Profession filament winding operator

Filament winding operators tend, control and maintain machines that coat filament, usually fibreglass or carbon, in resin and wind them around a rotation mould to produce pipes, containers, tubes and other hollow cylindrical products.

Would you like to know what kind of career and professions suit you best? Take our free Holland code career test and find out.

Personality Type

• Realistic / Conventional
• Realistic / Investigative

Knowledge

• 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.

• Types of fibre for polymer reinforcement

  Fibres used to reinforce composite materials, such as glass fibre, carbon fibre and plastic fibre. Their usage cases, costs, advantages and disadvantages, and production techniques associated with their use.

• Coating substances

  Have knowledge of various types of coating, providing a workpiece with one or more finishing layers of resins, sugars, powders, inactive and insoluable fillers, waxes, gums, plasticisers, colouring materials, lacquer, and others.

Skills

• Cure composite workpiece

  Take the necessary steps to let a composite workpiece cure. Switch on heating components like infrared lamps or heated moulds, or introduce the workpiece into a curing oven.

• Optimise production processes parameters

  Optimise and maintain the parameters of the production process such as flow, temperature or pressure.

• Remove filament composite workpiece from mandrel

  After the filament has been wound onto the mandrel mould and cured enough, remove the mandrel if called for.

• Monitor processing environment conditions

  Verify that the overall conditions of the room where the process will take place, such as temperature or air humidity, meet the requirements, and adjust if necessary.

• Troubleshoot

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

• Set up the controller of a machine

  Set up and give commands to a machine by dispatching the appropriate data and input into the (computer) controller corresponding with the desired processed product.

• Consult technical resources

  Read and interpret such technical resources such as digital or paper drawings and adjustment data in order to properly set up a machine or working tool, or to assemble mechanical equipment.

• Monitor gauge

  Oversee the data presented by a gauge concerning the measurement of pressure, temperature, thickness of a material, and others.

• Control temperature

  Measure and adjust temperature of a given space or object.

• Prepare resin bath

  Fill a reservoir with resin to be used in coating a variety of materials such as filament or glass wool. Make sure the quantity is correct and the resin is of the correct composition and temperature.

• Use personal protection equipment

  Make use of protection equipment according to training, instruction and manuals. Inspect the equipment and use it consistently.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB