Profession vacuum forming machine operator

Vacuum forming machine operators tend, control, and maintain machines that heat sheets of plastic before moving them around a mould, using vacuum-suction; when these sheets become cool, they are permanently set in the shape of the mould.

Personality Type

• Realistic / Conventional
• Realistic / Investigative

Knowledge

• 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.

• 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.

Skills

• Use personal protection equipment

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

• Control temperature

  Measure and adjust temperature of a given space or object.

• Troubleshoot

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

• Monitor gauge

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

• 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.

• Optimise production processes parameters

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

• 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.

• 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.

• Heat up vacuum forming medium

  Switch on the medium heater to heat the vacuum forming medium to the right temperature before using the vacuum to press it onto the mould. Make sure the medium is at a high enough temperature to be malleable, but not so high as to introduce wrinkles or webbing in the final 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.

• Extract products from moulds

  Remove finished products from moulds and examine them in detail for anomalies.

• Prepare mould for vacuum forming

  Make sure the mould is set securely in place for the vacuum forming process. Verify that the mould is adequate, and that all cavities to be filled are exposed to the vacuum power.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB