Originally Posted by Mizkaki

My son has both of these types of industrial machines for sewing tactical gear for his tiny company. The compound feed is a walking foot combined with a needle feed. The upper feet and needle "walk" in unison with the lower feed dogs. In the regular walking foot machine, the upper feet walk in unison with the lower feeddogs
and the needle just goes up & down.

My son was having trouble getting his straight stitch machine to go through around 10 plus layers of a combination of 1000 denier Cordura and binding. We decided that he needed a walking foot machine. We took in a box full of scraps to the dealer to test run several machines. The regular walking foot machine also struggled with the 10 plus layer sandwich. The compound walked through it like it was butter.

Each of these machines has a purpose. Both types are useful, but it is necessary to know which one you need.

Cathy