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Preferences Settings

Here's an explanation of all the preference settings. Some you'll change from time to time, others, you'll never need to change. This is also in the files section of this forum but there is one additional setting now which is explained here.

Contents

PREFERENCES

Touch utilities on the main menu, then preferences. You may want to change some of these several times until you find what suits you and as you become familiar with IQ (backstitching length, rotate/flip pattern, warning beep duration), others will hardly ever need changing.

To alter the preference settings, touch the item you want to change on the list then touch the + or - signs to change the setting.

BACKSTITCHING LENGTH

This setting determines how far IQ will trace the pattern backwards before and after automatic jump stitches. It will not backstitch at the beginning and end of a pattern. That allows you to fill in any space left due to the fabric drawing up during quilting. If you usually anchor your stitches by using your single stitch, you should continue to do so.

NEEDLE STOP DISTANCE

If your machine takes several stitches after it stops moving, increase this setting. Increase it by one step at a time until you find the best setting for your machine.

END POINT OVERLAP

This will make IQ overlap the start and end of a closed pattern (one with the S and E in the same place). When it reaches the end point, it will stitch the very start of the pattern again. The setting determines how far it will overlap.

HOMING SPEED

This is the speed with which the motors move the machine from one end of a pattern to the next, or when moving to a restart point. If an obstruction is detected during this movement, this speed needs decreasing. You need to find the highest speed without obstruction detection.

X MOTOR ENGAGEMENT STRENGTH

This is the motor that's mounted to your carriage.

Y MOTOR ENGAGEMENT STRENGTH

This is the motor that's mounted to your machine.

You probably won't have to change either of these settings. Both these settings (X & Y Motors) determine how strongly the drive wheels engage with the tracks. They need adjusting if obstructions are detected for no apparent reason and cleaning doesn't solve the problem. You can test this setting in Manual Mode by engaging the channel locks, feeling how strongly the motors hold. It's important to clean the wheels and the surface of the track before setting the engagement strengths. Clean the drive wheels with a drop of alcohol on a q-tip (touch Clean Rollers on the Utilities page and the drive wheels will lift and start to spin so you can hold the q-tip against them), and clean the tracks with Windex or something similar. Let the Windex air dry.

OBSTRUCTION DETECTION

This changes the sensitivity of the obstruction detection. If you are getting many false obstruction signals, increase this number. At a high setting, IQ will not stop easily, which could cause damage to a quilt.

WARNING BEEP DURATION

This will change the length of time that the warning beeps sound.

ROTATE BLOCK PATTERN WHILE FITTING and FLIP BLOCK PATTERN WHILE FITTING

These two affect how IQ fits a pattern in a block. When you choose a pattern, IQ will resize, rotate and flip the pattern until it determines the best way to fit the pattern in the block. Sometimes this process can take several seconds. If you want to speed up the process, set both of these to NO. IQ will then place the pattern in the same orientation as you see it in the catalog. It will be resized to fit.

MOTORS ENGAGED WHILE TRACING

With this preference set to YES, the motors will remain partially engaged when you trace a shape on the quilt. This slight drag may help with accuracy. If you prefer to have no drag, change the selection to NO by touching the - sign.

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