Inserting machine functions

Machine functions can be inserted via commands or object properties. They can also be inserted manually via the Schiffli toolbar or Insert Function dialog or by means of shortcut keys. Machine functions are stored with their corresponding embroidery object and updated whenever the object is modified. A major difference between multihead and Schiffli digitizing is that, in various parts of Schiffli objects, you need to manually insert Tension and sometimes Speed Change codes based on stitch length.

Caution: Stitches or machine functions which are manually inserted into non-manual objects – e.g. Column A, Complex Fill, etc – need to be maintained manually. If an object’s stitches are regenerated for any reason, stitch edits are lost. Machine functions may be moved to another point in the stitch sequence. With manual objects, this is not a problem – function and stitch edits are always preserved.

Because of the ‘all-in-one’ file structure of EmbroideryStudio, digitizing and editing can be combined at any time during the digitizing process. You can therefore choose to digitize without stopping to insert machine functions. When finishing a larger part or even the whole design, you can then quickly browse through and insert the necessary functions. All machine functions can be inserted the old way – i.e. digitize, insert function, digitize, insert function – but you will find that, compared to the recommended method, this is much slower.

Function states in ES Schiffli

To correctly insert or delete functions appropriate to the stitching effect, you need to be aware of the machine state at the insertion point. ES Schiffli only checks commonly used functions. For example, it does not check for possible user errors such as inserting multiple Slow functions one after the other, or not inserting the required number of Fadenleiter functions.

Note: When outputting designs to specific Schiffli file formats, however, ES Schiffli performs some checks, for example, to prevent functions like Stepp/Blatt being output in Plauen format when the needles are out.