HEAT TREATING EQUIPMENT SETTER, OPERATOR , AND TENDER, METAL AND PLASTIC

Job Definition:

• Manufacturing labourers perform a variety of simple and routine manual tasks in manufacturing to assist the work of machine operators and assemblers.

Job Description:

• Set up, operate, or tend heating equipment, such as heat-treating furnaces, flame-hardening machines, induction machines, soaking pits, or vacuum equipment to temper, harden, anneal, or heat-treat metal or plastic objects

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Reduce heat when processing is complete in order to allow parts to cool in furnaces or machinery.
• 2) Remove parts from furnaces after specified times, and air dry or cool parts in water, oil brine, or other bath
• 3) Set and adjust speeds of reels and conveyors for prescribed time
• cycles in order to pass parts through continuous furnaces.
  4) Set up and operate or tend machines, such as furnaces, baths, flame-hardening machines, and electronic induction machines, that harden, anneal, and heat-treat metal.
• 5) Start conveyors and open furnace doors to load stock, or signal crane operators to uncover soaking pits and lower ingots into them.
• 6) Test parts for hardness, using hardness testing equipment, or by examining and feeling samples.
• 7) Attach wire or metal to winding mechanisms that will pull parts through furnaces.
• 8) Clean oxides and scales from parts or fittings, using steam sprays or chemical and water baths.
• 9) Cover parts with charcoal before inserting them in furnaces, in order to prevent discoloration caused by rapid heating.
• 10) Impregnate fabrics with plastic resins, and cut fabrics into strips.
• 11) Insert vacuum tubes into bags, and seal bags around tubes, using tape.
• 12) Place parts on carts, connect vacuum lines to vacuum tubes, and smooth bags around parts to ensure vacuum.
• 13) Adjust controls to maintain temperatures and heating times, using thermal instruments and charts, dials and gauges of furnaces, and color of stock in furnaces to make setting determinations.
• 14) Determine flame temperatures, current frequencies, heating cycles, and induction heating coils needed, based on degree of hardness required and properties of stock to be treated.
• 15) Determine types and temperatures of baths and quenching media needed to attain specified part hardness, toughness, and ductility, using heat-treating charts and knowledge of methods, equipment, and metals.
• 16) Examine parts to ensure metal shades and colors conform to specifications, utilizing knowledge of metal heat-treating.
• 17) Heat billets, bars, plates, rods, and other stock to specified temperatures preparatory to forging, rolling, or processing, using oil, gas, or electrical furnaces.
• 18) Load parts into containers and place containers on conveyors to be inserted into furnaces, or insert parts into furnaces.
• 19) Mount fixtures and industrial coils on machines, using hand tools.
• 20) Mount workpieces in fixtures, on arbors, or between centers of machines.
• 21) Move controls to light gas burners and to adjust gas and water flow and flame temperature.
• 22) Place completed workpieces on conveyors, using cold rods, tongs, or chain hoists, or signal crane operators to transport them to subsequent stations.
• 23) Position stock in furnaces, using tongs, chain hoists, or pry bars.
• 24) Read production schedules and work orders to determine processing sequences, furnace temperatures, and heat cycle requirements for objects to be heat-treated.
• 25) Position parts in plastic bags, and seal bags with irons.
• 26) Position plastic sheets and molds in plastic bags, heat material under lamps, and force confrontation of sheets to molds by vacuum pressure.
• 27) Record times that parts are removed from furnaces to document that objects have attained specified temperatures for specified times.
• 28) Remove parts from autoclaves, and cut away plastic bags.
• 29) Repair, replace, and maintain furnace equipment as needed, using hand tools.
• 30) Set up and operate die-quenching machines to prevent parts from warping.
• 31) Signal forklift operators to deposit or extract containers of parts into and from furnaces and quenching rinse tanks.
• 32) Stamp heat-treatment identification marks on parts, using hammers and punches.
• 33) Instruct new workers in machine operation.

Activities:

• 1) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• 2) Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
• 3) Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
• 4) Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• 5) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• 6) 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.
• 7) Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• 8) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• 9) Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• 10) Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment — Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.
• 11) Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
• 12) Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
• 13) Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
• 14) Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• 15) Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• 16) Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into

Abilities:

• 1) Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• 2) Multilimb Coordination — The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
• 3) Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
• 4)Reaction Time — The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
• 5) Static Strength — The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
• 6) Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
• 7) Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• 8)  Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
• 9) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 10) Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• 11) Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• 12) 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.
• 13) Rate Control — The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
• 14) Stamina — The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
• 15) Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 16) Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• 17) Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• 18) Gross Body Coordination — The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
• 19) Far Vision — The ability to see details at a distance.
• 20) Hearing Sensitivity — The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.

Knowledge