Career Details :: Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters and Set-Up Operators
Description
Set up or set up and operate machines, such as glass forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to manufacture any of a wide variety of products, such as soap bars, formed rubber, glassware, food, brick, and tile, by means of extruding, compressing, or compacting.
Experience
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a drywall installer might benefit from experience installing drywall, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be an installer with little difficulty.
Education
These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed.
Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees.
Tasks
- Removes products from discharge belts and molds, mold components, and feeder tubes from machines.
- Ignites burner to preheat product or applies heat, using torch.
- Threads extruded strip through water tank and hold-down bars or attaches strands to wire and draws through tube.
- Observes operation of machine and product to detect and diagnose cause of faulty operation and monitors gauges and recorders.
- Cleans dies, arbors, compression chambers, and molds, using swabs, sponge, or air hose, and swabs molds with solution to prevent sticking.
- Collects, examines, measures, weighs, and tests product to verify machine setup and conformance of product to specifications.
- Installs, aligns, and adjusts neck rings, press plungers, and feeder tubes to molds to deliver material and form product.
- Records product information, such as scrap quantity, machine number, and ingredients, to complete work ticket and places tickets with product.
- Pours, scoops, or dumps specified ingredients, metal assemblies, or mixtures into sections of machine prior to starting machine.
- Installs dies or molds in machines to produce products from variety of materials, according to work order and specifications.
- Feeds product into machine by hand or conveyor.
- Synchronizes speed of sections of machine when producing products involving several steps or processes.
- Adjusts timer drum to set size of product material and rollers, cutoff knives, and stops to regulate thickness and length.
- Routes sample to lab for analysis, according to procedure.
- Presses control button to activate machinery and equipment.
- Disassembles and repairs machinery and equipment.
- Couples air and gas lines to machine to maintain plasticity of material and to regulate solidification of final product.
- Operates machines and notifies supervisor or setup personnel of needed adjustments to machines.
- Selects and measures arbors and dies to verify size specified on work ticket.
- Turns controls to control machine functions, such as regulate air pressure, create vacuum, and coolant flow.
Related Careers
- Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers
- Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders
- Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders Metal and Plastic
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Numerical Control Machine Tool Operators and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Offset Lithographic Press Setters and Set-Up Operators
- Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
- Sheet Metal Workers
Important Abilities
General Work Activities
- Controlling Machines and Processes
- Handling and Moving Objects
- Monitor Processes, Material, Surroundings
- Performing General Physical Activities
- Evaluating Information Against Standards
Important Skills
Frequent Work Context
- Degree of Automation
- Consequence of Error
- Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment
- Indoors
- Importance of Being Sure All Is Done
Related Majors
| Major | Add to XapPack |
|---|---|
| Industrial Maintenance |  [ add ] |
Institutions Offering Related Majors
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