Profession paper machine operator
Paper machine operators tend a machine that takes in pulp slurry, spread it out over a screen, and drains out the water. The drained slurry is then pressed and dried to produce paper.
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Personality Type
- Realistic / Conventional
Knowledge
- Types of pulp
Kinds of pulp are distinguished based on their fibre type and the specific chemical processes through which they were created.
- Types of paper
The different criteria used to determine differences in paper types such as coarseness and thickness, and the different fabrication methods and wood types from which the types of paper stem.
Skills
- Monitor paper reel
Overview the jumbo paper reel, which winds the paper at the right tension onto a core.
- Operate headbox
Set up the part of the paper machine injecting the pulp solution between two rotating wires into the gap former, which drains the excess water and turns the pulp into a continuous web of paper.
- Check paper quality
Monitor every aspect of the paper quality, such as its thickness, opacity and smoothness according to specifications and for further treatment and finishing processes.
- Work safely with machines
Check and safely operate machines and equipment required for your work according to manuals and instructions.
- Monitor pulp quality
Avoid lesser quality and lower grades of recycled paper and pulp by keeping an eye open for stickies, plastics, colour, unbleached fibres, brightness, and dirt.
- Operate paper press
Operate the paper shoe press, which forces the paper web between a soft rotating roller, squeezing out water that is absorbed and carried away by wet felts.
- Operate paper drying cylinders
Set up and monitor the heated rollers that move the paper sheet forwards while drying it.
- Concentrate pulp slurry
Measure the weight and concentration of the pulp slurry for further processing and storage by using disk filters and calculating slurry density with specific formulas.
- Apply paper coating
Operate coaters and size presses, which apply pigments, starches, and chemicals to the surface of the paper in order to improve some of its characteristics, such as resistance and printing quality.