right side of your longarm machine.  This bar attaches to the front and rear baseplates of your longarm machine.  These two white gears riding in the blue tracks is what the Pro-Stitcher Software uses to set an area and to quilt out a design.  The Pro-Stitcher Software uses these two gears to communicate where the needle is in relationship to the quilting design.  If the gears are not riding in the track or there is a problem with the alignment of the track, it will cause your area or design to be distorted.

Inspect both white gears and ensure they are centered over/under their respective tracks and that the tracks are aligned correctly.  If you have questions about how to do this, you can reference the specific Pro-Stitcher Installation Manual for your longarm machine.  These manuals are available at https://prostitcher.com.

After verifying the white gears are aligned with the track, try the following: 

1. Launch the Pro-Stitcher Software.
2. Lock your motors by touching the Motors Icon in the upper righthand corner of the software screen. 
3. The Motors Icon will turn from red to green and your motors should be locked. 
4. Gently try to move your machine. 
5. Feel how solidly the motors are locked.  It should feel the same when applying pressure left and right as when applying pressure forward and back. 
6. Unlock the motors and move to a different spot. 
7. Try locking the motors at different locations on the frame. 
8. The motors should feel solid at any point on the frame. If there is “play”, this may lead you to where the problem is.

Finally, check that the motors are tracking distance correctly.  Identify an area within the available space of your quilting frame that is about 12" square.  Start in the upper left-hand corner and turn on the Measure Tool.  Move 12" to your right and note the measurement on the screen.  Then move towards the front of the frame 12".  Again, note the measurement listed on the screen.  Move to the left 12" and note the measurement.  Finally, return to the starting point.  The measurement in all four directions should be close to the actual distance traveled.  Please note, the Measure Tool is not meant to be used for precision measurements.  Any of the measurements could be off by 1/4" or so.

If these exercises do not identify the source of the problem, the information from these exercises can be used by a technician to troubleshoot further.  Please contact your local retailer or email for additional assistance.