This is an older post but I've just made a discovery. I've found that, with my particular machine, the needle hole in the satin foot is wider than on the regular foot. (Maybe that's true on all brands??)
I found that when I zig-zagged at the widest, my needle would just graze the side of the hole in the regular foot and make an interesting little noise. I decided to just go back to my satin foot. That was the only difference I've noticed and I'm not going to chance a broken needle for no gain.