Profession sheet metal worker
Sheet metal workers fabricate, assemble, install and repair sheet metal products and equipment.
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Personality Type
- Realistic / Conventional
- Realistic / Investigative
Tasks sheet metal worker
- Determine project requirements (e.g. assembly sequences, required methods, materials) from e.g. blueprints, drawings and written or verbal instructions.
- Select materials, tools and equipment (e.g. gauges, types of sheet metal or non-metallic material) according to product specifications.
- Measure the sheet metal parts.
- Make the sheet metal the right size and shape by e.g. heat treating, cutting, bending, etc.
- Assemble components, e.g. by fastening seams and joints using welds, bolts, cement, rivets, etc.
- Install assemblies, such as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters and down spouts.
- Repair sheet metal items.
- Fabricate or alter parts of vehicles, planes, building structures, etc., e.g. using shears, hammers, punches and drills
- Finish the work, e.g. by trimming, grinding and smoothing surfaces, seams and joints using hand and power tools.
Related professions métal
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- Aircraft electrician
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- Industrial robot operator
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- Varnisher, manufactured articles
- Vehicle engine tuner
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- Welder, metal materials
- Wire spinner-squeezer
Knowledge
- Metal thermal conductivity
The property of metals to conduct heat.
- Rivet types
The various types of rivets used in manufacturing, such as solid head rivets, blind rivets, drive rivets, semi-tubular rivets, oscar rivets, flush rivets, 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.
- Metal joining technologies
The various technologies used for the joining and assembling of fabricated metal workpieces.
Skills
- Tend metal sawing machine
Tend sawing machine designed for metal cutting processes, monitor and operate it, according to regulations.
- Inspect construction supplies
Check construction supplies for damage, moisture, loss or other problems before using the material.
- Follow safety procedures when working at heights
Take necessary precautions and follow a set of measures that assess, prevent and tackle risks when working at a high distance from the ground. Prevent endangering people working under these structures and avoid falls from ladders, mobile scaffolding, fixed working bridges, single person lifts etc. since they may cause fatalities or major injuries.
- Interpret 3D plans
Interpret and understand plans and drawings in manufacturing processes which include representations in three dimensions.
- Clip sheet metal objects together
Use sheet metal clips to securely clip sheet metal objects together.
- Interpret 2D plans
Interpret and understand plans and drawings in manufacturing processes which include representations in two dimensions.
- Work ergonomically
Apply ergonomy principles in the organisation of the workplace while manually handling equipment and materials.
- Use safety equipment in construction
Use elements of protective clothing such as steel-tipped shoes, and gear such as protective goggles, in order to minimise risk of accidents in construction and to mitigate any injury if an accident does occur.
- Use sheet metal shears
Use specialised heavy duty shears to safely cut sheet metal objects.
- Apply arc welding techniques
Apply and work with a variety of techniques in the process of arc welding, such as shielded metal arc welding, gas metal arc welding, submerged arc welding, flux-cored arc welding, and others.
- Follow health and safety procedures in construction
Apply the relevant health and safety procedures in construction in order to prevent accidents, pollution and other risks.
- Operate handheld riveting equipment
Operate various kinds of tools and equipment used in riveting processes, such a pin hammer and a rivet set, handheld squeezers, a hammer and bucking bar, a pneumatic hammer, a rivet gun, and others.
- Use metalworking tools
Use the appropriate metalworking tools to manipulate metal objects or surfaces. Use adequate instruments to grind, smoothen or sharpen metals.
- Apply spot welding techniques
Apply and work with a variety of techniques in the process of welding metal workpieces under pressure exercised by electrodes, such as projection welding, radius style electrodes spot welding, eecentric electrodes spot welding, and others.
- Align components
Align and lay out components in order to put them together correctly according to blueprints and technical plans.
- Recognise signs of corrosion
Recognise the symptoms of metal showing oxidation reactions with the environment resulting in rusting, copper pitting, stress cracking, and others, and estimate the rate of corrosion.
Optional knowledge and skills
program a cnc controller operate rust proofing spray gun mark a metal workpiece using punch set up temporary construction site infrastructure transport construction supplies ensure equipment availability remove rust from motor vehicles metal smoothing technologies replace defect components monitor automated machines keep records of work progress tend punch press apply brazing techniques cut metal products keep personal administration operate manual planer shape sheet metal objects cutting technologies install heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration ducts operate soldering equipment anchor sheet metal operate oxy-fuel cutting torch process incoming construction supplies work in a construction teamCommon job titles
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