Allied Grid-Lock Hoop Features
Patented Allied Grid-Lock™ / Premium Allied Grid-Lock™ Plastic Embroidery Hoops
Allied Grid-Lock™ (AGL / AGLC) and Premium Allied Grid-Lock™ (PAGL) plastic tubular embroidery Hoops are truly innovative and highly engineered products that have been awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,298,800. These hoops have many unique & user-friendly features that enable embroiderers to save considerable time and money, improving their embroidery productivity and profitability.
Unique, Proven Features of Grid-Lock™ Embroidery Hoops
1) Centimeter Scale Grid Lines on the Top Face of the Hoop
2) Radial Dot Marks around the Embroidery Window
3) Vertical Lines Around the Inside Wall of the Inner Hoop
4) Extra Tall "Double Height" Inner Hoops
5) Exclusively-Engineered Plastic Offering Superior Flexibility and Strength
6) Specially-Textured Surface Finish Increases Gripping Power
7) Improved Adjustment Thumbscrew Design on AGLC Version Hoops
8) Extra-Long External Adjustment Screw with Spacer Spring on PAGL Hoops
9) Straight-Edge Lips on PAGL Square & Rectangular Embroidery Hoops
Additional Important Information
Available Sizes of AGL / AGLC and PAGL Hoops
Allied GridLock™ (AGL / AGLC) and Premium Allied GridLock™ (PAGL) Hoop Item Numbers
“Designated” Hoop Size vs. Actual I.D. Size of Inner Hoop
1) Centimeter Scale Grid Lines on the Top Face of the Hoop
Embroiderers can use the built-in horizontal and vertical grid lines on the arms of most Grid-Lock™ hoops as a quick visual guide for confirming straight hooping of an article the very first time and every time prior to embroidering, which can help eliminate the possibility of costly garment rejections due to misaligned embroideries. Fewer rejections means less waste and more profit!
The one centimeter-spaced reference lines are separately identified by a numeral or an alphabet letter. These grid lines serve as a ready “distance guide” from the center of the hoop (and center of the embroidery design). This enables the user to align the desired numbered and/or lettered line on the hoop with a selected reference line on the garment (such as the edge of the placket on a polo shirt) or other selected points to achieve accurate placement of the hoop and ensure properly positioned embroidery. This means a great savings of time when doing large, repetitive production runs where consistency is key!
2) Radial Dot Marks Around the Embroidery Window
Dot marks around the dial face of Grid-Lock™ embroidery frames provide another time-saving instant guide for alignment during hooping of an article without needing separate markings on the article.
3) Vertical Lines Around the Inside Wall of the Inner Hoop
All Grid-Lock™ embroidery hoops are engineered to have vertical lines covering the inside circumference of the inner hoop in a symmetrical and graduated manner. These lines provide yet another easy, time-saving guide for accurate vertical and/or horizontal alignment of the article as well as a means for hooping in the correct location using a line or a point of reference on the article. These lines can also be used as an Instant Distancing Guide on square and rectangular Grid-Lock™ embroidery hoops.
4) Extra Tall Double Height Inner Hoops
While many other competitor’s frames are solely offered in a “single height” version, Allied Grid-Lock™ (AGL / AGLC) and Premium Allied Grid-Lock™ (PAGL) round hoops, square hoops & rectangular hoops are designed with "double height" inner hoops. This additional height provides more hooping surface area for a tighter grip on fabrics than typically achievable with “single height” frames. It also provides added strength and sturdiness and therefore extends the life of the hoop.
5) Exclusively-Engineered Plastic Offering Superior Flexibility and Strength
Allied Grid-Lock™ hoops of all versions are made with a proprietary plastic composition which makes them superior to others in both strength and durability. The quality difference is easily noticeable when compared to other brands of hoops which are of much lesser quality and prone to premature breaking. Don’t settle for cheap alternatives which can break at the most inopportune time and shut down your production!
6) Specially-Textured Surface Finish Increases Gripping Power
AGL / AGLC / PAGL embroidery hoops are uniquely engineered with an ideal non-slippery surface texture, enabling a tighter locking grip of the garment. Allied Grid-Lock™ embroidery frames provide very consistent tension across the hooped area of the garment. This yields superior and uniform stitch registration time after time.
7) Improved Adjustment Thumbscrew Design on AGLC Version Hoops
“New Design” hoop adjustment thumbscrews used in select sizes of AGLC version hoops are much easier to turn by finger due to their larger knurled head design. Compared to more traditional adjustment screws of shorter lengths used on many competitor’s hoops, the new AGLC screw measures 39 mm (1.5 in) in length. This provides wider hoop opening, critically needed when hooping thicker garments.
8) Extra-Long External Adjustment Screw with Spacer Spring on PAGL Hoops
All Premium Allied Grid-Lock™ hoops feature a 79 mm (3-1/8 in) long external adjustment screw with a slotted and knurled head. The extra-long hoop adjustment screw provides even wider hoop opening, essential for properly hooping very thick garments. The large knurled head makes it very easy to turn the screw by hand. The provided slot also enables turning with a flat head screwdriver, which is very beneficial to those with dexterity limitations!
Most PAGL hoops also feature a center spacer spring assembled in-between the two tabs of the outer hoop to help keep the hoop at the desired amount of opening, allowing for easier insertion of the inner hoop.
9) Straight-Edge Lips on PAGL Square & Rectangular Embroidery Hoops
PAGL square & rectangular hoops additionally feature straight-edge "lips” on all four sides of the inner hoop embroidery window with 1-centimeter spaced line markings to aid significantly with aligned hooping. No competitor’s embroidery hoops in the industry have this feature. Premium Allied Grid-Lock™ hoops make hooping easy and help embroiderers hoop straight each and every time!
Available Sizes of AGL / AGLC and PAGL Hoops
Allied Grid-Lock™ Embroidery Hoops are Available in 6 Round Sizes (Some in AGLC Version):
| 7 cm (2.8 inch) | 9 cm (3.5 inch) | 12 cm (4.7 inch) |
| 15 cm (5.9 inch) | 18 cm (7.1 inch) | 21 cm (8.3 inch) |
Allied Grid-Lock™ Embroidery Hoops are Available in 3 Square / Rectangular sizes:
| 24 x 24 cm (9 x 9 inch) | 24 x 30 cm (9 x 12 inch) | 30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 inch) |
Premium Allied Grid-Lock™ Embroidery Hoops are Available in 6 Round Sizes:
| 7 cm (2.8 inch) | 9 cm (3.5 inch) | 12 cm (4.7 inch) |
| 15 cm (5.9 inch) | 18 cm (7.1 inch) | 21 cm (8.3 inch) |
Premium Allied Grid-Lock™ Embroidery Hoops are Available in 6 Square / Rectangular Sizes:
| 11 x 12 cm (4.5 x 5 inch) | 14 x 15 cm (5.5 x 6 inch) | 16 x 17 cm (6.5 x 7 inch) | 19 x 20 cm (7.5 x 8 inch) |
| 24 x 24 cm (9 x 9 inch) | 24 x 30 cm (9 x 12 inch) | 30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 inch) |
Premium Allied Grid-Lock™ DUAL ORIENTATION Embroidery Hoops are Available in 2 Rectangular Sizes:
| 28 x 37 cm (11 x 14 inch) | 30 x 40 cm (12 x 16 inch) |
Allied Grid-Lock™ (AGL / AGLC) and Premium Allied Grid-Lock™ (PAGL) Hoop Item Numbers
Examples of item numbers of AGL / AGLC plastic hoops: AGL-2430-SWF-400 / AGLC-15RD-TAJ-360
Example of item number of PAGL plastic hoops: PAGL-1920-MEL-400
Typically, Allied Grid-Lock hoop part numbers consist of 4 components, described below:
The 1st component has 3 - 4 starting letters. AGL / AGLC designates Allied Grid-Lock. PAGL designates Premium Allied Grid-Lock.
The 2nd component shows the “designated” hoop size in Y by X dimensions. This consists of 4 characters. In case of round hoops, the first two characters indicate the hoop diameter size in centimeters, and the last two characters are the letters RD for “Round” (e.g. 15RD for a 15 cm round hoop). In case of the square / rectangular hoops, the first two characters indicate the inside Y-axis dimension in centimeters, and the last two characters indicate the inside X-axis dimension in centimeters (e.g. 1920 indicates 19 cm in the Y-direction by 20 cm in the X-direction).
The 3rd component represents our abbreviated designation for the machine brand. In the above examples, SWF represents SWF brand machines whereas MEL represents Melco brand machines.
The 4th component indicates the Arm Spacing (AS) spec for which the hoops are designed to fit. For example, a 4th component of 400 represents the AS distance in millimeters required on the machine for that hoop to fit. Typical examples of AS specs (in millimeters): 360, 380, 394, 400, 460, 480, 495, 500, 504, 520, 605, etc. Most Grid-Lock hoops are available in multiple AS specs for each brand of machine.
“Designated” Hoop Size vs. Actual I.D. Size of Inner Hoop
As is the standard industry practice, Allied GridLock™ embroidery hoops are given “designated” hoop sizes. These may or may not represent the actual inside dimensions of the inner hoop. In some cases the actual inner hoop I.D. may be larger and in other cases smaller.
Part of the information provided with each product listing of Grid-Lock hoops includes the actual inside dimensions of the inner hoop. For example, in the product listing of AGL-2430-SWF-400, the actual I.D. size we have provided is (rounded-off) 24 cm (235 mm) in the Y-direction by (rounded-off) 30 cm (307 mm) in the X-direction.
“Designated” hoop size numbers may give the notion of an I.D. size of 24 cm in the Y-direction x 30 cm in the X-direction. In some cases, the actual difference between the “designated” hoop size and the actual inside dimensions of the inner hoop may be significantly higher (even by a few centimeters).
