Intelliquilter Routine Drive Wheel Maintenance

Sheridan clearly shows you how to clean the drive wheels and table surfaces in this video. 

Helen's iQ - cleaning the drive wheels.

In this video I am cleaning the drive wheel on my Y motor. The video is a bit choppy right at the end where the camera was turned off by mistake, but nothing important was missed. This was also a hand held camera which got the best view of the drive wheel. After cleaning the Y motor drive wheel, I would go on and clean the X motor drive wheel.  Do this at least once a month, but more often if you are quilting a lot, or know that your tracks oxidise like mine. I also have to clean my EdgeRider wheels frequently, along with the tracks, to remove the black.

Troubleshooting tips #2.

The following is offered as helpful hints to get the best and quickest support when using our ticket system at the iQ web site.

Please save and send your logs with your ticket. This will save a few back and forth communications and lots of time.

Please update to the latest version of the software to continue troubleshooting.

Please fill in all of the identifying information at the top of the ticket. Please describe the issue you are having as completely as possible. "machine going crazy" or "not working" isn't enough information. The more information we have at the outset, the fewer questions we have to ask, and the narrower the focus of the ones we do. Feel free to attach pictures of anything that will help us understand the issue.

If you are having obstructions (with no error messages) this is what I tell everyone as a starting point: The very first thing for you to do is clean your wheels and rails until they are squeaky clean. Please use the Clean Rollers utility with 91% alcohol and QTips until there is no gray remaining on the cotton swabs. This may take a while. Use Windex and paper towels on your rails also until there is no trace of gray. Inspect your machine wheels to clean the grooves very well also. I use both QTips and paper towels with Windex to clean the Edgerider wheels. Examine carefully for imperfections in the rubber on the drive rollers, and look for any threads on the shafts of the rollers, thread sensor, or Edgerider wheels.

Glazing on the drive rollers is the number one cause of obstructions, imagine driving your car on a thin sheet of ice...

After you are certain everything is as clean as possible, run a panto row in Demo Mode. If you experience an obstruction, go to Utilities > Configuration > Motor Control Setup/Test and perform the Auto Setup on both motors. Try again to run a row in panto mode. Repeat above.

If your motors fail to engage - remove a cover of a motor and feel free to include a picture of the top of your motor on your ticket. If you have clear O-rings, and they are yellowed, they are worn and stretched. You can order new ones here, please specify 5" OC: https://www.mcmaster.com/#3044k503/=1cw7gn0 -- they will be shipped quickly, and replacement is similar to replacing a vacuum cleaner belt, which I'm pretty sure most of you have done at some point in your life.

If your machine stops moving, but continues to stitch in place, and the iQ buttons don't work, your tablet has likely lost connection with the dock. This can happen over time due to vibration or long-term movement. Simply remove and redock your tablet, making sure the contacts are making a good connection with their mates on the dock. Inspect the padding on the dock clamps, if worn or peeling, it can be replaced with Mole Skin from the pharmacy. Take steps to reduce the vibration of your machine head, experimenting until you find the "sweet spot" of needle speed, then of course adjust your iQ motor speed/details to get the stitch length you like. If the dock/tablet is tipping forward at the top, adjust it using the yellow thumb screws on the dock bracket so it is tipping toward the back at the top.

I'm sure there are many more things I could include here, but following these few steps may help you get going again on your own, saving you time and frustration. Of course never hesitate to start a ticket to start or continue troubleshooting any problems or issues you may have. Take a moment to check out all of the information here: https://www.intelliquilter.com/iQpedia/ as well. Lots of good stuff to help you.

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 580,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

Self Installation Tips and Tests.

This document may help those doing self installations of iQ.  Some of these tests should also be run when the motors have been removed then replaced, or adjusted.
In this post iqdemos.com is referred to, but ofcourse this is iqdemos.com so look at the side menu to find the appropriate video demonstrations.

SELF-INSTALLATION HELP. 

Before installing IQ.

Make sure your machine is balanced correctly on the carriage. Each wheel should be making good contact with the tracks. Check that the carriage is perfectly square and that the machine is sitting straight on the carriage.

Also make sure your table is level.

After installing IQ.

1.  Clean off the surface of your rails where the drive wheels will run first with rubbing alcohol then with Windex, or something similar.  Wipe the rails a couple of times with the Windex and let it air-dry.

2.  Plug in the power cord for the motors and the power cord for the tablet.  The ac adaptor for the tablet connects to the small jack at the motor power supply (the silver box).  When you use the tablet off the machine, this small jack plugs directly into the tablet.

Put the tablet on the machine and start up.

When IQ starts up, you will see a message telling you to move your machine to the front center of the table. You will see this message every time you start up IQ and it’s important to do this.

You’ll also see a message telling you that your IQ isn’t calibrated. For now you can touch the button ‘ignore’. You will be calibrating the machine a little later.

3.  Connections Test. 

These tests tell you that all the connections are correct. Make sure your machine is powered up before doing these tests.

On the main menu touch Utilities, then Configuration, then Interface Setup/Test.

Touch Communication Test and you should see a row of messages that all say ok.

Touch 'Single Stitch' and your machine should take a single stitch.

Touch 'Start Switch' and the machine should start stitching.  NOTE: The speed setting on your machine needs to be higher than 0 for this test to work. If you hear a click but the machine does not start stitching, increase the speed setting and repeat the test. Your machine should not be set for regulated stitching.

Touch Finished.

4.  Touch Motor Control Setup/Test. 

Go to iqdemos.com and watch the video that demonstrates the Motor Auto Setup. Look in the side menu for that title and to find the blog post.

If the X motor is mounted at the front of the carriage, push the machine as far back as possible when you set the engagement strength for the X motor.

If the X motor is mounted at the back of your carriage, pull the machine as far forward as possible when setting the engagement strength for the X motor.

5.  Once you have the motor engagement strengths set, touch finished, then finished again, and then the back arrow to return to the main menu.

Now you need to check that the settings are good for the whole length of the table by running a line pattern in preview.  You do not need a quilt on the machine to do this and your machine does not need to be threaded.

Here are the steps you need to follow: 

On the main menu, touch Design/Sew Quilt, Start New, then Line Pattern.

Move your machine to one end of your table and touch ok.  Move the machine straight to the other end of your table and touch ok.  Now move your machine towards the take up bar at a slight angle, when it's as far back as it can go, touch ok.  Move your machine towards the front of the table, again at an angle, and when it's as far forwards as possible, touch ok.  

Continue in this zigzag fashion back to the end of the table. When you get to the end, touch ok then finished.

Touch Sew Quilt, then follow the instructions and touch the image of the pattern on the screen.

Touch Continue,  then touch Preview.  The machine will move to the start of the pattern.  Touch start and the machine will follow the line pattern but it will not stitch.  It should not stop until it gets to the end of the pattern. 

If it stops anywhere with an obstruction detected signal you need to check the motor engagement strength at that place.  You can simply back out from the preview to the page where you see Utilities as a choice.  (You do not need to save the needle position or stitching sequence) Then you can change the engagement strengths.

Return to Sew Quilt and run the line pattern in preview again to make sure that there are no obstruction stops.

For these next tests you need to have a quilt mounted even though you will not be stitching.

6.  Calibrate your machine.  

Touch Utilities at the main menu, then Measure/Calibrate.  Touch the Calibrate button and follow the instructions. There is a video at iqdemos.com showing how to do the calibration.  Look for calibration in the side menu at iqdemos.com.  This process ensures that IQ measures correctly.

Touch Finished.

7.   Change the date and time.  

On the page titled Utilities (you should be on that page now having touched finished after calibrating), touch Configuration then Preferences, and touch Date/Time at the top of the list and correct it for your time zone.

When you have set it, touch Finished, then Finished again, then the back button to return to the main menu.

8.   Run the drift test pattern. 

At the main menu, touch Design/Sew Quilt then Edit/Sew Existing.

Touch the catalog named 'TEST' and touch Drift Test. Do not touch the Supermotor Drift Test

Touch Continue. You may see some pop up windows with question, just answer to no to those questions.

This test is a 12" square.  The message says ‘Touch a reference point on the screen'. Touch the small green square at the top left where there is an S and E.  It's not right at the corner. Touch Continue and read the on screen directions.

