Automated quilting system for a longarm
 

Hi there,
I would like to know what is the exact use or advantage one could have to own an automated quilting system (like Qbot for exemple).
I know some people doesn't really enjoy the quilting part, so it makes sense. But I Love the freedom to draw anything on a quilt. So would that be of any use for me?
I'm thinking about it because I saw an ad on my local Kijiji. Someone is selling a longarm system for a very interesting price (a Mega quilter 18-8 on an Inspira frame and a Qbot for 6000$ CAD, that's even less in USD).
I currently have a HQ16 (older version) on a portable frame; the frame is, in fact, pole and rails that I installed on some kitchen cabinet. It is set on 120 inches The HQ16 have the stitch regulator. I really like my little system, bought 2 years ago for 2500$ The only reason why I'm thinking of an upgrade is that the number of my commissioned quilts is growing each month. Would I be able to finish quilts is less time with an automated system? Then I may be worth upgrading. But I'm not sure...
Hope you'll be able to share some thoughts!
Thanks!

Forgive me, I don't know much about LA's except for what I have seen in the stores and shows. The automated machine is quilting away unattended. If that is what the Qbot is, and you can afford to have both, you could have the one machine quilting away, while you can still be creative on your first machine. Wouldn't that be a win, win??

I have the Qbot for my machine, so I can only speak to that...one of my favorite things about it is the record function...I can record myself free hand stitching a block, then have it stitch out what I just stitched on my other blocks. As for automated systems, they do speed up your turn around time.
My qbot works with ".plt" format, and I was able to find a free program that will convert drawings, etc. to the format qbot uses,so if I can't find the pattern I like, I can draw it, then convert it and stitch it. I imagine you can do that with any automated head. Goof Luck!

Interesting, I found this:
http://myqbot.com/

There is software for this where you can make your own designs and use them.

That would be absolutely wonderful. Alas, I wouldn't have the space to keep the two set up. My hubby was kind enough to allow me a 15 X 15 quilting studio in our new house, but asking for more floor may end in a divorce :D

Donna, do you know if this wonderful feature is new to Qbot or if it is on older version? The system I'm thinking of was bought on 2011 (and very lightly used due to health issue)

My set up is pcquilter, HQ16. I only do end to end patterns.

On leaving the quilt alone while it quilts...I never do that. If bad stuff happens while quilting, you will not be there to catch it early and fix it before there is too much damage to the quilt. This is especially important for the top most and bottom most rows of a quilt, and for starting a row and ending it. Sometimes the hopping foot decides to slide under an edge in stead of over it. If you are not there to stop or catch that - oh, my, what a mess! Ask me how I know....

However, over time i have become accustomed to the sound of the HQ16 happily quilting. I keep my ears tuned for changes in the sound; if it changes than I know I have to check the quilt. Nonetheless, I am still in the same room with the LA, piecing, pressing or cutting.

As with any pattern you free motion into a quilt, the length of time it takes to quilt a row is dependent on the width of the quilt, depth of the pattern, and how detailed it is. Personal observation is that with a computerized system the speed of quilting is less dependent on the speed at which your LA can stitch, and more dependent on the relationship of your quilting robot speed and the machines stitching speed. The quilting robot rules - at least with the pc quilter - so ask if you can bring a sample to test the qbot speed before you buy. I think that is especially important if you can free arm at a relatively fast pace.

Good luck!

The Qbot does allow for stitching a pre-determined pattern which I find helpful. But the others make a lot of good points - I never leave mine unattended, for the reasons noted by others. So while I don't actually have hands on directing it, I'm watching it constantly..... It does give a precision I can't match with my own free hand stitching. That said, I do both, free hand and pre -programmed....

I had that exact setup. The machine is a rebranded Tin Lizzie 18LS. The machine itself ran great, tension was easy to set. The encoders, which are the gizmos that enable the stitch regulators were constantly malfunctioning. Neither the Viking dealer nor Tin Lizzie was helpful. I finally just learned to quilt in manual mode. When you run the qbot, you have to turn on the machine in stitch regulated mode, so if that doesn't work, neither does the qbot. I really like FMQing. I would not have purchased this feature, but I got the set up used from a Viking dealer. I eventually traded the whole setup in for a handi quilter.
The frame does not have a dead bar, so you have to manually raise the takeup roller as you advance the quilt. Just something to keep in mind as you have to have easy access to both sides of the frame. Also the rollers are aluminum, so a bit more flexible than others and no magnets.
The qbot unit will record your stitching without additional software. You can store your designs off to a sim card (make sure you check the size of the card, it will only take small ones. can't remember 2 gig maybe?) Software to create your own design on your PC was separate.

I do not have an automated system, nor do I want one. Part of the fun of the quilt is making the quilting come to life with my own hands. It may not be perfect but it is my own work. I use pantographs occasionally but I prefer freehand. My husband bought me the longarm several years ago hoping I could make some money quilting for others but it is hard to compete with the computerized longarms. I enjoy the creativity that doing it myself allows, but then I am one of those people that would never buy a kit and seldom buys a pattern. I guess I am a rebel.

