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Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Set up, operate, or tend plating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces. Typically, the product being coated is immersed in molten metal or an electrolytic solution.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.
    • Determine sizes and compositions of objects to be plated, and amounts of electrical current and time required.
    • Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors.
    • Immerse objects to be coated or plated into cleaning solutions, or spray objects with conductive solutions to prepare them for plating.
    • Position containers to receive parts, and load or unload materials in containers, using dollies or handtrucks.
    • Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors.
    • Perform equipment maintenance, such as cleaning tanks and lubricating moving parts of conveyors.
    • Install gears and holding devices on conveyor equipment.
    • Monitor and measure thicknesses of electroplating on component parts to verify conformance to specifications, using micrometers.
    • Clean and maintain equipment, using water hoses and scrapers.
    • Mix and test solutions, and turn valves to fill tanks with solutions.
    • Place plated or coated materials on racks and transfer them to ovens to dry for specified periods of time.
    • Measure and set stops, rolls, brushes, and guides on automatic feeders and conveying equipment or coating machines, using micrometers, rules, and hand tools.
    • Observe gauges to ensure that machines are operating properly, making adjustments or stopping machines when problems occur.
    • Measure, mark, and mask areas to be excluded from plating.
    • Position containers to receive parts, and load or unload materials in containers, using dollies or handtrucks.
    • Suspend sticks or pieces of plating metal from anodes, or positive terminals, and immerse metal in plating solutions.
    • Adjust controls to set temperatures of coating substances and speeds of machines and equipment.
    • Clean and maintain equipment, using water hoses and scrapers.
    • Mix and test solutions, and turn valves to fill tanks with solutions.
    • Set up, operate, or tend plating or coating machines to coat metal or plastic products with chromium, zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, or other metal to protect or decorate surfaces.
    • Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines.
    • Adjust dials to regulate flow of current and voltage supplied to terminals to control plating processes.
    • Suspend objects, such as parts or molds from cathode rods, or negative terminals, and immerse objects in plating solutions.
    • Operate sandblasting equipment to roughen and clean surfaces of workpieces.
    • Rinse coated objects in cleansing liquids and dry them with cloths, centrifugal driers, or by tumbling in sawdust-filled barrels.
    • Remove objects from solutions at periodic intervals and observe objects to verify conformance to specifications.
    • Operate hoists to place workpieces onto machine feed carriages or spindles.
    • Attach nozzles, position guns, connect hoses, and thread wire to set up metal-spraying machines.
    • Plate small objects, such as nuts or bolts, using motor-driven barrels.
    • Replace worn parts and adjust equipment components, using hand tools.
    • Examine completed objects to determine thicknesses of metal deposits, or measure thicknesses by using instruments such as micrometers.
    • Read production schedules to determine setups of equipment and machines.
    • Immerse objects to be coated or plated into cleaning solutions, or spray objects with conductive solutions to prepare them for plating.
    • Measure or weigh materials, using rulers, calculators, and scales.
    • Cut metal or other materials, using shears or band saws.
    • Preheat workpieces in ovens.
    • Spray coating in specified patterns according to instructions.
    • Clean workpieces, using wire brushes.
    • Position and feed materials into processing machines, by hand or by using automated equipment.
    • Position objects to be plated in frames, or suspend them from positive or negative terminals of power supplies.
    • Test machinery to ensure that it is operating properly.
    • Immerse workpieces in coating solutions or liquid metal or plastic for specified times.
    • Maintain production records.
    • Inspect coated or plated areas for defects, such as air bubbles or uneven coverage.
    • Remove excess materials or impurities from objects, using air hoses or grinding machines.

    Skills

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    Knowledge

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

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    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 41800/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 20.1/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,070
    • Yearly Projected Openings 190

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Achievement/Effort
    • Integrity
    • Self Control

    Tools

    • Air dryers
    • Ammeters
    • Calipers
    • Conveyor system
    • Forklifts
    • Galvanometers
    • Heat treating age hardening furnace
    • Hoists
    • Jacks
    • Levels
    • Metal inert gas welding machine
    • Micrometers
    • Pallet trucks
    • Processing tanks
    • Sand blasting machine
    • Workshop cranes

    Technology

    • Compliance software
    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Procurement software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.

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