Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology
Gazipur-1700
Course Title: Maintenance and Management of Apparel
Machinery (Sessional)
Course No: TE-4400
Experiment No: 02
Experiment Name: Study on maintenance of manual
sewing machine.
Date of Allocation: Date of submission:
Submitted By Submitted To
Name: Md. Abu Asad Ripon Kumar Prashad
ID: 165046 Assistant Professor
Semester & Year: 4/2 Department of Textile Engineering
Department: Textile Engineering DUET, Gazipur
pg. 1
1.0 Introduction
The act of maintaining, the quality of being maintained, or the job of keeping something in
correct working order is defined as maintenance. The process of repairing a sewing machine
can go through it either a machine operator or mechanical engineer from the garment industry.
Since the operator is working on the machine, he or she can understand the small abnormalities
in the machine at the very beginning and can avoid the major issues.
Sewing machine Maintenance
Preventive Maintenance Breakdown Maintenance
Time based Condition based
Figure 1: Classification of Sewing machine maintenance
Preventive maintenance
Preventive maintenance is the process to prevent machine problems and deterioration
before it occurs in a major level through the following acts:
1. Daily maintenance to prevent deterioration (cleaning, checking, lubricating, tightening
bolts)
2. Periodic inspection and facility diagnosis
3. Maintenance for recovery
TBM (time-based maintenance)
Time-based maintenance is the method whereby maintenance is carried out in a fixed cycle
determined by the mean time between failures (MTBF) and other factors.
Inspection, Repair, Inspection, Repair, Inspection, Repair,
Replacement, Replacement, Replacement,
Renewal Renewal Renewal
CBM (condition-based maintenance)
This procedure is also referred to as prediction maintenance (Figure 5.4). This is a method
whereby facility deterioration is constantly or periodically monitored by facility diagnosis
and maintenance is conducted when an abnormality is found
Breakdown maintenance
Breakdown maintenance is carried out only when a breakdown occurs. This method is
generally accepted only if the breakdown does not influence the production ability of the
particular manufacturing facility.
In this experiment, we have cleaned and maintained a manual sewing machine in our apparel
manufacturing lab.
pg. 2
2.0 Objectives
To know about the different parts of hand sewing machine
To know about the thread path of the hand sewing machine
To know about the oiling and greasing point of the hand sewing machine
To know how to maintenance the hand sewing machine
To know how to identify a problem in a hand sewing machine
3.0 Apparatus
Lubricating oil
Grease
Flat screwdriver
Star screwdriver
Hammer
Pliers
Cotton
Soft Brush
Magnet
Blower
pg. 3
4.0 Cleaning and maintenance
4.1 Cleaning
We have cleaned all the bearing which was jammed by yarn’s dirt and lint. The dirt and lint
can jam the bearing when it is running.
We have cleaned some specific points of the hand sewing machine:
The hook and bobbin areas assembly
The needle-bar and presser foot
The handwheel bearing and the clutch assembly
Table-1: Cleaning schedule and points of manual sewing machine
SN Description ScheduleRecommended Remarks
mode of cleaning
1. Spool hand Everyday Cotton Ensure that there are no pins,
Labels, Buttons other than the
thread cone on the spool.
2. Machine Everyday Cotton Remove the complete dust from
Thread the entire area including the
bobbin winding area, Knee lifter
connecting area, the backside of
the machine arm.
3. Hook Twice a Soft Brush Unscrew the needle plate and
shuttle week remove the dust and threads and
clean the feed dog, trimming
mechanism, feed bar areas, and
hook set areas.
4. Oil tank Everyday Magnet Where the flap and thread will
accumulate.
5. Bottom oil Once a Blower Check there are no pins, bits of
tank week cloth, bits of thread, labels in the
oil tank and edge of the oil tank.
pg. 4
4.2 Preventive maintenance of sewing machine
Preventive maintenance is the process to prevent machine problems and deterioration before it
occurs at a major level.
Table-2: Preventive maintenance of manual sewing machine
SN Description Schedule Remarks
1. Needle Everyday Check type of the needle
Check the size of the needle
Check the position of the needle
Check needlepoint which is suitable for
the fabric
2. Thread Everyday Make sure the thread is suitable to the fabric
and size of the needle
3. Thread stand Everyday To release the thread freely match the angle
of spool-holder and thread hanger assembly.
4. Thread cone Everyday Should be kept vertically on the thread spool.
5. Hook/Lopper Every 15 days Check the timing of hook/lopper and
timing needle
Check hook/lopper point daily whether it
is damaged, make it smooth, or replace it.
Check the needle plate hole daily
whether it is damaged, make it smooth,
and replace it.
6. Needle Plate, Every 15 days Use the correct types of the needle plate,
Pressure foot, pressure foot, feed dog according to the
Feed dog fabric and operations.
7. Pressure Every 15 days Pressure should be adjusted according to
the type of fabric and operation.
8. Oiling- Everyday Grease is applied to the gears and oil to
sewing the other parts of the sewing machine.
machine White lithium grease is ideal to keep the
sewing machine well lubricated. One
drop of oil on each bearing and in each
oil hole will be sufficient.
9. Drive belt Irregular maintenance or overuse of the
monitoring machine can either make the belt loose or
wear out and thus affect the performance of
the sewing machine.
If the belt has loosened due to frequent use,
it has to be tightened, and if it has worn out,
proper care should be given and have to
replace it.
pg. 5
5.0 Conclusion
Maintenance is an important operation for apparel manufacturing factory because it is
decreased idle time as well as maximize production. We got a clear concept about manual
sewing machine cleaning and maintenance with the help of our honorable teacher and lab
assistant.
pg. 6