HEAT TREATING, ANNEALING, AND TEMPERING MACHINE OPERATOR AND TENDER, METAL AND PLASTIC

Job Definition:

Job Description:

• Operate or tend machines, such as furnaces, baths, flame-hardening machines, and electronic induction machines, to harden, anneal, and heat-treat metal products or metal parts.

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Cleans oxides and scale from parts or fittings, using steam spray or immersing parts in chemical and water baths.
• 2) Signals forklift operator to deposit or extract containers of parts into and from furnaces and quenching rinse tanks.
• 3) Tests parts’ for hardness, using hardness testing equipment, and stamps heat treatment identification mark on part, using hammer and punch.
• 4) Examines parts to ensure metal shade and color conform to specifications, utilizing knowledge of metal heat-treating.
• 5) Removes parts from furnace after specified time and air dries or cools parts in water or oil brine or other baths.
• 6) Reduces heat and allows parts to cool in furnace.
• 7) Positions part in fixture, presses buttons to light burners and tends flame hardening machine, according to procedures, to case-harden metal part.
• 8) Adjusts speed and operates continuous furnace through which parts are passed by means of reels and conveyors.
• 9) Sets up and operates die-quenching machine to prevent parts from warping.
• 10) Reads production schedule to determine processing sequence and furnace temperature requirements for objects to be heat treated.
• 11) Activates and tends electric furnace that anneals base sections of hardened parts for subsequent machining.
• 12) Sets automatic controls, observes gauges, and operates gas or electric furnace used to harden temper, or anneal metal parts.
• 13) Loads parts into containers, closes furnace door, and inserts parts into furnace when specified temperature is reached.
• 14) Covers parts with charcoal before inserting in furnace to prevent discoloration caused by rapid heating.

Activities:

• 1) Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• 2) Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• 3) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• 4) Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
• 5) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Abilities:

• 1) Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• 2) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 3) Trunk Strength — The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without ‘giving out’ or fatiguing.

Knowledge

• 1) Production and Processing — Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• 2) Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.