My husband loves using the robotics, and has zero interest in FMQ. I like the robotics more than I expected to, but still do a lot of quilts without it.

DH is retired and I am not, so he can quilt while I'm working. But if he had not been interested, I probably would not have bought the robotics. I had my machine for a year before deciding to add them.

I do not have robotics, and I do all free motion quilting or ruler work on my Innova. At one time I thought about quilting as a business, and for that I would have purchased a robotic system for those customers who don't want to pay for custom work. However since I haven't started to quilt professionally, I can't justify the expense of robotics. I do think it would be fun to have. I do think I could finish more quilts in less time with robotics, even though I would stay in the room while the system was working. When doing an all-over design, I get bored and have to stop and do something else. The robot wouldn't have that problem!

qbot
 

No, I don't know if it's a new feature, but qbot has a great forum..just go to the qbot home page and click on forums..you can ask there.

As we speak, my Qbot is at the Distributor having software updated....for a price, of course, but it is being updated to have all current features. I bought the updates at the Houston Quilt Show and got a great (relatively speaking) show price for the update.

I agree with glassnquilts. I don't even do much 'freehand' but do like the quilting part. Another thing that has made me not want that as the others have said, if mistakes happen and you aren't watching (isn't that when ALL mistaken happen?), you aren't there to catch them. I saw a quilt in a quilt store; was on the frames and had the computer and all set up; it had quilted across the quilt but the entire center part hadn't gotten quilted. Going back and doing that over would not be a time saver.
Personally I'd rather have the system that I've seen in Nancy's catalog where you can 'view' the underside to be sure the bobbin threads are even and not looped. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

I do not have a robotic system. at one time looked into Qbot. Some one stated it took as much time to set the boundaries for the stitching as to just stitch it. I do not know this from experience but I quit thinking about it after hearing this. I quilt a lot of lap quilts for charity. I had thought it would help get more done. I watched another robot that was set up in a quilting shop. I don't know if the quilt was loaded slightly crooked, but the pattern running left to right was lower on the left side and completely filled the block on the right. I asked the girl that was showing me the long arm about it. . She just turned it off and didn't respond.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to share your thoughts. As always, one can count on the members of this forum to get some help to take an important decision. I will pass on this and keep my actual system.

Lawd I feel you pain my husband has me on notice even one more spool of thread and he is done. Good thing I am good hider however a second longarm will that is hard to get past the bounce at my quilting studio door hehe.

My 1st quilt machine was the Viking MegaQuilter 9" but on a Grace Pro frame. I picked up the PCQuilter robotics then upgraded to the MQR. Finally changed machines but kept the same robotics and frame........Juki 98Q stretched to 18". Finally moved up for the last time to an Innova using the upgraded MQR. Now I'm moving on to IQ with the Innova. I love this robotic system as I can record my own patterns and keep them for later as well as use patterns I already have. This system also has the thread break sensor so if the thread breaks or the bobbin runs out it will stop the machine. I have hand tremors so FM is pretty much out for me. I purchased rulers to try but have yet had time to do that. I love robotics but if I do need to do FM or I allow someone else to use my machine that does FM its just a flip of a switch to take up the gears. Wish I could do FM but its just not in the cards for me. Thanksfully we all have options that work for us.

That's like leaving a 2 year old unattended. Just sayin. :D

I have a TL18LS (2009 model on wood frame) & Qbot V3 (3.41 build)...love my setup. Have had the poles extended to 12 ft by a local metal worker...so am a happy camper.

The benefit of an automated robot is not speed, for me it's doing custom designs in software and putting them on a quilt.
With the Qbot V3, which is run by an app & on a tablet..is that you can take a block design and "chain" it to make it an e2e design (as long as the start/stop is level to one another). I can do fill work in a few steps....and now with the newest update, I can actually do a blanket stitch around fused appliques...and there are several types to choose from. You can write on the quilt, etc.

I sound thrilled, right? Well, for me freehand is at least twice as fast...so only use qbot on request for designs I can't freehand easily (animals for example).
If your quilting skills aren't the best, or you have arthritic hands, etc...the Qbot is a great tool to keep you from having to work with sore hands.

Marge

I also have a tin lizzie..a 2007...with a qbot !! I enjoy both...the qbot allows me to do designs a lot faster than I could ever do free hand, so I like it for most quilts..for special quilts that I want to put a personal touch on, I use the tin lizzie, rulers, and free hand quilting.It's just personal preference combined with knowing what you usually quilt.

Name of free program to convert drawings to format qbot uses
 

Donna can you please email me the name of the program you are using to convert drawings to the .plt format?

Thanks,
katescater

profannie...I don't know..I am using version V3, purchased in 2016. I have found the qbot people really good at answering questions, so if you email them, I'm sure they'd tell you.