Metal and Plastic Plating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Key Responsibilities

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