Move your machine to place where you want the S and E to be on your quilt. (S is start and E is end) Make sure the machine will be able to move 12 inches forward without obstruction. Touch OK.

Now touch Sew Quilt and then touch the image of the pattern.  It will turn green. Touch Continue.

Touch Preview

Your machine will move to the start of this pattern.  Place a piece of masking tape carefully under the needle and drop the needle to make a hole in the tape.  Raise the needle.  Do not move the machine when you do this.

The Speed setting on the screen should be 1.8 and the Details setting should be 1.4.

Touch the Button showing a gear (Configuration) , next to the button with a ? (Help).

Look at End Point Overlap. It should read 0.00". If it doesn't, touch the button next to End Point Overlap - the words will turn red. Now touch the key pad that has appeared in the ribbon below the image and change the setting to 0.00".

Touch Finished. 

Touch Start and the machine will begin to move. It will not stitch because it is in preview.  

Do not touch the table or machine whilst the test is running.

We do not stitch this pattern because it is designed to check that the motors are aligned correctly.  It will run for just over 8 minutes and when it finishes the needle should be right over the original hole in the tape.  If it is more than a sixteenth of an inch away from the hole, you need to check that the motors are perfectly straight.

If the needle ends either to the left or right of the original hole, the X motor needs adjusting. If it ends above or below the original hole, the Y motor needs adjusting.  (The X motor runs along the length of the table, the Y motor runs along the carriage)

If this pattern was sewn, the fabric would be drawn up and the needle would not return exactly to the start point.

NOTE: You would not stitch this pattern at this small scale at these speeds.

The Speed and Details settings on the Sew Quilt page determine how fast your machine will move - speed is the general speed and is measured in inches per second.  When the machine turns a corner, it needs to slow down slightly and that is what the details setting is for.  I generally have the details setting about  .2 less than the speed.  If you have the difference between the two more than .5, you'll see the red message  'stitch regulation required'. We recommend never using IQ with stitch regulation - this is just a reminder to increase the details setting until the red message disappears.

The stitch length will be determined by how fast you set the needle speed on your machine.

You’ll find a video all about speed and how these settings affect the stitch out quality at iqdemos.com.

I recommend that you explore IQ in demo mode or off the machine for a couple of hours. Plug the ac adaptor into the tablet, set up the little easel and just touch buttons and explore.  

Follow the directions and make choices.  Always ask your self, “What do I want to do?” then find the answer to that question on the page you are on. Think in small steps. If you can’t see the answer, either touch the finished button or the back arrow to get to another page. If you are puzzled by some of the choices, touch the ‘?’ button for a brief explanation. 

Don’t be afraid – there is no place you can get to that you can’t get out of. Simply keep touching the back arrow or finished button and you will end up right back at the main menu.

When you are ready to stitch but don’t know what to do first, try setting up a pantograph and stitch a few rows. There are directions in the ‘How To use Your IQ’ document that is on the thumb drive that came with your iQ if you are unsure, but really all you need to do is read what it says on the screen, follow directions and make choices. I think you’ll be surprised at how easy IQ is to use. If you are puzzled by what you need to do when you advance your quilt, follow the step by step directions in ‘How to use your IQ’.

Don’t forget to watch the relevant videos at iqdemos.com for help too.

Remember, IQ is like a tool box full of tools – some you will use everyday, others you may use only once in a while and that’s o.k. I don’t expect you to use everything  - use the tools you need and have fun!

iQ motor pulley and belt upgrade.

Tracey Browning shows how to upgrade your super motors with the notched belts and pulleys in this video. After putting your motors back onto your machine, you should run the motor auto-adjustment, calibration, and drift test. Even though you won't have altered the motor brackets, it's best to run the drift test just to make sure they haven't been accidentally knocked out of position.



This is the link to watch the video on Youtube.

And this is the link to Tracey's web site, Constantine Quilts.

Adjusting the motors

The motors in this video are the older kind with gears rather than drive belts, but adjusting them is exactly the same, so ignore the gears, if you don't have them, and pay attention to the screws being adjusted by Jim Higginbotham.
Adjust the height of the motors when iQ is either turned off or set to manual mode. You need to get down and look at the gap between the drive wheel (that's the flat sided wheel under the motor). Ideally it shouldn't be any greater than the thickness of two credit cards. The wheel should be completely over the surface it runs along and the gap should be even. If your gap is wider at one side than the other, alter the appropriate screw to level it (the silver ones in this video)

This can be a time consuming job, but you will be able to do it. Don't be tempted to loosen the screws more than a quarter turn at a time - do the adjustment just as Jim shows, checking the height after each adjustment.

When you have the motors adjusted, you must calibrate iQ, and run the drift test just to make sure everything is correct.

Troubleshooting tips #1.

When strange things happen, don’t panic and don’t assume the worst.  More often than not, the problem is caused by something very simple and easily fixed.

These troubleshooting lists start with the simplest and most common cause of the problem. Start with 1 and work down the list. If you get to the end of the list and haven’t solved the problem, copy your logs and post them at the support page of intelliquilter.com adding a brief description of the problem.

Obstruction detected

1.     Look for a true obstruction on the quilt. Is the machine’s foot caught on a bulky seam, an open seam, the edge of the quilt or a long thread? Has the machine moved as far as it can making the throat touch the take up bar or leveller bar?

2.     Look at the back of the quilt – has a long thread caught on the needle plate or a wheel?

3.     Look on the table top – is there something laying across the tracks or the surfaces where the motors run?

4.     Look at the cables at the back of the machine – has one caught on something? It may have caught momentarily on something under your machine. Move your machine by hand and watch the cords.

5.     Look at the take up roller or leveler bar. Is it high enough?  Is the added bulk from Red Snappers or Leadergrips rubbing on the throat of the machine or Y motor?

6.     Check the thread tension – has it suddenly become super tight?

7.     Is the quilt stretched too tightly?

8.     Clean the surfaces where the drive wheels run. If you suspect oil on the surface, first use rubbing alcohol and rub hard, then follow up with Windex.

9.     Look at the sensor wheels – are they running in the correct position? Are they turning?

10.  Look for thread caught around the drive wheels, sensor wheels or your machine’s wheels.

11.  Inspect the drive wheels – has the rubber separated from the hub?

12.  If you routinely have obstruction stops at one place on your table, run the motor auto setup right where the obstruction occurs. To find the auto setup, at the main menu, touch utilities > configuration > motor control setup/test and follow the instructions. There is a video demonstrating the auto set-up on this blog. Look for 'engagement strength' in the side menu.

13. If none of this helps, copy your logs and contact support at intelliquilter.com.

Thread Break

1.     Is the thread break sensor wheel turning in the right direction? It should be turning clockwise. Look at the little arrow on the wheel as you pull the thread.

2.     Has the thread jumped off the wheel?

3.     Is there slack in the thread coming off the cone? If so, use a thread net or place a small piece of batting in the thread guide immediately above the cone to control the thread.

4.     Are you using slick thread that isn’t grabbing the sensor wheel? If so, wind the thread twice around the sensor wheel.

5.     Is the sensor wheel turning freely? Turn it by hand to check.

6.     Disconnect then re-connect the cable at the sensor wheel.

7.     Disconnect then re-connect the cable at the interface board on the docking station.

8.  Use canned air to blow any dust out of both connections.

Demo Mode shows when tablet is on the docking station.

1.     Check that the motors are plugged in. The motors must have power to them before starting up the tablet.

2.     Shut down IQ, remove the tablet then re-dock firmly.

3.     Check the connections on the interface board including the orange relays.  Make sure all connections are fully seated.

4.     With iQ shut down and the power off, look at the connections at the power supply box that’s mounted under the table – are they all secure?

Communication Error flashing at the top of the screen.

1.     Back out to the main menu, select utilities > configuration > interface setup/test > communication test.  You will see which component isn’t communicating and can focus on checking the relevant connections.

2.     Shut iQ down, remove the tablet and re-dock it firmly.

3.     Check that all the connections on the interface board on the docking station are fully seated.

4.     If one of the motors isn’t communicating, after doing the above, remove the cover and check its connections.

5.     Copy your logs, then go to intelliquilter.com and fill out the form on the support page and attach your logs. Give a brief explanation of what you observed.

 Touch screen responsiveness.

1.     If the tablet freezes or can’t get all the way through start up and the screen doesn’t respond to touch, force quit by holding down the ‘on’ button, remove the big battery or batteries and leave it/them out for about 30 minutes then replace it/them.

2.     If the touch screen doesn’t respond with the correct action, it probably needs recalibrating. At the main menu, select utilities > configuration > preferences > touch calibration.  Follow the on screen instructions. If you are wary of doing this, contact your support person, or support at intelliquilter.com.

3. Go to support at intelliquilter.com and describe what's happening.

Drift Test.

At the main menu, touch 'design/sew quilt' then 'edit/sew existing'.

Touch the catalog named 'TEST' and touch ' drift test'.
It's the one where you can see multiple rows of the heart leaf pattern.
Do not choose the one that is really dense, that looks just black.

Touch 'continue'

This test is a 10" square.
The message says 'touch a reference point on the screen'
Touch the small green square where there is an S and E at the top left.
It's not right at the corner.

Move your machine to where you want the S and E to be on your quilt.
(S is start and E is end)
Make sure the machine will be able to move 10 inches forward
without obstruction.

Touch OK.

Now touch 'Sew Quilt' and then touch the image of the pattern.
It will turn green. 

Touch 'continue'

Touch 'Preview'

Your machine will move to the start of this pattern. 

Place a piece of masking tape carefully under the needle.
Drop the needle to make a hole in the tape. 

Do not move the machine when you do this.

The Speed setting on the screen should be 1.8
The Details setting should be 1.4.

Touch start and the machine will begin to move.
It will not stitch because it is in preview. 

This pattern is not stitched because it is checking that
the motors are aligned correctly. 

It will run for just over 8 minutes.
When it finishes the needle should be right over the original hole in the tape. 

If it is more than a sixteenth of an inch away from the hole,
check that the motors are perfectly straight.

Do not touch the table or machine whilst the test is running.

The drift test can be found in the files of the Facebook group, Friends using iQ.

©2018 IntelliQuilter^®

Some help with motor alignment

Erin explains how to physically align the iQ motors in this video.



If you prefer to watch it on Youtube, use this link https://youtu.be/6ZAkP14NFm0

Motor Auto Setup

Everyone is going to love this!  iQ can now set the motor engagement strengths itself. No more listening for the growl or watching the lift spindle, wondering if you have the strengths set too low or too high. After updating your software to the August 2015 version (8.20.15), use this feature. Make a note of your current motor engagement strengths then run the auto setup. Did iQ change them?

When you are just running this to set your motor engagement strengths, if your X motor is mounted at the front of your carriage, you need to push your machine close to the take up bar before running the X motor auto setup. If your X motor is mounted at the back of your carriage, bring your machine close to the front of the table before running the auto setup.

To watch the video on Youtube, go to this link: https://youtu.be/p1evl0yMgkA

iQ ClassiQ - T550 tablet

NOTE: this is an older video so several of the links Erin mentions are no longer active. I am not deleting this video because it does have useful information that's still relevant.

This is a training video covering the parts of the iQ system, care of the system and all the basics from pattern manipulation to design. The video uses the ClassiQ T550 tablet in demo mode, but can be helpful to anyone. This is a very long video but it has a time index at the start so you can jump to a relevant section.

Thank you, Erin for making this video.

Note: If you are unable to see the video here, please watch it on youtube at this link

Setting Super Motor engagement strength

iQ sets the engagement strengths of the motors automatically now, but this video may be helpful when troubleshooting supermotors.
Remove the motor covers and watch the spindle shown in the videos as you change the engagement strength. Do not move the machine.
The videos show the motor repeatedly engaging and disengaging. Yours will not do this - it will lift then lower once when you change the setting.

This video shows a weak engagement strength - watch how the brass collar at the base of the spindle does not lift.
weak engagement strength

This video shows the correct movement of the brass collar. The collar should be lifted by about 1-2 millimeters at the end of the engagement phase when the engagement strength is set properly.
proper engagement strength

Calibrating IQ

If you suspect your IQ is not measuring correctly or you know it isn't, then you need to calibrate. It's a very simple process. If you get a message telling you to repeat the calibration, do it again. On one machine I had to do it three times before it was correct.
You should calibrate if you've changed your motors, drive wheels or sensor wheel 'o' rings.