Sewability is very significant for industrial sewing machines and has received much attention and improvement. In this research, four on-line monitoring sensors are developed for industrial sewing machines in order to measure sewing parameters and help to detect sewability problems. Specifically, the developed sensors are thread length measurement sensor, thread tension sensor, thread tension setting sensor, and needle force sensor. These sensors can provide detailed information on thread consumption, instantaneous thread tension, thread tension setup, and needle penetration force. The thread length measurement sensor can measure the top thread length that goes into a given sew: According to the experimental results, it is found that this sensor can be used to set up the thread tension properly. Therefore, it can help to minimize the sewability problems. The thread tension sensor can measure the instantaneous thread tension during sewing stitches. Hence, it can detect an improper thread tension setup and help to minimize the sewability problems. However, its high cost limits its application. The thread tension setting sensor is then developed in order for sewing operators to set up the thread tension properly and quickly. It is also a cost-effective sensor that can provide data leading to solutions to the sewability problems. The needle force sensor can measure the instantaneous needle force during needle penetration and withdrawal. The new design of the sensor ensures that the measurements are more accurate than other measurement methods. This sensor can be used to help detect sewability problems resulting from an improper needle penetration force. In summary, the developed sensors can not only be used to measure the sewing parameters and help to detect the sewability problems, but they can also provide a data acquisition method for the automatic control of industrial sewing machines. With these sensors instrumented on industrial sewing machines, the sewability problems will be minimized.Dept. of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses u26 Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1998 .G36. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 39-02, page: 0574. Adviser: Ruxu Du. Thesis (M.A.Sc.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1998.
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