Juki APW-896 Lockstitch, Automatic Welting Machine

JUKI released the APW-896 lockstitch, automatic welting machine for slanted pockets on the 1st of December 2007. The machine automatically welts the pocket lips of slanted pockets which enhance the design-quality of suits, jackets and pants.
The machine is provided not only with the capabilities of the APW-895, which has been highly praised for its outstanding productivity and seam quality, but also with the world's first "computer-controlled sidewise cutting position of a counter knife" mechanism and "independent lifting/lowering of the left and right blades of the corner knife" mechanism.
The welt's corner-section shape, which determines the quality of the pocket's welt, depends on the accuracy of the amount of cutting by the corner knife. Conventionally, all four corner parts of a welt are processed very carefully, requiring a longer time and upgraded skill.
The APW-896, on the other hand, allows fine adjustments of the amount of cutting by the corner knife in 0.1mm increments on the operation panel, thereby substantially reducing the time required for setup changing in the case of product changing.
This is an excellent model of a lockstitch, automatic welting machine which has been developed by fully remodeling JUKI's conventional APW-196N to be dramatically upgraded in productivity, seam quality, operability and flexibility.

Increased productivity
・Newly-designed machine head which comes with a direct-drive system which has increased the maximum number of revolutions from 2,500 sti/min (conventional model) to 3,000 sti/min.
・Clamp-foot travel speed is increased and the folding-action is quickened, to shorten machine time. The machine achieves the industry's highest machine time of 3.4 sec.
Sewing condition: For sewing a flap length of 150 mm with the stitch-length set at 2.5 mm. As compared with the conventional model, the machine for sewing slanted pockets reduces the machine time by 36 % in back-tacking and by 21 % in condensation stitching.

Power-saving design
・JUKI has been trying to reduce power consumption by designing a power-saving machine to contribute to improved economic efficiency. The machine comes with a direct-drive system which achieves superior energy transmission, thereby reducing the average power consumption by 60 % and standby power consumption by 90 %.

Improved seam quality
・For delicate adjustments of the cutting position of the corner knife in the case of sewing slanted pockets, the world's first and patent-pending "computer-controlled sidewise cutting position of a counter knife mechanism" and "independent lifting/lowering mechanism for the left and right blades of the corner knife" allow the amount of cutting by the corner knife, with respect to the seam, to be finely adjusted in both the sidewise and lengthwise directions on the operation panel without the use of any tool. This greatly shortens the time required to adjust the corner parts of a welt.
・The machine is provided as standard with an automatic left-flap angle detecting function to automatically correct the sewing staring/ending positions as well as the amount and position of cutting by the corner knife at the corner parts of a welt when sewing slanted pockets with a flap. This helps improve seam quality and productivity in the sewing of slanted pockets with a flap.
・Conventionally, for sewing slanted pocket cutting lengths which are different between the right and left pockets, reverse stitching (back-tacking) lengths at the starting/ending of sewing have also been different between the right and left pockets. Now, the APW-896 comes with the capability of equalizing the right and left back-tacking lengths (number of stitches) for sewing slanted pockets, thereby improving seam quality in reverse stitching.