Profession electroplating machine operator

Electroplating machine operators set up and tend electroplating machines designed to finish and coat the metal workpieces' (such as future pennies and jewelry) surface by using electric current to dissolve metal cations and to bond a thin layer of another metal, such as zinc, copper or silver, to produce a coherent metal coating to the workpiece's surface.

Personality Type

• Realistic / Conventional

Knowledge

• Electric current

  Flow of electric charge, carried by electrons or ions in a medium such as an electrolyte or a plasma.

• Health and safety in the workplace

  The body of rules, procdeures and regulations related to safety, health and welfare of people in their workplace. 

• Electroplating machine parts

  The various parts of a metalworking machine using electroplating processes to provide coating to workpieces, such as the plating barrel, plating line, borehole, battery charger, and others.

• Electroplating metal materials

  The various processes various materials used for electroplating may produce, such as copper plating, silver plating, nickle plating, gold plating, embossed gold plating, degreasing, and others.

• Quality standards

  The national and international requirements, specifications and guidelines to ensure that products, services and processes are of good quality and fit for purpose.

• Electroplating processes

  The various metalworking processes using electric current to form metal coating on an electrode and on the workpiece, such as pulse electroplating, pulse electrodeposition, brush electroplating, and others.

• Types of metal

  Qualities, specifications, applications and reactions to different fabricating processes of various types of metal, such as steel, aluminium, brass, copper and others.

Skills

• Supply machine

  Ensure the machine is fed the necessary and adequate materials and control the placement or automatic feed and retrieval of work pieces in the machines or machine tools on the production line.

• Remove inadequate workpieces

  Evaluate which deficient processed workpieces do not meet the set-up standard and should be removed and sort the waste according to regulations.

• Troubleshoot

  Identify operating problems, decide what to do about it and report accordingly.

• Wear appropriate protective gear

  Wear relevant and necessary protective gear, such as protective goggles or other eye protection, hard hats, safety gloves.

• Remove processed workpiece

  Remove individual workpieces after processing, from the manufacturing machine or the machine tool. In case of a conveyor belt this involves quick, continuous movement.

• Tend electroplating machine

  Tend a metalworking machine designed to coat metal surfaces by using electric current to form metal coatings on an electrode and on the workpiece, monitor and operate it according to regulations.

• Monitor electroplating baths

  Control the temperature and changing composition of the solution composed of different chemical components and used to cover a surface with a thin layer of metal.

• Ensure equipment availability

  Ensure that the necessary equipment is provided, ready and available for use before start of procedures.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB