Profession synthetic materials engineer

Synthetic materials engineers develop new synthetic materials processes or improve existing ones. They design and construct installations and machines for the production of synthetic materials and examine samples of raw materials in order to ensure quality.

Personality Type

• Investigative / Realistic

Knowledge

• Design principles

  The elements used in design such as unity, scale, proportion, balance, symmetry, space, form, texture, colour, light, shade and congruence and their application into practice.

• Manufacturing processes

  The steps required through which a material is transformed into a product, its development and full-scale manufacturing.

• Synthetic materials

  The production and characteristics of synthetic materials such as synthetic fibres, synthetic paper, synthetic resins or synthetic rubber.

• Injection moulding machine parts

  Parts of the machine that melts and injects molten plastic into moulds such as the hopper, the reciprocating screw, the injection barrel and the injection cylinder.

• Chemical processes

  The relevant chemical processes used in manufacture, such as purification, seperation, emulgation and dispergation processing.

• Basic chemicals

  The production and characteristisc of organic basic chemicals such as ethanol, methanol, benzene and inorganic basic chemicals such as oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen.

• Types of plastic

  Types of plastic materials and their chemical composition, physical properties, possible issues and usage cases.

• Civil engineering

  The engineering discipline that studies the design, construction and maintenance of naturally built works such as roads, buildings, and canals.

Skills

• Work with chemicals

  Handle chemicals and select specific ones for certain processes. Be aware of the reactions which arise from combining them.

• Use hand tools

  Utilize tools that are powered by hand, such as screwdrivers, hammers, pliers, drills and knives to manipulate materials and help create and assemble various products.

• Design engineering components

  Design engineering parts, assemblies, products, or systems.

• Check quality of raw materials

  Check the quality of basic materials used for the production of semi-finished and finished goods by assessing some of its characteristics and, if needed, select samples to be analysed.

• Work safely with chemicals

  Take the necessary precautions for storing, using and disposing chemical products.

• Manage environmental impact of operations

  Manage the interaction with and impact on the environment by companies. Identify and assess environmental impacts of the production process and related services, and regulate a reduction of the effects on the environment and on people. Organise action plans and monitor any indicators of improvement.

• Manage processes

  Manage processes by defining, measuring, controlling and improving them with the goal to meet customer requirements profitably.

• Adjust engineering designs

  Adjust designs of products or parts of products so that they meet requirements.

• Handle chemicals

  Safely handle industrial chemicals; use them efficiently and ensure that no harm is done to the environment.

• Analyse production processes for improvement

  Analyse production processes leading toward improvement. Analyse in order to reduce production losses and overall manufacturing costs.

• Design process

  Identify the workflow and resource requirements for a particular process, using a variety of tools such as process simulation software, flowcharting and scale models.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB