about the owners of machine quilting frames, be it long-arm, short-arm or mid-arm, use an automated or robotic quilting assistant like pcquilter or Qbot?

I have a short-arm setup and don't use one.

Susan

I use a Handi Quilter II Frame extended to 12 feet and reinforced for stability and is a permanent set up. I use a Brother PQ1500 machine. I also started out with a PC Quilter (robotic quilting system) and have recently retrofitted it to the MQR (machine quilting robot). I also have a MaxThroat system (no longer available retail) which allows my 9 inch machine throat to stitch up to 15 inches by moving the take up roller with the machine forward and back as necessary to allow the additional quilting

You've got my attention. How does that MAX system really work? How do you move the take up roller? I've never heard of this.

I have a Handiquilter frame with a Juki TL98Q. I had always used my PCQuilter, but, before moving and putting it away, I did a couple of quilts free-motion. Each has it pluses and minuses

Here's a You Tube link to a video showing how it works. There are actually several videos by this same person.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D2RV..._order&list=UL

If the link doesn't work, search Maxthroat in You Tube.

Like I said, it's no longer available to purchase new. There is a PC Quilter group on Yahoo and you can find people looking to sell their systems.

It is tricky to set up and work with. You really need to be analytical and mechanically inclined because there are no real instructions to set it up or trouble shoot it. I've been using it for over 6 years...

That's a really clever system. Thanks for the link.

I started out with an Elna 7200 on a B-Line Studio frame with PC Quilter & Max Throat II. I really enjoyed working with the setup & would still be using it if I hadn't stumbled across an excellent deal on a Voyager 17 SLR with a ProFlex frame. Hubby just recently added some tracks for the PC Quilter to work on the ProFlex frame.

I'm not 100% satisfied with his modification though as I only get 11 of Voyager's 17" throat the way he has it setup but it is a full 11 and doesn't get any less than 11" as the quilt is rolled up so I'll live with it for a while.

Anyway, I digress. What is it that you wanted to know about robotic systems?

And, I agree with MzMcKee that Max Throat was kind of contrary to setup and learn how to deal with it's quirks but when it is setup correctly and I would correctly keep it wound, it did exactly what they advertised--turns a 7/8/9" sewing machine into a 16" mid-arm. I could easily quilt 12" block designs when I had it working. It is/was an extra hassle to manage in addition to thread tensions, defective batting, quilt too tight/too loose, puckers, wrinkles, etc. At the time, though, there were very very few middle of the road machines available. The HQ 16 was brand spankin' new when I bought Max and mine was one of the last ones built but at that time, you could buy Max for about $1,000--$1,200 which would turn your regular sewing machine into a 16" machine. Except for Voyager which is too heavy for many home frames, the only other machine was the HQ 16 and it was right at $5,000. Well that $4,000 difference between it and Max bought a lot of fabric! Remember this was before HQ's Pro-Stitcher module came out which still adds more to the cost of an HQ 16 than adding a PC Quilter, Max & Juki TL/Brother PQ/Janome mc1600, etc. costs but it isn't ready to go out of the box like the ProStitcher is either. You have to be at least marginally technically minded or have someone really close by that is or you will be disappointed.