Release Notes and Installation Instructions for AMAYA OS Version 4.02.041 Release 072403.0

September, 2003 Release Notes and Installation Instructions for AMAYA OS Version 4.02.041 Release 072403.0

Important! This document contains information about AMAYA OS Version 4.02.041, Release 072403.0 (Melco PN: 32279-19) that may not be included in the manual. Release 072403.0 consists of RSA 1.83 and CSA 1.45.

Software Changes in this Release • This release of AMAYA OS offers a new multihead feature: Flex Mode. In Flex mode, machines are configured as multihead clusters; however, unlike machines in multihead synchronized mode, machines in Flex mode behave similarly to singleheads. Machines in the same Flex cluster will always sew the same design; however, these machines will be independent from each other (for example, when one machine in a Flex cluster stops because of a thread break, the other machines in the cluster will continue sewing). Please see the HTML Help AMAYA Operator’s Manual (select Help->AMAYA Operator’s Man- ual, then click the Flex Mode topic in the Multihead Operation section of the Table of Contents) for more details on Flex Mode. Below is a list of the new Flex keypad functions (see the Quick Reference Guide or AMAYA Oper- ator’s HTML Help system for a complete list of keypad functions).

Start All - Adjust + Start . Pressing these buttons on any machine will start all machines in a Flex cluster. Pressing the Start button only on one machine will start that machine.

Stop All - Hoop + Stop . Pressing these buttons on any machine will stop all machines in a Flex cluster. Pressing the Stop button only on one machine will stop that machine.

Copy XY Position - Adjust + Hoop . Pressing these buttons on one machine will bring all other heads in the Flex cluster to the XY position of that machine.

Select machine - Center . Press this button on the machine’s keypad to select the machine. • Individual machines in a synchronized multihead configuration can now be put in Sleep Mode (on, but not running). [Press and hold the Stop button for 3 seconds to put a machine in sleep mode; press and hold the Start button to wake a machine from Sleep Mode.] Please see the HTML Help AMAYA Operator’s Manual (select Help->AMAYA Operator’s Man- ual) for more details on Sleep Mode. • IMPORTANT: Full DesignShop capability is no longer available from AMAYA OS. This means you cannot send a design to DesignShop from AMAYA OS. To edit a design in DesignShop, you will need to open it in DesignShop. (You can run AMAYA OS and DesignShop at the same time, and have the same design open in both programs; please see the first note in the General Notes section for more information.) • The Configuration Wizard has been improved. If you are adding machines to a cluster, or moving machines from one cluster to another, it is no longer necessary to turn off machines and restart 32573 Rev. I 1 of 8 AMAYA OS Release Notes AMAYA OS for configuration changes to take effect. • More features have been added to Settings by Color functionality. Pre-defined settings based on thread type are now available (users can also create user-defined thread type settings). Also, the ability to apply settings to needles has been added. Please see the HTML Help AMAYA Operator’s Manual for more details on the new Settings by Color functionality. • The Hoop Manager (select Tools->Hoop Setup) has been improved and expanded. Please see the HTML Help AMAYA Operator’s Manual for instructions on how to use the new Hoop Man- ager. Also, please see Known Problems for more information. • The display of the sew field margin of round rectangular hoops (rectangular hoops with rounded edges) has changed. AMAYA OS now displays the sew field as the smallest rectangle that will encompass the hoop shape. • Spider hoops now work for all three operating modes (Singlehead, Flex, and Multi-head Synchro- nized). • Color change accuracy has been improved. • Step and Repeat functionality (select Tools->Step and Repeat in Design View to open) has been added to AMAYA OS. Please see the HTML Help AMAYA Operator’s Manual for instructions on how to use Step and Repeat. • A new filtering tool, the Design Analyzer (also called the Proximity Filter), has been added to the Design View side of AMAYA OS. The Design Analyzer is a tool that detects areas of stitch points that are on top of each other. This tool also allows you to enter an offset (in points) to move these points away from each other. To use this tool, open a design on the Design View side of AMAYA OS, then select Tools->Filter->Stitch Proximity Plot. This plot will display areas that contain a large number of stitches in a small area. To move these points away from each other, select Tools->Filter->Proximity Filter. (See the AMAYA Operator’s Manual HTML Help System, Design Analyzer topic for more information). • The speed of RSA download has been improved. • The speed of design download to multi-head machines has been improved. • The “ramping up” process at the start of sewing has been slowed down. Thread feed at start of sewing has been changed to reduce pull-outs. • The size of the loaded design is now shown in the Status View. • Trimming has been improved: short and medium tails are now working and the trim cycle is about 30% faster. • Column Width Adjustment has been implemented. This setting allows you to adjust the width of all columns when they are being sewn. The width can be adjusted by percentages (up to 25 per- cent) or by points (up to 20 points; entering points will add or take away points in the column). You can increase or decrease (enter negative values to decrease) column width along the X axis (horizontal stitch direction) and along the Y axis (vertical stitch direction). • Z-Motor protection in maintenance mode improved for mechanical bind of z-axis. • When a design without a stored sewing speed is loaded, the sewing speed will default to 850 s.p.m. If you do not want the setting to default to this speed, uncheck Use Settings from Design in the AMAYA OS Settings tab. • Thread break notification now appears in AMAYA OS - when a thread break occurs, a thread break banner (dialog) will be displayed in AMAYA OS. Press any key (or click mouse) to close thread break banner. 32573 Rev. I 2 of 8 AMAYA OS Release Notes

