¿Cuáles son las partes principales de una máquina de coser industrial?

El cabezal, que es la máquina en sí; el tablero, donde va encastrado; la bancada, que lo sostiene; y el motor con el pedal. En el cabezal están la aguja, el prensatelas, el tirahilos, el tensor y, debajo de la placa de aguja, el garfio, la cápsula y la canilla.

¿Cómo se llama la parte donde va la bobina de la máquina de coser?

La canilla, que mucha gente llama bobina, va dentro de la cápsula, y la cápsula va metida en el garfio, debajo de la placa de aguja.

¿Es lo mismo garfio que lanzadera?

Sí. En las máquinas industriales actuales, garfio, gancho y lanzadera son la misma pieza. Las lanzaderas antiguas eran otra pieza que iba y venía, pero hoy la palabra se usa también para el garfio rotativo.

¿Para qué sirve el tirahilos?

Hace el nudo de cada puntada. Cuando el garfio ya ha pasado el lazo alrededor de la canilla, el tirahilos sube y aprieta el hilo superior. Su movimiento depende del tipo y del tamaño del garfio. Si arrancas con el tirahilos abajo, el hilo se sale de la aguja.

¿Las piezas de una marca sirven para otra?

En general no. Garfio, cápsula, canilla, placa y dientes cambian según la marca y el modelo. Hay fabricantes, como Cerliani, que hacen garfios y piezas para muchas máquinas distintas. Si nos dices la marca y el modelo, te decimos qué pieza lleva.

Guides · To start

What are the parts of an industrial sewing machine called?

Each part with its photo or drawing, what it is for and its other names.

Anyone starting out with an industrial machine comes across lots of technical words, and the same part can have several names. In this guide you have each part with its photo, what it is for and the other names you will hear.

We take as an example a single-needle lockstitch flatbed, the most common machine in workshops. Compound feed, post bed and cylinder bed machines have almost all these parts, arranged differently.

A complete machine: PFAFF 2083

Flatbed machine mounted with its stand, table top, thread stand, knee lifter and pedal. Click a number to go to its description. The parts inside the machine are further down, with the drawings from the PFAFF manual.

Index of parts

The machine head: what you see from above

1Machine head

Also called: head, machine body

This is the machine itself: the cast iron or aluminium body that houses all the mechanisms. It has the head on the left, where the needle works, the arm across the top, the column on the right and the bed, where the fabric rests. It sits recessed in the table top.

2Handwheel

Also called: pulley, hand wheel

The wheel on the right-hand side. It is connected to the main shaft and, by turning it by hand, you raise and lower the needle slowly. The direction depends on the machine: on lockstitch machines it is turned towards you, anticlockwise, and on overlockers, away from you, clockwise.

3Thread stand

Also called: cone stand, spool stand

The thread stand sits on the table top, behind the machine. It holds the thread cones, and at the top it has the guides through which the thread runs down to the machine. If the thread slips off the cone and catches on the plate, it breaks.

4Thread guides

Also called: thread guide, eyelets, guides

The eyelets and hooks the upper thread passes through from the thread stand to the needle. If the thread misses one, the stitch comes out badly or the thread breaks.

5Thread tension and check spring

Also called: tension, tensioner, tension discs; check spring: take-up spring, thread controller spring

The discs that grip the upper thread to give it tension. On machines with a thread trimmer there are two: a small pre-tension and the main tension. Next to the tension unit is the check spring, which takes up the slack thread while the stitch is being formed.

6Take-up lever

Also called: thread take-up lever, take-up

The lever that moves up and down in the head, above the needle. It sets each stitch: once the hook has taken the loop around the bobbin, the take-up lever rises and tightens the thread. Its motion, the kinematics, is very important and depends on the type and size of the hook, which is why each machine has its own. To start sewing it has to be at the very top, otherwise the thread pulls out of the needle.

7Needle bar and needle

Also called: needle bar, needle holder

The bar moves up and down and holds the needle with a screw. The needle carries the upper thread through the fabric. Each machine requires a specific needle system: on flatbed lockstitch machines it is usually DB×1 and on heavy-duty machines, 134 or DP×5.

8Presser foot

Also called: foot, presser

The foot that presses the material against the feed dog. It is essential for forming the stitch and for moving the material forward. There are many shapes, each one designed for a job: the one in the photo, for example, is a zipper foot. It is raised with the lever on the head, with the knee lifter or, on electronic machines, with the pedal. The pressure is adjusted with the screw on top of the head or, on some machines such as the Dürkopp Adler 281, with the large wheel on the arm.

14Stitch length regulator

Also called: stitch dial, stitch length regulator

The numbered wheel on the arm or column. It sets the stitch length in millimetres. On electronic machines it is set on the panel.

