Industrial Sewing Machine Guide
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What type of sewing machine is right for me?
The following pages were developed as a guide to help you determine what kind of industrial sewing machine is necessary for a specific kind of work. Let us know if this information has helped you.
Basic configuration of sewing machines
There are three basic types of sewing machine configurations relating to the area under the arm of the machine where the sewing work is done. Flat bed sewing machines are the most common, because the majority of sewing garments and other products involves sewing together two or more pieces of flat goods. Below is an example of a common flat bed sewing machine, the Mitsubishi LU2-400.
Flat bed sewing machine: Mitsubishi LU2-400
Next, we have the post bed sewing machine. Post bed sewing machines have a vertical rectangular or round post rising up from the bed of the machine to where the needle and presser foot meet (where the sewing occurs). Post bed machines are used for a wide variety of applications where products cannot fit on the regular flat bed. Shown below is a high post bed sewing machine, called “high” because it has a longer than normal post for attaching emblems to sleeves and caps, as well as many other products like umbrellas, overalls, and boots.
High post bed sewing machine: SunStar KPW-816/817
Last but not least, we have the cylinder bed sewing machine. Cylinder bed sewing machines have a horizontal cylinder bed which allows
Cylinder bed sewing machine: SunStar KM-380BL
Each of these machines have a variety of feeding mechanisms available. Please see our Feeding the Material page for more information on feed types.