• Maintenance timers now appear at the end of designs (instead of only when machines are restarted). • Two additional screens have been added in the maintenance step-through procedures. One screen warns users of the damage that can occur when the front covers are not re-installed. The other screen prompts users to confirm needle bars have been oiled (after 4 million stitches step- through has been completed). • The installation CD for this release will install only AMAYA OS software. (It does not install the DesignShop software). • You can now insert Design Notes in the AMAYA OS Control Panel (click Design Notes icon). • Context-sensitive help is now working correctly; clicking the Help button in AMAYA OS tabs no longer causes the software to crash. • Problem of RSA changing the stitch count to zero at stitch count of 65,536 has been fixed. • AMAYA OS now defaults the Open and Save As... dialogs to the location at which you last saved or opened a file.

Known Problems • IMPORTANT! In order to improve the lubrication of the needle drive / presser foot guide, it is highly recommended that you follow the procedure in the AMAYA Operator’s Manual (pg. 5-6 in p/n 32290 and pg. 7-9 in p/n 32563 and p/n 32579), rather than using the step-through procedure in AMAYA OS. This will allow even more oil to reach the assemblies intended to be lubri- cated in this procedure (presser foot guide, reciprocator shaft, cam follower shaft, and connecting rod pin). • The new hoop system has changed the size of the sewing field on all hoops. This new sewing field furthers the effort to ensure that a hoop cannot be hit when Enable Hoop Limits is turned on in the Machine Settings tab. For most hoops the actual sewing field size has become smaller. Also, in many of the hoops, the sew field has an offset to the actual center of hoop. This is because the machines can sew closer to the front than they can to the back of a hoop. (Note that AMAYA OS centers the design in the sew field, whereas DesignShop centers the design in the hoop). Designs that previously fit may not fit correctly now. If you have a design that was previously sewing without activating the hoop limit detection, but now will not sew due to hoop limits being detected, the easiest work around is to turn off the Enable Hoop Limits setting for the AMAYA machine (select Settings, then click the Machine Settings tab.). Another workaround is to sew with the next largest hoop. Important: Always trace the design before sewing to ensure it fits the selected hoop correctly. • When installing AMAYA OS, hoops created using the Hoop Setup feature may not get copied into the new installation. Perform the procedure below to correct the problem. 1. Close AMAYA OS. 2. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the C:\Program Files\Melco Embroidery Systems\Amaya\System\NewHoops folder. 3. Right click on the file OldHoops.mdb.dll and then click on Rename. Then type in OldHoops.mdb and press the enter key. 4. Open AMAYA OS; all hoops created before should now be present. • If you are unable to reset maintenance timers, disable the timers (open the Settings menu, click the Timers tab, then uncheck the Maintenance Timers Enabled box). • AMAYA OS does not automatically indicate machine settings when recovering from a power loss. In certain conditions and/or circumstances the Power Fail Recovery feature may not be able to 32573 Rev. I 3 of 8 AMAYA OS Release Notes

recover properly. In instances where it does not recover properly, reload the design and use the Move To Last Origin method (Tools -> Move to Last Origin). • When a design is loaded on a machine and you exit then re-open AMAYA OS, AMAYA OS will not display the design that is loaded on the machine. For AMAYA OS to display the design, you need to reload the design on the machine.

Minimum System Requirements • PC with a Pentium III or higher processor (Pentium III 800 MHz or higher recommended) If you plan on installing AMAYA OS and DesignShop on the same PC, a Pentium III 850 MHz or higher is recommended. (Please see the General Notes section for more information on running AMAYA OS and DesignShop on the same computer). • Microsoft Windows 98, Windows Millennium, Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, or Windows 2000 operating system If you plan on installing AMAYA OS and DesignShop on the same computer, either Windows 2000 or Windows XP is highly recommended. (Please see the General Notes section for more information on running AMAYA OS and DesignShop on the same computer). Note: Non-western languages (such as Polish, Czech, Japanese and Russian) require Windows 2000 or Windows XP. • 128MB of RAM recommended • XGA video adapter and monitor configured for 1024x768 resolution or higher, video driver set to High Color or better for Windows 98 / Millennium; 32768 color or higher for Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional and Windows 2000. If you want to change the settings of your screen resolution, please click on the “Start” button of your Windows taskbar, followed by a click on “Help.” Do a search for “display, resolution.” • Parallel port for AMAYA OS security dongle • CD-ROM drive (required for AMAYA OS installation, 16X is recommended) • Two or three button mouse (3 button mouse preferred) • Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater • Ethernet adapter (SMC1244TX is recommended) • 10 Megabit Ethernet • Hard drive: 10 Gigabyte