15Reverse lever

Also called: backtack lever, reverse; backtack or reverse button

The lever next to the regulator. While you hold it down, the machine sews backwards to backtack. Many machines also have a backtack button on the head, next to the needle, so you can backtack without letting go of the fabric. Electronic machines also backtack automatically at the start and end of the seam.

16Oil sight glass

Also called: oil window

The small window on machines with automatic lubrication. With the machine running, you should see oil splashing. If it doesn’t splash, lubrication is failing and you have to stop. The oil level is checked in the sump, under the machine.

17Bobbin winder

Also called: winder

The bobbin winder mounted on the machine itself, usually on the arm. It fills the bobbin with thread while you sew: you put the bobbin on the spindle, pass the thread and it stops by itself when full. On other machines the winder is separate, screwed to the table top.

Under the plate: where the stitch is formed

Industrial sewing machine without covers with a magnifying glass over the hook area, where the stitch is formed — Machine without covers. The magnifying glass points to the area under the needle plate: that is where the hook catches the loop of upper thread, takes it around the bobbin and the stitch is formed.

9Needle plate

Also called: throat plate

The flat plate under the presser foot. It has the hole the needle goes down through and the slots the feed dog comes up through. Underneath are the hook, the bobbin case and the bobbin.

10Feed dog

Also called: feed, feeder

The teeth that come up through the plate and move the fabric on each stitch. On compound feed machines the fabric is moved at the same time by the feed dog, the needle and a walking foot.

11Hook

Also called: rotary hook, shuttle

It is the heart of the machine and the part that forms the lockstitch. It rotates under the needle plate: its point catches the loop of upper thread and takes it around the bobbin. It has to be timed with the needle to the millimetre.

12Bobbin case

Official name: bobbin case
Also called: bobbin holder, bobbin box

The case that holds the bobbin, fitted inside the hook. It has a spring with a small screw that sets the tension of the lower thread. It is the part people ask about as “the bit where the bobbin goes”.

13Bobbin

Official name: bobbin
Also called: spool

The small reel that holds the lower thread. It is filled on the winder and goes inside the bobbin case.

Table top, stand and motor

18Table top

The board in which the machine is recessed. It has a cut-out made to fit the head and, on top, the thread stand.

19Stand

Also called: frame, table stand

The metal frame with legs that supports the table top. It carries the pedal and, in many cases, the motor hanging under the table top.

20Motor

Also called: servo motor

Today almost all are servo motors: they are silent, only turn when you press the pedal and can stop with the needle up. Electronic machines have the motor inside the head and a control box under the table top.

21Knee lifter

Official name: knee lift

The lever under the table top that you push with your knee. It raises the presser foot without you having to let go of the fabric.

22Pedal

Also called: start pedal, treadle

You sew by pressing with the toe, and the harder you press, the faster the machine goes. On machines with a thread trimmer, pressing back with the heel raises the presser foot or trims the thread.

Common accessories

Edge guide

Official name: edge guide
Types: fixed edge guide and overhead (swing-away) edge guide

It acts as a stop for the edge of the fabric, so the seam is always the same distance from the edge. There are two types: the fixed one, screwed to the machine bed, and the overhead one, which sits above the material and swings away when not needed.

Grau angled binder for industrial sewing machine

Binder and folder

Also called: funnel, folder, bias binder

A funnel that folds the tape or fabric before it reaches the needle. It is used for binding or hemming in a single pass.

Finger guard

Official name: finger guard
Types: wire finger guard and sheet metal finger guard

It sits in front of the needle and presser foot so that a finger can’t get under the needle. The one in the photo is a wire finger guard. Many machines also have a transparent shield to protect the eyes if a needle breaks. They are safety parts and must not be removed.

Frequently asked questions

What are the main parts of an industrial sewing machine?

The head, which is the machine itself; the table top, in which it is recessed; the stand, which supports it; and the motor with the pedal. On the head are the needle, the presser foot, the take-up lever, the tension unit and, under the needle plate, the hook, the bobbin case and the bobbin.

What is the part where the bobbin goes called?

The bobbin goes inside the bobbin case, and the bobbin case fits into the hook, under the needle plate.

Are a hook and a shuttle the same thing?

Yes. On today’s industrial machines, hook, rotary hook and shuttle refer to the same part. Old shuttles were a different part that moved back and forth, but today the word is also used for the rotary hook.

What is the take-up lever for?

It sets each stitch. Once the hook has taken the loop around the bobbin, the take-up lever rises and tightens the upper thread. Its motion depends on the type and size of the hook. If you start with the take-up lever down, the thread pulls out of the needle.

Do one brand’s parts fit another?

Generally not. Hook, bobbin case, bobbin, plate and feed dog vary by brand and model. Some manufacturers, such as Cerliani, make hooks and parts for many different machines. If you tell us the brand and model, we will tell you which part it takes.

Other guides

Looking for a part and don’t know what it’s called? Send us a photo on WhatsApp with the brand and model of the machine and we will tell you which it is.

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