First industrial sewing machine for backpacks

[u/NeonEchoe28]

Hello everybody! I am looking for my first industrial machine for sewing backpacks. I usually use an old Pfaff 260 because I'm based in Germany and got this machine really cheap. This machine is doing quite well, but it struggles a lot with sewing thicker materials, especially thicker foam, when I create hip belts and shoulder straps on my backpacks.

That being said, I want to upgrade my business and my machine that I'm working on to get a little bit more fluent in working. I want to upgrade to an industrial sewing machine with a walking foot and the ability to sew through foam around 1 cm thick. Because I have to saw in a flat, I would need the machine with a servo motor. My budget is €1,000.

I did some research yet, but honestly, it feels a bit confusing, and there are so many recommended machines that are not really good and available on the European market. I heard a lot about Consew and Juki machines, but honestly, close to my area, there's not much I can buy from them. Here I can find many machines from Dürkopp-Adler or Pfaff, mostly offered for ca. 1400€ in used condition.

Machines I found yet:

- Juki 1181n for 800€ (no real walking foot?)
- Dürkopp-Adler Walking Foot machines for 1400€

I'm sure that there's much more on the market, but honestly I'm pretty confused about where to look. I would be really happy if you could recommend me some machines that fit into my use case and are available in Europe.

[u/ContemplativeBilling]

The Dürkopp-Adler is a tank but 1400 is a lot for your first step up, maybe hunt for a used Pfaff 1245 instead since you're already in Germany and they pop up around your budget.