Incompatible Hardware • External USB floppy drives are not compatible with AMAYA OS. If you connect an external floppy drive to your AMAYA PC, your operating system may crash and the floppy drive will become use- less for all applications.

AMAYA OS Environment • To optimize your AMAYA system, it is recommended that you install AMAYA OS on a dedicated PC. That is, the PC on which AMAYA OS is installed should not be used to run any other software applications (with the exception of DesignShop, see the General Notes section for more information on installing DesignShop and AMAYA OS on the same PC).

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• AMAYA OS and the AMAYA system should not be installed on a high-traffic office network or on a peer to peer network (connecting 2 computers together) using only one Ethernet PCB in the AMAYA computer. If the PC that runs AMAYA OS needs to be connected to an office network, it is recommended that a separate Ethernet card be installed for this purpose. The AMAYA network should be configured to use 1 Ethernet PCB and the networking (Peer to Peer or office network) should be configured to use the other Ethernet PCB. • Only one AMAYA OS server can be installed per machine network - for safety reasons Melco does not allow the ability to run multiple AMAYA OS systems in the same machine network. • Melco recommends using a line stabilizer with the AMAYA machine(s) in order to protect the machine(s) from power surges, etc. The line stabilizer provides minimum protection. In areas of known poor power supply or brown-outs, Melco recommends using a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply).

Installing AMAYA OS The AMAYA OS dongle must be attached to an available parallel port of the computer before installing the AMAYA OS program. If a dongle is already installed on the computer, attach the AMAYA OS dongle to the back of the existing dongle(s). Failure to do so may cause these programs to not operate correctly. The general rule of thumb for stacking dongles is to connect the newest to oldest, with the oldest connected to the computer.

NOTE: Before installing the software, make sure there are no hoops/cap frame drivers/cap frames installed on the machine.

To install the AMAYA OS software, insert the AMAYA OS disc (part number 32279-19) into your CD ROM drive. The Setup program should start automatically. If the Setup program does not start automatically, click on START/RUN and type D:\SETUP (where D: is the drive letter of the CD ROM drive) and click on OK.

After installing AMAYA OS, complete the following steps to configure your machine(s) for the first time.

1. Turn off all AMAYA machines.

2. Open AMAYA OS.

3. Select Configuration->Configure Machines to start the configuration wizard.

4. The configuration wizard will guide you through the steps required to configure your machine(s).

5. After you complete the configuration wizard, AMAYA OS will open, and your AMAYA system will be configured as you have set it up.

After you have configured your machine(s), open the AMAYA OS Information tab (under the Main- tenance menu). See the following image.

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Make sure the AMAYA OS version is 4.02.041, the RSA version is 1.83, and the CSA version is 1.45.

If you do not have all of these versions, contact the Melco Service Department.

General Notes • Important: You can install and run AMAYA OS and DesignShop on the same computer. How- ever, for optimum performance of both of these programs, the guidelines listed below should be followed. 1. The minimum system requirements for both programs must be met. Also, either Windows 2000 or Windows XP and a Pentium III 850 MHz or higher processor are highly recommended. 2. It is recommended that you install AMAYA OS/DesignShop on a dedicated PC. That is, the PC on which AMAYA OS/DesignShop are installed should not be used to run any other software applications. 3. ENS should not be installed on the AMAYA OS/DesignShop PC. 4. On the AMAYA OS/DesignShop PC, when running AMAYA OS, avoid performing hardware- intensive tasks such as scanning. Also, it is recommended that extensive digitizing be per- formed on a different PC. • If the part number of your AMAYA Operator’s Manual is 32290, please use the AMAYA Operator’s HTML Help system as a reference instead of your printed manual. The printed manual 32290 does not describe all of the features and functionality available in this software; this is provided in the HTML Help system. • It is recommended that users view the AMAYA tutorial videos, which are easily accessed by selecting Help->Multimedia in AMAYA OS. These videos provide helpful instructions on all aspects of the AMAYA machine. • When installing/re-installing AMAYA OS, make sure to remove any hoop/cap frame driver/cap frame installed on the machine before installing the software. • When powering up your machine(s), it is recommended that you start AMAYA OS before turning on your machine(s).

32573 Rev. I 6 of 8 AMAYA OS Release Notes • Please note that all AMAYAs that are connected to the same PC should be turned on whenever you reconfigure your machines. If one of your machines was turned off during your last configuration, you must reconfigure when you turn on that machine. • You should always check the presser foot height before sewing a design. If you set the presser foot height over a bare (unsewn) section of the fabric, set the presser foot so that it is very close to but is not touching the fabric (leave a gap between the fabric and the presser foot that is roughly equal to the thickness of the thread). You can adjust presser foot height at any point in the design as long as the machine is stopped and the current needle is taken to lowest needle depth. For instructions on adjusting presser foot height, see the AMAYA Operator’s Manual, Presser Foot Height Adjustment. • After threading a needle, do not pull the thread too tightly into the thread retainer spring located at the bottom of the needlecase cover. Too much tension in the thread can affect the thread break detection system. • It is recommended that you do not use sideless bobbins in your machine(s); sideless bobbins may affect the Out of Bobbin detection system. • For sewing on caps, you must use the raised needle plate (Melco P/N: 32196) that is included in the Wide Angle Cap Frame Driver Kit (Melco P/N: 32198). To install the needle plate, simply remove the regular needle plate by removing the screws holding it in place. Then attach the raised needle plate by securely tightening the screws in place. • To obtain the best results when sewing on caps, the cap frame driver must be adjusted to your machine(s) and you must use a bill holder when sewing close to the bill. Please see the AMAYA Operator’s Manual, WACF Driver First-Time Installation and Adjustment for instructions on performing this adjustment. You also need to adjust the presser foot height (See the AMAYA Oper- ator’s Manual, Presser Foot Height Adjustment). • It is recommended that you clean under the tension spring of your AMAYA bobbin case once a week. Lint and bobbin wax can build up under the spring, and this can affect bobbin tension. To clean under the spring, slide a corner of a small piece of paper under the tension spring in the same direction the thread travels through it. While cleaning under the tension spring, be careful not to bend the spring. • While a hoop is in use on the AMAYA, the hoop settings for this hoop should not be changed (in the Hoop Manager).

Tips and Hints Thread Breaks/False Thread Breaks • Real and false thread breaks are a recurring issue in the embroidery industry. If you encounter too many thread breaks with the AMAYA machine, Melco recommends that you do the following: a.) Review your material thickness settings (remember: one embroidery point is equal to the thickness of one sheet of paper, thus, picture the default thickness of 3 points as 3 layers of paper). See the AMAYA Operator’s Manual, Adjusting Material Thickness, for more information. b.) If you are encountering too many real AND too many false thread or bobbin breaks (loose stitches), you may need to reduce the material thickness setting because too much thread is being fed into the system. See the AMAYA Operator’s Manual, Adjusting Material Thickness, for more information.

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c.) When encountering too many real thread breaks but NO false thread breaks (tight stitches), you may need to increase the material thickness setting because not enough thread is being fed into the system. See the AMAYA Operator’s Manual, Adjusting Material Thickness, for more information. d.) If you have set the material thickness correctly and you still encounter too many thread breaks, you may have problems with extremely short stitches in the design. These short stitches can be removed by adjusting the Design Filter settings. Adjusting the new default setting of After 1 Short to After 0 Short will filter ALL stitches of 4 points or less from the design. e.) If the machine is sewing well and you experience bobbin thread breaks only (no upper thread breaks), you may want to turn off the Bobbin Detection function. • If you are still experiencing thread break problems, Melco recommends that you perform a sew test. To do this, complete the following steps: 1.) Load the AMAYA test design named AMPASS06E.EXP. This file is located in the AMAYA Test Designs directory (usually Program Files\Melco Embroidery Systems\AMAYA\Test Designs). 2.) In AMAYA OS, set material thickness to 3 points. 3.) Set the maximum machine speed to 1200spm (stitches per minute), if you are using Polyester thread. If you are using Rayon thread, you might consider lowering the maximum speed slightly. 4.) Hoop two layers of backing on a 30 x 44cm or larger hoop. 5.) Check the upper thread paths (that the machine is threaded correctly, thread is under thread feed rollers, there is no thread wrapped around the tops of the thread cones). 6.) Insert the bobbin, with the bobbin tension set so that when you gently bounce the bobbin case - holding the thread with your fingers - it should drop 2-4 inches / 50-100mm. 7.) Trace the design. 8.) Press the Start button to sew the design. 9.) Observe machine performance. You should see very few problems.

Contact Information • For questions involving service issues, please contact Melco’s Service Department: Tel: 877-840-5829 Email: [email protected] WWW: www.Melco-Service.com • For AMAYA engineering issues and/or suggestions, please send email to: Email: [email protected]

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